Kard Chuek is a form of fighting meant to invoke the Muay Boran fights before Siam's modernization of the sport in the 1920s, a reformation under Western Boxing's influence and example. Kard Chuek fights are not judged by a point system, the ref is supposed to be more liberal in allowing action to unfold, and the winner is declared only by knockout. Otherwise its a draw.

You can see on the mat below the thin piece of cloth, with almost no padding, that is added to the rope wrap fight treatment. In the old days it was just hemp rope. Now it is a combination of rope, this thin cloth, stretched out layer, and then tape. It's the tape that puts these wraps in other dimension. Basically fighters can make a kind of modeled plaster-like cast over the ropes, so the hand is more like a club, just in terms of pragmatic result.

There is no fixed way to wrap and prepare the hands. Everyone does it differently. As Sylvie's hands are small the integration of the ropes and the hand-fabric needs a bit more finesse. As she's fought Kard Chuek 16 times now (as of this fight), she perhaps has fought Kard Chuek more times than any other non-Thai. She's developed a method of wrap she prefers, so he would rather wrap her own hands. And even in his fight she improvised new way of wrapping (not passing through the fingers with the ropes) which give her more freedom of movement, a decent degree of protection (if you get kicked) and of menace as well.

This time she layered the tape below, on the skin for basic support, the fabric, then the ropes, then tape on top.

I love the wide angle lens in these environments. There's an array of island mats, each of which might anchor a fight team. Everyone is mat-to-mat. Here is the promoter checking on one of the fighters who is already wrapped, waiting for his massage. I love the swirl of composition. This is the Fujifilm 8-16 mm lens, if anyone is interested.

Love the compositional swirl and juxtapositions, above. Something of it reminds me of the painting Balthus' The Street (1933).

A big part of any Entertainment Muay Thai show is Thai vs Westerner matchups. This promotion usually has a few on each card. Only three this time. Here the coach and fighter team is all Western. This independence of Westerners, coaches and Western gyms in the Kingdom is increasingly common. It's something that has changed quite rapidly in fact. Only 5-7 years ago Sylvie was breaking the mold booking all her own fights, traveling solo to cards, something no Westerner had ever done (at such a prolific level). She's been the quiet pioneer in this independence, and in fact remains so. Nobody fights like Sylvie. The increase in Western autonomy (& power) is definitely a quickly changing aspect of Thailand's Muay Thai, and plays into the increase role of Entertainment Muay Thai in the country.

I loved photographing this fighter below. Sometimes, not frequently, fighters feel the camera on them and bloom. This guy just created his fighter aura as I clicked the shutter. Muay Thai is supposed to be Thai hypermasculine ideal performance. He had his own kind of personal swagger.

Kids will sometimes perform at these shows that, in part, are celebrations of locations and regions in Thailand. There is a kind of community, festival feeling around them, a sense that in televising from a city you are boosting its domestic tourism. These performers add that layer of pride and tradition for the audience.

A few portrait shots in the time, waiting for the fights to get going. The great thing about televised shows is that you know the start time and can gear everything to that. In less formal conditions the time before the ring can be a kind of no-man's-land of waiting.

Below a tight portrait of the legend Karuhat who we are really fortunate to have been close to for many years now. He's Sylvie's idol with his unreachable Muay Thai, and a guiding force in the corner. The dude is just so low-key, a corner energy and practice very different than Western conceptions.

Something happened in the ring that make Karuhat and the boys behind him laugh, the first fight, the fight before Sylvie's.

As a Channel 8 fight there is a small army of technical support guys, all on monitors, making it happen. I kind of like this wide angle showing the team, between the river and the ring.

The small flock of photographers catching the fight, some with still cameras, some with video, or with phones. The photo feels Old School boxing a bit.

Thais almost always prefer the posed photograph, a chance to pose oneself and present. As a photographer of course, and a Westerner, I'm always looking for the other moments. I want to show the beauty, but the discovered beauty, the elements beneath the pose...but also to show my subjects as real and beautiful too. So, there is an aesthetic tension I try to resolve with care given to more casual photograph edits.

Two Kard Chuek fighters wrapped and waiting in the prep area, shootin the shit.

This fighter has a great Joy in his wrap process. The ease of being.

above, a Western coach taking a moment for focus and devotion.

above, this bird was just floating down the river on his own little raft. He was quite beautiful.

Sylvie's opponent Petchjanchai on deck for the fight, above.

The promoter in the ring during commercial break (above). The crowd riverside, and the photo tower up above (below).

The photographer crew press together, condensed. The Channel 8 guys with the river behind them.

A super handsome fighter, also catching the camera and allowing me to capture his version of the hypermasculine.

below, one of the many tech guys. His own dignity.

The fight before Sylvie's ended in a rather sudden and spectacular knock out. Here I'm just drawn to the aftermath. The hands, the care. As a photographer I just don't find the "smash" moment very interesting visually or emotionally. I know that's what all the photographer's are after. But I'd rather have these moments. It's everything built around the violence that makes the violence meaningful.

above is my favorite of that brief series.

below is the very arch winner. You can feel his edge. Again, versions of Thai masculinity. This is what Thailand's Muay Thai is about. The broadcast is in commercial. He's waiting to get his hand raised.

Below, Sylvie enters the ring for the first time ever between the ropes. She's fought 266 fights before this in Thailand and always entered below the bottom rope, a custom which arguably embodies the subjection and inferiority of women. This was a big moment for Sylvie as a Westerner, 266 fights is a lot of fights. She took note of this change and credited EMT for it in this Facebook post.

below, this is the promoter of the show. He's unique in that he not only organizes everything, he also is the host of the show, and a commentator. The show is 100% his vision it seems. As Muay Thai has swung towards Entertainment Muay Thai (EMT), he's always been a huge supporter of Sylvie, and we were with him before EMT became a trend. Sylvie was the first female Westerner to fight on his show years ago. 16 fights already now. Its a strong relationship, and it feels good for a show to really appreciate just how unique Sylvie is as a fighter.

The mongkol goes on, the broadcast is rolling. Sylvie performs the Wai Kru (respect to teachers and ancestors).

Above, the guys in the tower, making the long shots all happen.

I usually decide on an edit, but between the two above I could not.

Sylvie's Ram Muay (customary pre-fight dance) with spiritual invocations, a bit of traditional magic, and rich symbology.

Sylvie's opponent Petchjanchai gets right at it with a beautiful kick. You can see in the photo below there is a very significant size difference. It's probably about 6 kgs or so. People ask about Sylvie's regular size disadvantage, and the short answer is that Sylvie just has to take very significant handicaps to get fights, and has done so for years. It's quite different than the more usual handicap being given to the Thai in most Western vs Farang matchups. Sylvie has probably fought up more than any documented fighter in the history of Muay Thai, other than maybe someone like Saenchai? The sheer number of size difference fights is kind of off the charts. We've always had a philosophy that every fight is precious, and that if you really want to climb the mountain of Muay Thai its very important to fight and fight a lot. Sylvie has taken that to heart. She's the female fighter with the most documented pro fights in history, regardless of sport.

Already in the fight its difficult for Petchjanchai. This show really knows Sylvie well, and they break the clinch like crazy fast. She's a celebrated clinch fighter on a show that won't let her clinch. Of air they joke about how fast they have to break the clinch just to contain Sylvie. Not only taking on much bigger opponents, but they tie one arm behind the back in this. It's part of being able to get opponents (the promotion says its next to impossible to find them, as many other do). The ref literally apologized to Karuhat in the corner between rounds for breaking the clinch so fast. But still...Sylvie imposes her clinch.

This detail of the ref's foot coming to intercede is just great. He literally is about to separate them with it.

above, Petchjanchai between rounds, catching her breath.

below, Sylvie has been working on her eyes lately in training, seeing her strikes as they land. It opens up her clinch game to put on that pressure. This round she starts to bring that physicality, despite being so much smaller. This is the Muay Khao style.

The camera, the broadcast, all up in on it.

below, more cover, punch, teep, pressure the space. Her style. The sak yant is from her Arjan, Arjan Pi. The tigers are about the tapping into the inner ferocious energy, but in an ordered way.

Petchjanchai recovering, gathering herself. It begins again (below)

Above, the two different expressions here are amazing.

Below, Karuhat handsome and cool in the corner as usual.

below, Petchjanchai made this photo her banner photo after she saw it. It's one of my favorites of the day. Her hair, the ice falling, a bit of water. The detail and the focus fall off. Love the moment.

Below, the fight was a draw. Honestly the clinch breaks were just too much to overcome, but it was a very dominant performance. Here Sylvie is waiting for her hand to be raised in draw.

After the fight Sylvie takes photos with her opponents whole team and family, her coach proudly on the side.

Love this series of the school girl checking out Sylvie's sak yanted back. It must be bizarre. These are very masculine coded yants which indicate authority and power. A policeman or someone in the military in a place of command might have them. Here a 100 lb Western woman. The work by Arjan Pi is so beautiful. He's renown for his tigers, like nobody else in Thailand. Its as if he puts the tiger itself into the ink, which is kind of what one is doing in sak yant.

Sylvie talking with an older Thai kru after the fight, joking and laughing. He talks about the crazy clinch breaks, Sylvie jokes, When they see Sylvie "Break!". It's not that big of a deal, its just the condition of getting matchups, but it would be great to fight more frequently under Thai traditional circumstances. The clinch is its own endangered art, and a large part of Sylvie's passion has been to study and devote herself to its sub-style.

Rahu, below, is a protective deity of Thailand's animism and Buddhism. He is the swallower of the Moon and Sun during eclipse, and in his story was an outcast of the gods who snuck into Heaven and drank of the ambrosia such that he became immortal. He's typically a deity of the lower classes and has a fiercesome personage. He is known for his hunger for knowledge. You can see him consuming the Sun and its knowledge below. In many ways the figure of Rahu symbolizes Sylvie who is not only an outsider to Thailand's Muay Thai (as a Westerner, a woman), but also an outsider to the more typical entries into Thailand from the West, unaligned with gyms or more structured paths into Thailand's fighting. She is drinking the ambrosia, and has been consuming as much knowledge as she possibly can, fighting more than any ever has in the country, and meticulously and rigorously studying the Muay of the legends of its past...so as to ultimately become a protector, as far as she can.

Sylvie with her opponent Petchjanchai after the fight.

Sylvie with the legend Karuhat, her mentor.