Like many martial arts Muay Thai has many different styles used by its fighters. These styles include kicks, knees, elbows, and defense techniques.
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Category Archives: Muay Thai
How Dangerous is Muay Thai
Today’s topic is How Dangerous is Muay Thai? Muay Thai is a martial art that originated in Thailand. It is also one of the most dangerous martial arts to practice.
This blog post will explore how it can be considered one of the most dangerous forms of fighting, what skills are needed to become proficient at Muay Thai, and why it’s so hard for beginners to learn.
Where Did Muay Thai Originate
Muay Thai is a martial art that originated in Thailand. It is said that the martial arts has roots dating back to the Thailand military as far back as the 13th century, during the reign of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
So what does Muay Thai mean? “Muay” translates to mean “boxing” in Thai, so Muay Thai is literally Thai boxing.
Muay Thai is known as the art of 8 limbs and is considered one of the most dangerous martial arts on the face of the planet. Although it’s considered dangerous it has been adjusted to comply with the rules of sport, and can be watched all over the world.
It was established as the national sport of Thailand in 1920 when it became part of the exhibition at King Rama VI’s birthday celebration.
The sport began to grow and take hold in other countries and eventually made its way to North America by the late 1970s where it began to develop into what we know today.
Today, Muay Thai can be practiced anywhere from your local gym or at home through watching online videos and reading ebooks on the topic.
Can Muay Thai Be Used in A Street Fight
The answer is a resounding yes! Muay Thai is great to use in a street fight because it is a self defense system. When you train in Muay Thai you train for exercise but also for self protection.
One of the reasons why Muay Thai is so effective is because you get to use your 8 limbs as a weapon to protect yourself.
The 8 Limbs of Muay Thai
- 2 Fists
- 2 Knees
- 2 Shins
- 2 Elbows
Of course if the person is pointing a gun at you it would be wise to comply with any demands they may have.
Muay Thai works best on the streets when engaging in hand to hand combat. You can really defend yourself in a bar, coffee shop, grocery store, walking alone on the streets at night, or wherever when you have trained in Muay Thai.
There are many places that teach you defense against a weapon such as a knife or bat, but my recommendation is to only engage in that unless you are extremely skilled in that aspect of defense.
If you’re not, the best thing to do is comply with the demands the person holding the weapon may have, or run away if it’s safe to do so.
Can Muay Thai Kill
Yes, Muay Thai can kill a person if used with enough force. As mentioned before this is a dangerous martial art that uses your limbs as weapons. An elbow or knee to the temple of an assailants head can be a fatal blow which can cause injury or death.
If you watch many of the combat sports that involve Muay Thai such as UFC, One Championship, and Bellator you will quickly see what a kick to the head and knee to the face can do to a person.
It knocks them out cold, and the only thing that saves them from receiving further damage is the referee stepping in, and the medical doctors that are there on site. In the streets their is no help!
If you practice a martial art like this and you use more force than needed to defend yourself, you can end up seriously harming your assailant or even killing them. If you are fighting in the street and someone uses Muay Thai against you, you can meet the same fate; be seriously injured or even die.
Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick Tutorial
Can Muay Thai Beat Boxing
Muay Thai and boxing are two completely different set of self defense systems. Each system focuses on building different skill sets in order to become more proficient at mastering the system. In other words, boxing and Muay Thai are completely different in nature, and show you two separate ways of defending yourself.
One may look at Muay Thai and say that the practitioner throws punches just like a boxer does. Yes that is true, but the only difference is that a Muay Thai practitioner throws strikes, while a boxer…well…boxes. Striking and boxing are NOT the same thing.
Strikes include punches, elbows, spinning elbows, spinning fists, uppercuts, and of course leg strikes. And boxers…well…just box.
Someone who practices Muay Thai has an advantage over a boxer in a fight because he has more weapons to use. He can use his elbow, knee, fist, shin, and head. He can pick a boxer apart from a distance using kicks alone and wear him down within a few short minutes.
A boxer is only effective when he is close enough to land a punch. He can’t land a punch from kicking distance. This is a major disadvantage that a boxer would have in any fight against someone who has a mixed martial arts background, and knows how to use their legs as a weapon.
Yes a boxer has amazing movement such as head bobs and weaves, and coming in and out when fighting, but a strong martial artists can neutralize that with efficient strikes. So yes, Muay Thai can beat boxing.
Muay Thai Strikes and Combinations
Are Muay Thai Fighters Strong
Muay Thai fighters are known for their strength and endurance, as well as the discipline they must have to train hard every day. What you have to keep in mind is that all those who study martial arts are only as strong as they train their bodies to be.
Muay Thai training is very rigorous in cardio, resistance training, and repetitive movement when learning a technique.
For example, when kicking the pads, to get the technique right and to toughen your shin so it’s use to you using it as a striking tool, you will repeat the movement over and over again for an allotted time.
If the coach decides for you to kick the pads for 20 seconds he’ll time it, then have you rest for a few seconds to catch your breath, then have you kick the pads for another 20 seconds and so on and so forth.
The same method is done for the resistance training, and any weight lifting that is incorporated into the routine. Training prepares your mind and body for when a real fight happens. As many fighters have said, the hard work is done during training camp, so that the fighting part can be easy.
You’re only as strong as you develop yourself to be in training, and Muay Thai fighters have proven to be really strong with high level of endurance.
Why Is Muay Thai Hard To Learn
Muay Thai isn’t hard to learn it just takes time to be proficient at it. The stances, strikes, sweeps, clinch positions all take time to learn and execute. It’s definitely not a martial arts that you can learn quickly and apply to a fight right away.
This is the same with martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu it’s all about positioning yourself properly and executing the submission in the right way in order to defend yourself, or win in competition. This all takes time.
If you are looking to get into a self defense system where you can learn it and apply it right away, Boxing, Wrestling, Karate, and TaeKwon-Do would be the best options.
These self defense systems are easy to pick up as a novice and you can apply them in their basic forms right away. But I wouldn’t go around picking a fight just because you learned a few new moves from the gym.
You should use any technique that you learn only to defend yourself, not to show off your new moves.
Top 10 Muay Thai Dangerous Knockouts
Will Muay Thai Get Me In Shape
If you are looking for a way to get in shape while learning techniques that will help you defend yourself, then Muay Thai is definitely the way to go.
You do about 45 minutes of cardio before you actually get into learning any techniques. As I mentioned before Muay Thai is very cardio driven, and it also promotes healthy eating.
The combination of the two will keep you very fit and in shape, that’s why you’ll never see an out of shape Muay Thai practitioner. They’re always slim and ripped, or average size for their weight but have toned muscles.
Any martial arts you get into should promote overall wellness, that means a healthy mind, spirit and body. That means consuming no alcohol or drugs because these substances will harm you and have you in an addiction that’s hard to get rid of.
So if you do end up taking Muay Thai have a goal in mind that you’d like to achieve in terms of body weight and muscle gain. If you’re having difficulty with coming up with a plan talk to your coach and he will help you out.
Without goals set you won’t take training seriously, which means you won’t take loosing the weight seriously either. The choice is entirely up to you, it’s either you want to get in shape or not. If you do you have to take things seriously.
How To Do An Arm Triangle Choke
Muay Thai Home Workout
Are Muay Thai and Kickboxing The Same
Although they have similar aspects, Muay Thai and Kickboxing are not the same. One of the difference is Kickboxing uses a 4 point striking system that involves punches and kicks only.
While Muay Thai uses an 8 point striking system which involves the 8 limbs of 2 fists, 2 knees, 2 elbows, and 2 shins.
Another difference is that Kickboxers have better movement that Muay Thai fighters and also better boxing skills. This is because their training places a great emphasis on movement and boxing techniques. A lot of boxers have transitioned well into Kickboxing and vice versa.
Muay Thai fighters are taught to move forward and strike. While Kickboxers are taught to move around and be more fluid like a boxer.
Regardless of whether you choose to train in Kickboxing or Muay Thai, you can rest assure that either of these self defense systems, if used correctly, can protect you in a fight; whether in the ring or on the streets.
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How To Do An Axe Kick
In this article I will go over how to do an axe kick for all you Muay Thai, Taekwondo and Karate practitioners out there. The axe kick is a devastating kick to use. It’s a technique where you raise your leg to the height of your opponent and drive it down on top of his head or shoulder area, similar to an axe chopping wood; hence the name.
In order to utilize this technique, the practitioner needs to be flexible enough to raise their leg high enough to where their heel can down like an axe on their opponents head, face, or shoulder region. These are parts where the heel or foot can inflict the most damage or even a knock out on your opponent. The axe kick is technically difficult kick to perform because you have to be accurate and have good timing in order to execute it.
Muay Thay Stance And Knee Lift
Of course before attempting this move you will have to get into proper stance. Then you want to raise your knee up to your chest level. Bringing your knee up will make this kick get up to the desired height faster. A quick note, if you keep your leg straight the whole time it makes this kick a lot harder to do when your opponent is close.
Seeing how this kick is more of a close-range kick, you wouldn’t want to be too far away from your opponent. That’s why I said earlier that this kick technique is a challenging one where you have to be accurate by measuring your distance.
Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick Tutorial
Straighten Up Your Leg Then Come Down
When you reach the top of your kick (the height of your kick) pull it down on your opponent as hard as you can. Move the whole leg, keeping the knee slightly bent. When your come down, depending on how high you’ve kicked and your target aim, you will come down on the top of his head, face, neck, shoulder or even his chest.
Your aim will be to land the axe kick with your heel, this will give the most lethal blow to your opponent and potentially create an axe kick knockout. You can also land the axe kick with the ball of your foot but this will have less of an impact.
Get Back Into Your Stance
After you’ve landed the axe kick you need to get back into your origins muay thai fighting stance and get your guard back up. This is protect yourself just in case the kick landed but didn’t knock out your opponent you should always be ready to protect yourself and continue the fight. But chances are if you landed that kick correctly your opponent at the very least will be dazed.
Jumping Axe Kick
How To Do The Arm Triangle Choke
Axe Kick Taekwondo
Muay Thai Front Kick
The Muay Thai Front Kick or sometimes referred to as the Muay Thai Push Front Kick (Teep) is the most basic kick you will learn in Muay Thai. The kick can used towards your opponents mid-section, thighs or face to create damage and a bit of distance. In this article I will go through the simple step-by-step instruction on how to do the kick.
Stance and Post Foot Position
First get into your basic Muay Thai fighting stance. Then what you need to do is push up on the balls of your post foot. The reason for this is to help generate power and improve your accuracy when you kick. You want enough power in your kick to help push your opponent back when you make contact.
Left And Bring Up Your Knee
The next step is to lift up and bring your knee to your chest. The higher you bring your knee the more likely you will be able to get pass their defense. Now extend your leg out outward and thrust hip forward. Stay balanced and snap your kick just like you would snap your jab or cross. Then return your foot back to it’s original position. The Muay Thai front kick is not always used to land a fatal blow, it can sometimes be used to set up a strike for something else.
Pivot Your Post Foot
Remember to extend your hips and pivot your post foot slightly. This is where you generate the power and the snap of your front kick. Pivot the same way as you would when doing a roundhouse kick. It’s not just your leg doing the work, it’s your hips too! While doing this your opposite arm stays up to protect your face from getting strike and your same side arm swings down to generate leverage and power behind your Muay Thai front kick.
This is how to do a complete Muay Thai Front Push Kick, and I said earlier you don’t necessarily need to use it as a fatal blow. You can use the front kick like you would your jab or fate the front kick in order to land other strikes. It can be used in many different ways on different body parts of your opponent. One thing I’ll advise is to make sure to focus on the basics of the Muay Thai front kick first before messing around with set ups and fakes. you want to have a good grasp on it before trying other things.
Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick Tutorial
The Muay Thai roundhouse kick is very deadly because it uses the whole body in the same way swinging a bat is used. The roundhouse kick is ultimately a full body motion kick. This kick generates force by weight transfer and connecting to the ground, versus the snapping motion that many other martial arts kicks use. once connected it can really put damage on your opponent, even knock him/her out. it is rarely used in street fights, people don’t want to take that risk of missing, but it is always used in the UFC.
In this article I will go over the basic Muay Thai kick mechanics of this move. It’s fairly simple and all it takes is a bit of practice and timing in order for it to become effective.
Start With Your Stance
The first thing you have to do before executing the Muay Thai roundhouse kick is get into proper stance. In a Muay Thai stance, the feet are generally in the traditional 45-degree angle also seen in Boxing. However, unlike Boxing when in a Muay Thai stance you will standing more in an upright position in order to explode up onto the ball of the foot to throw kicks. Also, unlike boxing, the weight in your stance is distributed more to the rear leg. Additionally, the weight is in the ball of the feet on both the rear and the lead foot, whereas in boxing, the weight is in the ball of the foot only in the rear leg.
The first step is to get into your stance and then push up on the ball of your post foot. Your post foot will be the foot of your rear leg in this stance. Getting on the ball of your foot will also help you generate more hip action when rotating. If you remain flat footed you won’t generate enough power when throwing the kick to have an impact on you opponent.
Muay Thai Stance Before kicking
Pivot Hard With Foot
In essence your post foot (back leg) should be opening up and pivoting to open up your hips when you drive through your kick. As you pivot the lead foot, that heel will rotate towards your opponent. You should slightly bend the front knee of your lead leg because it will enable you to generate more torque and power. This means your kicking hip ends up in a parallel position over the hip of your base leg.
Swing The Same Side Arm Down
You can whip your hand down to your hip in order to gain more speed and generate more power, but do that knowing that you will leave your head exposed, and your opponent can see the opening and hit you with a strike.
Connect With The Roundhouse Kick
When executing the roundhouse kick be sure to connect with the shin right above the foot. Your kicking leg should be straight, for the most part, as you make contact with your opponent. Remember, the leg comes across your opponent like you’re swinging a bat, this is a full body motion move. Once you’ve made contact, bring that leg back the same way you came in, and do it quickly. Leaving your leg out there even for a fraction of a second is another good way to leave yourself vulnerable to a counter and/or take-down. Kick hard and fast, and then move.
Muay Thai Clinch Takedowns
In this training post, I will go over some Muay Thai Clinch Takedowns. The significance of this technique is to create space and distance between you and your opponent. Sweeping or throwing him to the ground from a clinch will do just that. Once you have created this type of distance you can follow up with whatever move you choose.
If you are in a Muay Thai competition a sweep or takedown scores you points. The referee will immediately ask you to back a bit while your opponent gets back up to his feet. Once he is back up you will continue the bout. There are no submissions or ground and pound in Muay Thai. This sport is strictly stand up only.
If you are in a street fight and clinch your assailant, then manage to perform a take-down wrestling or judo style, you will have to know some ground game to hold him down and submit him, or pound on him until he’s subdued. If you choose to sweep or throw your assailant you can either run for safety or follow up with kicks and punches. The choice is really up to you.
Basic MMA Striking Techniques
Muay Thai Sweeps And Throws
In Muay Thai take-downs are known as Sweeps and Throws. Sweeps and throws is where you trip or throw your opponent onto the ground while you remain standing. In Judo and wrestling a take-down is where you flip, toss, or grapple your opponent to the ground and in most cases you go with him; landing on top. These techniques are a crucial part of mixed martial arts in competition and in a real life fight so pay attention.
When facing an opponent and clinching him you have an opportunity create distance from him by sweeping or throwing him to the ground. In order to successfully land sweeps you must have more than one technique in your arsenal of attacks. You learning how to toss your opponent from different positions will be crucial to catching your opponent off-guard.
Here Are 3 Muay Thai Sweeps to Take Someone Down in the Clinch
4 Amazing Muay Thai Sweeps From The Clinch
The Outside Trip Take-down
The outside trip is a very simple take-down best done from a body lock. Remember the body lock is one of the MMA Clinch Techniques that you can use when fighting someone.
Once you have a body lock with both hands firmly gripped around your opponent’s waist, try to change levels so you’re slightly lower than your opponent and dig your shoulder just under his chest.
Next, push forward and snake your leg around his while sagging your hips to that side. While doing this move, it’s very important to squeeze your opponent’s back as hard as you can to apply the most pressure on him as possible.
Muay Thai Clinch Defense
Muay Thai Dumps
A Muay Thai dump is the same as a sweep or throw. A “dump” as it is referred to, is a trip or toss used to get your opponent down to the ground. Most fighters say the easiest dumps are executed from the clinch or from a body lock. While others say a good sweep or dump is easiest after catching a leg kick.
Whatever way you choose to execute it a muay thai dump can put your opponent flat on his ass. In a muay thai competition the referee will intervene and give you a point, but in the streets you can follow up with whatever move you want to further defend yourself.
Below are some of the best muay thai sweeps and dumps highlights:
Muay Thai Clinch Drills
One of the many questions we get from muay thai practitioners is how do they become better or great at muay thai. Our answer is always the same you have to practice all the time. All the time means often. This specifically mean 4 times a week or more at a gym. And on your off days from the gym you have to practice at home shadowing the moves by yourself or with a family member or friend. Be careful not to hurt them always use protective pads and head gear!!!
Shadow boxing out the drills in your bedroom in front of the mirror is really helpful. This is because you are playing the maneuvers out in your mind and in a fight you will be drawing on those memories to effectively do the moves. You always want to practice out the moves or shadow box them out by yourself to keep them fresh in your mind; it will help you out in a real life situation or in competition.
Practice makes close to perfect so below is a video on how to do proper muay thai clinch drills you can watch and practice with.
Muay Thai Clinching Drills Knee and Strikes
Knee Tap Takedown
Before I get into explaining the knee tap take-down I want to premise it by saying that this is more of a wrestling move. Muay Thai experts don’t use this move but i think it’s a badass move to add to your take-down arsenal.
Also, what we try to do here at MMA Active is arm you with all the weapons you can use in competition as well as in the streets. So take heed and practice this move just in case you need to use it.
The knee tap is done from the over-under clinch position. This technique has many steps that must all occur at the same time so pay close attention in order to know how to do it effectively.
Assuming you have an under hook on the right side and an over hook on the left, begin by circling to your right side to force your opponent to step forward with his right leg. Once he’s brought his right leg forward, step in with your right leg 45 degrees across in front of his body. This step is crucial, if done incorrectly, it will ruin the rest of the move.
While stepping in front of your opponent, shot put your right arm in the same direction parallel to your 45-degree step. Your left hand should reach down and lightly grab his right knee.
Muay Thai Clinch Techniques
Muay Thai Clinch Meets MMA Takedowns
This is actually a side note comment for those who follow this site and email questions. We appreciate the love and support from all of you and our mission is to continue to provide you with good mma training content.
We have been getting emails and questions about Grapple Hearts ebook May Thai Meets MMA Takedowns PDF. People want to know what we think of it and do we recommend it at all. on our site we do give reviews on mixed martial arts books/ebooks so I would like to take the time to address it briefly.
I as well as others who have read the ebook think that is a great guide for those who are getting into mma and want to learn the different take-downs from muay thai and mma. This specific post broke down the difference in the two as well. In muay thai a take-down is considered a sweep, trip, or dump. When you initiate these moves you trip your opponent to the ground while you’re still standing.
In mma a take-down can be a trip or a sweep, but also a tackle, toss, flip, or trip. It is not legal in muay thai to tackle or grapple your opponent to the ground. Muay thai doesn’t allow that because it is strictly a stand up sport you can not mount your opponent for a submission or ground and pound him you will lose the match up!
In mma all the aforementioned is a go you can do all of that without consequence. So the Muay Thai Clinch Meets MMA Takedown goes over how to do a basic muay thai clinches and how to execute one basic wrestling takedown. The basic wrestling takedown that is mentioned in the ebook is the High Double Leg with two entry points. The book doesn’t mention anything else. Keep in mind that it’s ONLY 5 pages!
So if you want a real quick basic introduction to 3 different clinches and one wrestling take-down then you can download that ebook. But my advice would be to learn beyond that because it simply isn’t enough information for you to learn from.
Basic MMA Striking Techniques
Today we will go over some Basic MMA Striking Techniques. When it comes to fighting striking is very important. It allows you to break down your opponent so you can win the fight.
I’ve seen many people in a fight break down due to a number of kicks and punches to the body. You’re striking can literally make you opponent crumble if you execute it right and you strike with accuracy.
Let’s face it if you are just throwing kicks and punches but not landing any or just a few you will tire yourself out and also become discouraged because you are not hitting your target.
Your opponent will pick up on that frustration and start to dominate you. So in this lesson please be aware that technique and speed is everything, but also accuracy will allow you to hit your target and chip away at his confidence so you can win the fight.
Striking In MMA
Striking in mma comes from different fighting systems such as boxing, kick boxing, and Muay Thai. The mixed striking systems within mma allows you to choose from a variety of blows to inflict upon your opponent. If used correctly with precision you will be able to outfight your opponent. But keep in mind just because you are a great striker does not mean that you will win every fight.
There are amazing Jiu Jitsu and wrestlers out there that can counter your strikes and close in on you for a take-down. While on the ground if you are not skilled to fend them off they will easily submit or ground and pound you. So it works to your advantage to be well rounded in strikes and also your ground game.
Boxing Techniques For MMA
As I mentioned earlier the striking in MMA lends itself from different martial arts and striking system. A good MMA fighter will practice boxing and draw from that sport to use in an MMA fight.
But there are some mma fighters who are taught to throw a punch and not a jab. There’s a big difference between the two.
Also, you should keep in mind the stances for a boxer is different from an mma fighter. Boxer’s slightly bend at the knees and lean forward a bit. They angle themselves so they are less of a target to hit. Mma fighters stand straight up and have a squared stance. This is because they don’t plan to duck, bob or weave, because if they do they will most likely get kicked in the face. Boxers don’t have to worry about that because they only use their hands.
The most basic striking we’ll go over first is one that everyone starts out with and that is the jab. When it comes to punching an untrained person will throw a punch in a fight and more times than not fracture his hand or throw out his shoulder.
There is the right and wrong way to throw a punch. Throw it the wrong way and you will end up hurting yourself. Throw it the right way and you will you avoid injuring yourself.
The Right Way To Throw A Punch
The jab is thrown with the lead hand. Begin with the knees slightly bent, feet staggered, chin down, and hands raised by the sides of your face (start from this basic fighting position before throwing any punch). Push off your back foot and snap the jab out quickly. The lead foot will slide forward slightly before impact. For maximum power, twist your arm in a corkscrew motion before landing.
Types of MMA Punches
Cross Punch – The cross punch is also called the “straight right hand” (if you’re right-handed), it starts from the face and follows an imaginary straight line directly into the target. To execute this properly you have to drive and pivot from the rear foot, rotating the hips forcefully as your body weight shifts toward the front foot. Now extend your right arm toward the target, snapping your wrist downward. On impact, the palm is down and the knuckles up.
The Hook – The hook can be a devistating strike to your opponent. To execute the hook you have to shift your weight toward the rear leg as you rotate forcefully to that side and pivot inward on the ball of your front foot. At the same time, whip the lead arm toward the target in an L shape (the elbow should be bent about 90 degrees). Turn your hips into the punch. You can angle your hand one of two ways: vertically, so your palm faces you on impact, or horizontally, so the palm faces the floor (as shown).
Uppercut – I love seeing uppercuts in a fight. It’s awesome to see the guys head just snap upwards to the point he’s looking up into the sky lol. The execution for this punch is straight forward.
Shift your weight to the hip on the side of the rear leg. Dip that side’s shoulder as you crouch down a bit. Next, with the palm up and the arm bent 90 degrees, forcefully rotate toward the side of your lead leg and push off the ball of your back foot, driving the punch upward (aim for the chin of your imaginary opponent). On impact, your palm should face your chest.
Basic Elbow Strikes
Muay Thai Elbow Strikes
Elbow strikes in MMA lends itself from Muay Thai. We’ve all seen UFC matches when an opponent gets severely cut from an elbow or knocked out by one. Elbows are very unique weapons that can cut, bruise, and knock out someone if used properly.
Elbows in Muay Thai can give very severe injuries to the opponent as it will be used to attack when opponent is closer distance and the major targets of elbows are generally head facial areas including jaw, temple, neck and so on.
Using elbows is very flexible, you can move or swing your elbow in any direction to attack, both vertically and horizontally but different method will give different impact to the attack. Believe it or not there are actually 8 muay thai elbow strikes a figher has at their disposal:
- Sok Ti (Slashing Elbow)
- Sok Tad (Horizontal Elbow)
- Sok Ngad (Uppercut Elbow)
- Sok Chieng (Diagonal Elbow)
- Sok Sab (Chopping Elbow)
- Sok Tong (Smash Downward Elbow)
- Sok Ku (Double Elbows)
- Sok Klab (Spinning Elbow)
Out of the list there are literally 3 that MMA fighters often use. We won’t get into how to execute all thexe elbow techniques now, but there will definitely be a post on it soon so stay tune.
Knee Striking Techniques
Knee striking techniques are effective for many close range situations. You see it all the time in UFC matches because it is an effective tool to use in the clinch. Although we do see fighters use methods such as the flying knee technique on their opponent.
This is mostly for entertainment because if you try that method out on the streets you are likely to get knocked out cold. When was the last time you seen two people out on the streets fighting and one does a flying knee? It’s just not practical in a street fight. Knee striking is often combined with clinching or holding the attacker so he can not escape and move outside the limited range of the knee strike. Targets for a knee strike include the attacker’s head/chin, ribs, groin, quad muscles, etc
So to execute the knee strike you want to be close enough to clinch or holding your opponent so he can’t escape and move outside the limited range of the knee strike. The different targets for a knee strike include your opponents head/chin, ribs, groin, quad muscles, etc.
Below are the types of knee strikes you can practice doing in your mma gym on a partner:
- Diagonal Knee Strike
- Flying Knee Strike
- Front Knee Strike – This is also known as a vertical knee strike.
- Jumping Knee Strike
- Knee Bomb –
- Knee Drop
- Knee Thrust
- Round Knee Strike
MMA Kick Techniques
The last mma strike technique we’re going to get into is the kick. The kick is effective because it can be used to keep your opponent at a distance (the front kick) or used to break and chop him down (The thigh kick). Just like elbows and knees there are a variety of different kicks you can inflict on someone.
What kick you use all depends on your distance from the opponent and also what you’re trying to accomplish. Also remember that these kicks can be countered. So make sure you set them up properly or your opponent can counter and strike. Setting them up properly means to disguise them with a few other strikes first or with faints.
Below are the lists of kicks you can practice executing:
- Front kick
- Side kick
- Spinning back kick
- Axe kick
- Roundhouse
Muay Thai Clinch Defense
I recently wrote about Muai Thai Clench Techniques in a previous article. That post got a lot of good feedback from many of you now getting into muay thai training. The feedback is much appreciated. And to show our appreciation I’m going to write this article about the muay thai clinch defense. Continue reading