Front or Side?

[Yan]

What are the opinions of martial artists on this board as far as angle attacks are concerned?

In my kickboxing class, ALL of our attacks are from the front, apart from certain special moves (hooks, roundhouses ect)

In thai boxing all attacks are from the side (again, apart from certain moves)

What I want to know is, which is the most effective, which is harder, and is it possible to combine both without getting the bodily equivelant of tongue-tied?

-yani

[nicolo]

what do you mean attacks from the side in thai boxing?

[thiaboxr2]

He's refering to to his stance.

Thia boxers usually face forward giving a larger target area.

Boxers tend to stand more "narrow" giving minimal targets.

Thia boxers really do not stand in a "narrow" stance. This would give the apponent some great targets to kick such as your lead leg, front and back. And your stomach area.

Standing this way will limit you from performing rear uppercuts properly, rear elbows and rear knees. And will also limit your follow through power on your rear kick as well.

As always, each school teaches differently, each student will react differently to each technique. There really is no right or wrong stance. Just that there is a right stance for YOU! If you can transition from a Thia stance into a Kickboxing stance with no difficulty, good for you. If you favor one position over the other. Then stick with it.



:)

[nicolo]

i see...well yan, practice in front of a mirror. Make sure your transitions from one stance to another are smooth. Pace yourself and let your footwork do the talking. Should be fine from there.
Also work on your recovery. Don't simply do a side kick and wobble into the 3/4 stance. Make a smooth and quick transition.

[Yan]

nicolo: it is rare that someone gives such straight and clean cut advice on these boards. I'll remember that, thanks

It is true that I prefer turning and ramming my foot in from the side: attacking at the front can increase distance between you which is good and is easier to balance but side kicks certainly have more power. A thai roundhouse will beat a snap or heel kick any day (in my opinion)

Of course it's all easy when you're against a pad. Hitting a moving object is a very different story, so when you're starting I suppose it's best to exchange power for stability and balance.

[nicolo]

Absolutely, the mirror can be your best friend or your worst critic. If what you see looks wrong, chances are it is wrong. You can also bring a partner in to evaluate as well.

snap/side kicks done from the side are fast, precision
weapons. You can literally pick off targets, ie: side kick to leg, side kick to stomach and hook kick to face in one swift motion. To get the added benefit of power, you should slide/advance forward with your rear supporting leg when doing these kicks. You want to target somwhere behind the opponent. Imagine shoving your leg through him. A well placed kick accompanied with this sliding footwork will send your opponent reeling off his feet. HOWEVER, should you miss, you can jeopardize your defenses. Will it knock an opponent out? You never know and you can never count on a specific reaction to a technique. You just have to keep flowing through the combinations. The thai roundhouse, although perceived as a bit slower than other kicks, is extremely powerful and damaging. They are also relatively easy to execute and are usually less risky than a missed side kick. That is because you are constantly facing your opponent in muay Thai. Thai roundhouses are quickest and hardest to spot at the lowest levels (legs, stomach), which makes for excellent and brutal combinations (punch them high and deliver a hard thai kick to your opponent's legs). These types of kicks can crash through some very tough defenses. Because the Thai kick is not a side technique, you can literally chase your opponent around and fire them at will.
Knowing when and where to use each type is crucial. In my opinion, Thai kicks are best when fighting in a 3/4 or face to face stance with an opponent and side kicks are executed when your body should be turned to its vulnerable areas. Thai round kicks are excellent for damaging your opponent and smashing through his defenses, and side type kicks make good long-range weapons for keeping your opponent at bay, picking off specific targets and recovering from a vulnerable position.

In combination you can have for example:

you execute a thai roundhouse to an opponent, he fades back and attempts to come in, you quickly switch into a side kick to stop his momentum.

Or (very popular in MT), you miss your Thai roundkick and spin all the way around with your other leg for a spinning reverse heel kick (Crocodile Tail Thrash).

A safer and better thrusting type of kick is one in muay Thai called teep. It looks like a front snap kick but instead of a snap motion, it is a push or a thrust and is executed from a facing stance.

[Yan]

Unfortunately we are not trained in missing attacks from the side. The roundhouse is practically the only side attacking kick that we learn which doesn't involve jumping: it is only a very small part of the course, so I suppose they don't see it as worthwhile to teach us how to right a wronged roundhouse (that was a mouthful)

But thanks for the advice anyway.