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I wrote an article on Vicharnnoi (Wichanoi) I thought you guys might enjoy.
One of the greatest tragedies in combat sports is the loss of footage and information from Muay Thai’s Golden Age. From the late 1970’s to the early 90’s, the sport of Muay Thai thrived in a way that it hasn’t since - interest in the sport was at an all-time high, and there was abundant talent to satisfy the demand. Unfortunately, record-keeping was sparse, and those in charge often more interested in exploiting athletes for profit than preserving the history and legacy of the sport.
Not only are some of the most famous fights in Muay Thai history lost to the ether, but it’s impossible to find complete records, especially of those who entered their prime before the 80’s. All we have to go on regarding some of the greatest fighters in history is patchwork information and a handful of preserved fights.
“The Immortal Boxer,” Vicharnnoi Porntawee, was perhaps the greatest of all these olden-day greats, although he was at his best before the beginning of the Golden Age. Vicharnnoi began fighting in the early 1960’s and was known as one of the biggest stars of the 70’s. Along with contemporary greats, Poot Lorlek and Pudpadnoi Worawoot, Vicharnnoi helped popularize Muay Thai and usher in the Golden Age.
I can’t give you a detailed breakdown of his record, or point you toward a reliable source listing the Rajadamnern and Lumpini titles he won (of which there were several). His Thai Wikipedia page contains the most complete record, listing just under 20 fights, and starting in the year 1978, when Vicharnnoi was in his 30’s and well out of his prime.
What I can tell you is that he beat a who’s who of his era’s greats, with wins over Poot, Pudpadnoi, Narongnoi Kiatbundit, Vichit Loogbangplsoi, Saensak Muangsurin, as well as arguably the greatest Nak Muay of all time, Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn. Vicharnnoi went 2-1 with Dieselnoi, with both wins coming when Vicharnnoi was well past his prime and only a few short years before Dieselnoi would make his legendary run as Lumpini champion.
There are exactly eleven surviving fights of Vicharnnoi’s, most of them taking place in his later career. When watching Vicharnnoi on tape, however, it’s immediately clear that he is anything but a relic. Vicharnnoi plays a game that would thrive in any era, and indeed, possesses a lot of skills that modern Thais tend to lack.
The Immortal Boxer
Vicharnnoi’s style is as unique as his legendary career. An incredibly well-rounded fighter, Vicharnnoi seamlessly blended the heavy boxing and leg kick game of the Muay Mat with the dazzling outside movement typical of the Muay Femeu style. Just as he danced along the line between Femeu and Mat, Vicharnnoi also skirted the line between volume and power. He had a high volume style with lots of lead hand activity, but was also capable of loading up and delivering massive power when necessary.
When we look at the great Femeus or outside fighters in Muay Thai, they tend to be tall and svelte, capable of attacking from range without reprisal, or (like Saenchai) make up for a lack of length with deft use of the rear-leg body kick. Vicharnnoi was short and thick, often fighting taller and heavier opponents. He played a brilliant short-man version of the typical Femeu game, mixing in power punching, pace, and heavy pressure to mitigate the disadvantages of his length.
Simply seeing Vicharnnoi in his stance was enough to tell that his hands were his primary weapons, as he fought out of a rear-foot weighted stance with a slight fold in the rear hip. This stance allowed him to rapidly feint in and out by quickly bouncing weight to his front leg and back, and facilitated power punching by giving him room to shift weight onto his lead hip in order to throw big right hands. The partial crouch afforded him a measure of built-in boxing defense, allowing him to dip naturally off his jabs and lead hooks.
When MMA or Kickboxing personalities talk about Muay Thai, they tend to have a singular conception of Nak Muays - the static powerhouse, standing upright in a square stance with his hands by his temples, imposing yet immobile. If you look at the best fighters in the sport’s history, particularly in the Golden Age, rarely do they actually fit this model.
Vicharnnoi couldn’t be further from the stereotypical notion of a Nak Muay. He fought out of something resembling a boxing stance and used active footwork, both linear and lateral. He was an in-and-out fighter, standing at the edge of his opponent’s range and constantly feinting entries to dull their senses.
If opponents sat at range and tried to catch him on the way in, they would be left whiffing at feints or unable to respond to his true entries. If they pursued him on the way out, he’d be ready to counter and exit safely.
The key to his effective entry feints were the small steps. Large, committed steps into the pocket make it easier to time your entry, but by constantly moving forward in sharp, short steps, Vicharnnoi could precisely control the distance he was at, stepping just to the end of punching or kicking distance and drawing his feet back slightly if his opponent lashed out. By moving primarily in short motions, he could also more effectively employ large steps to cover distance rapidly, as they would come at a contrast to his more controlled motions and take opponents by surprise.
The jab was an important tool allowing Vicharnnoi to feint in and out constantly. Each forward step carried the promise of a jab, and his crouched stance allowed him to glide under counters when jabbing in. Vicharnnoi was excellent at quickly entering with the jab and leaving range before opponents had a chance to counter.
Vicharnnoi even used a consistent body jab to disguise his punches upstairs- a rarity in Muay Thai, where body punches are used sparingly and mostly for power due to the threat of kicks, knees, and clinches, as well as a scoring system that disincentivizes punching. Vicharnnoi’s constant feints kept opponents from punishing the level change, and he would throw it with just a slight bend in the lead leg while remaining upright, away from kicks and knees.
One of the hallmarks of Vicharnnoi’s style is his non-committal, flicking lead-leg low kick. He throws it with a pendulum step, hopping in from out of range and delivering it quickly, and exits by backstepping into southpaw, putting even more distance between himself and his opponent. The combination of these factors make it nearly impossible to counter, as he’s in and out before the opponent has a chance to respond. When he wants to do damage, he will step up with his rear leg and throw a harder, more static kick with his lead leg.
The lead-leg kicks shined in his earlier fight with legendary southpaw round kicker, Pudpadnoi Worawoot. Vicharnnoi picked the more powerful kicker apart with non-committal leg kicks, feinting in and out, and exiting before he had a chance to deliver his body kicks, before eventually knocking him out off a blocked body kick.
Vicharnnoi’s rear leg was usually reserved for powerful low kicks more typical of the Muay Mat style. He would often throw these to the rear leg against southpaws, which tends to be less used to taking kicks and not as well conditioned as the lead leg. The left kick tends to be an integral weapon in the southpaw’s arsenal as well, so actively attacking it meant taking the open-side kick away from them.
Kicks to the rear leg are difficult to set up and land, as they require getting very close to your opponent, within their punching range. Vicharnnoi would use pressure to set the kicks up, pushing his opponent onto the backfoot so they weren’t prepared to counter, and hiding them within punching combinations. He’d also occasionally hand-fight, trapping or pinning the rear hand so his opponent wasn’t prepared to counter the kick.
Continued here...
One of the greatest tragedies in combat sports is the loss of footage and information from Muay Thai’s Golden Age. From the late 1970’s to the early 90’s, the sport of Muay Thai thrived in a way that it hasn’t since - interest in the sport was at an all-time high, and there was abundant talent to satisfy the demand. Unfortunately, record-keeping was sparse, and those in charge often more interested in exploiting athletes for profit than preserving the history and legacy of the sport.
Not only are some of the most famous fights in Muay Thai history lost to the ether, but it’s impossible to find complete records, especially of those who entered their prime before the 80’s. All we have to go on regarding some of the greatest fighters in history is patchwork information and a handful of preserved fights.
“The Immortal Boxer,” Vicharnnoi Porntawee, was perhaps the greatest of all these olden-day greats, although he was at his best before the beginning of the Golden Age. Vicharnnoi began fighting in the early 1960’s and was known as one of the biggest stars of the 70’s. Along with contemporary greats, Poot Lorlek and Pudpadnoi Worawoot, Vicharnnoi helped popularize Muay Thai and usher in the Golden Age.
I can’t give you a detailed breakdown of his record, or point you toward a reliable source listing the Rajadamnern and Lumpini titles he won (of which there were several). His Thai Wikipedia page contains the most complete record, listing just under 20 fights, and starting in the year 1978, when Vicharnnoi was in his 30’s and well out of his prime.
What I can tell you is that he beat a who’s who of his era’s greats, with wins over Poot, Pudpadnoi, Narongnoi Kiatbundit, Vichit Loogbangplsoi, Saensak Muangsurin, as well as arguably the greatest Nak Muay of all time, Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn. Vicharnnoi went 2-1 with Dieselnoi, with both wins coming when Vicharnnoi was well past his prime and only a few short years before Dieselnoi would make his legendary run as Lumpini champion.
There are exactly eleven surviving fights of Vicharnnoi’s, most of them taking place in his later career. When watching Vicharnnoi on tape, however, it’s immediately clear that he is anything but a relic. Vicharnnoi plays a game that would thrive in any era, and indeed, possesses a lot of skills that modern Thais tend to lack.
The Immortal Boxer
Vicharnnoi’s style is as unique as his legendary career. An incredibly well-rounded fighter, Vicharnnoi seamlessly blended the heavy boxing and leg kick game of the Muay Mat with the dazzling outside movement typical of the Muay Femeu style. Just as he danced along the line between Femeu and Mat, Vicharnnoi also skirted the line between volume and power. He had a high volume style with lots of lead hand activity, but was also capable of loading up and delivering massive power when necessary.
When we look at the great Femeus or outside fighters in Muay Thai, they tend to be tall and svelte, capable of attacking from range without reprisal, or (like Saenchai) make up for a lack of length with deft use of the rear-leg body kick. Vicharnnoi was short and thick, often fighting taller and heavier opponents. He played a brilliant short-man version of the typical Femeu game, mixing in power punching, pace, and heavy pressure to mitigate the disadvantages of his length.
Simply seeing Vicharnnoi in his stance was enough to tell that his hands were his primary weapons, as he fought out of a rear-foot weighted stance with a slight fold in the rear hip. This stance allowed him to rapidly feint in and out by quickly bouncing weight to his front leg and back, and facilitated power punching by giving him room to shift weight onto his lead hip in order to throw big right hands. The partial crouch afforded him a measure of built-in boxing defense, allowing him to dip naturally off his jabs and lead hooks.
When MMA or Kickboxing personalities talk about Muay Thai, they tend to have a singular conception of Nak Muays - the static powerhouse, standing upright in a square stance with his hands by his temples, imposing yet immobile. If you look at the best fighters in the sport’s history, particularly in the Golden Age, rarely do they actually fit this model.
Vicharnnoi couldn’t be further from the stereotypical notion of a Nak Muay. He fought out of something resembling a boxing stance and used active footwork, both linear and lateral. He was an in-and-out fighter, standing at the edge of his opponent’s range and constantly feinting entries to dull their senses.
If opponents sat at range and tried to catch him on the way in, they would be left whiffing at feints or unable to respond to his true entries. If they pursued him on the way out, he’d be ready to counter and exit safely.
The key to his effective entry feints were the small steps. Large, committed steps into the pocket make it easier to time your entry, but by constantly moving forward in sharp, short steps, Vicharnnoi could precisely control the distance he was at, stepping just to the end of punching or kicking distance and drawing his feet back slightly if his opponent lashed out. By moving primarily in short motions, he could also more effectively employ large steps to cover distance rapidly, as they would come at a contrast to his more controlled motions and take opponents by surprise.
The jab was an important tool allowing Vicharnnoi to feint in and out constantly. Each forward step carried the promise of a jab, and his crouched stance allowed him to glide under counters when jabbing in. Vicharnnoi was excellent at quickly entering with the jab and leaving range before opponents had a chance to counter.
Vicharnnoi even used a consistent body jab to disguise his punches upstairs- a rarity in Muay Thai, where body punches are used sparingly and mostly for power due to the threat of kicks, knees, and clinches, as well as a scoring system that disincentivizes punching. Vicharnnoi’s constant feints kept opponents from punishing the level change, and he would throw it with just a slight bend in the lead leg while remaining upright, away from kicks and knees.
One of the hallmarks of Vicharnnoi’s style is his non-committal, flicking lead-leg low kick. He throws it with a pendulum step, hopping in from out of range and delivering it quickly, and exits by backstepping into southpaw, putting even more distance between himself and his opponent. The combination of these factors make it nearly impossible to counter, as he’s in and out before the opponent has a chance to respond. When he wants to do damage, he will step up with his rear leg and throw a harder, more static kick with his lead leg.
The lead-leg kicks shined in his earlier fight with legendary southpaw round kicker, Pudpadnoi Worawoot. Vicharnnoi picked the more powerful kicker apart with non-committal leg kicks, feinting in and out, and exiting before he had a chance to deliver his body kicks, before eventually knocking him out off a blocked body kick.
Vicharnnoi’s rear leg was usually reserved for powerful low kicks more typical of the Muay Mat style. He would often throw these to the rear leg against southpaws, which tends to be less used to taking kicks and not as well conditioned as the lead leg. The left kick tends to be an integral weapon in the southpaw’s arsenal as well, so actively attacking it meant taking the open-side kick away from them.
Kicks to the rear leg are difficult to set up and land, as they require getting very close to your opponent, within their punching range. Vicharnnoi would use pressure to set the kicks up, pushing his opponent onto the backfoot so they weren’t prepared to counter, and hiding them within punching combinations. He’d also occasionally hand-fight, trapping or pinning the rear hand so his opponent wasn’t prepared to counter the kick.
Continued here...
