The Time I Met the Real-Life SAGAT from Street Fighter!
Yes, Sagat is a real life person which the Street Fighter character is entirely based off!
His name is Sagat Petchyindee, and he's a fucking legend!
Maybe he isn't quite the hulking Adonis seen in the game or in images like the one above which he is holding. But the man is strong, and powerful, and has 266 muay thai fights under his belt with an astonishing 151 wins by way of knock out..
In the summer of 2018 I was in Thailand for nearly a month on a training mission to level up my muay thai skills.
A friend of mine known as Da Masta here in Canada is long time friends with Sagat and linked us up so we could spend a few weeks training at his gym when we arrived in Bangkok.
Yes I did learn Sagat's signature move, the Tiger Uppercut!
We actually spent a whole week working on boxing alone before we moved on to other muay thai techniques.
Sagat punches for power in almost every punch!
When we would work on combo's and setting up punches it was almost always to setup for a knockout punch.
My striking improved big time and this was really the first time a master had spent good one on one time improving my technique, thank you Sagat!
I would use a much improved overhand right to finish an opponent to win my amateur Canadian championship last fall with a ref calling a stop to the fight after i broke my hand over my opponents face. The ref didn't know I had crushed my hand but my opponent was getting wrecked and the ref had seen a enough.
Side note -> I'm not a violent person by nature. Never started fights at school or got into any sort of trouble. That's not why I pursued muay thai as a competitive sport.
Muay Thai is the best striking system on planet earth. period. full stop.
I learnt it to grow my self defense skills, to be able to protect myself, friends, family, property etc. In my opinion its one of a handful of what I would consider essential survival skills.
Know how to off-grid camp, build a fire and shelter, know how to strike and or grapple, know how to shoot a gun, know how to hunt and clean an animal or two.
I Love Thailand
I had an incredible trip and was extremely lucky, I spent some time with a family that took us around the gulf of Thailand on road trips every weekend to see the sights and the country side. Such a beautiful country and omg the food, the people are awesome, and i cant wait to go back.
Once the pandemic has cooled in hopefully a year or two I hope to start to travel again and get back to some of my favorite overseas destinations.
I love this pic!
This is me and my best friend Matt on the steps up to Wat Phra Yai. This is a beautiful temple nestled in the hills overlooking Pataya city.
I think this temple is also known in English as Big Buddha Temple, as you can see from the pic these steps lead up to a massive gold Buddha at the top.
I'm not a religious person but I am spiritual and the energy here was powerful! I took a minute to say an incantation or two in front of the Buddha and then toured the rest of the temple with my friends.
My mantra wishes for peace, good health, and prosperity to my family and friends. I used this portal to broadcast good vibes out into the world 🙏
That is awesome! I never knew Sagat was real.
I'm going to have to visit Thailand once the world opens back up.
I really want to go back to Vietnam. Maybe I could hit up a few different countries.
cool, i would like to get to Cambodia, and Vietnam at some point.