Coming from TKD, I started in Muay Thai last week... and I got a blast!!! Woooooohaaah! Awesome! Things are kinda new to me... they taught me the basic blocks, but I'm kinda old and have poor memory. So how do you do the blocks in Muay Thai? Is there a site with short videos demonstrating the basics?
The basic blocks: Len Muay Taad Mala Taad Mala Kwai Raise your knee to block an incoming kick (Don't know the Thai name) & Parrying I have some photos of these techniques online somewhere. I'll look for them later.
thanks kru! would you happen to have graphic illustrations of each? i was taught 9 basic blocks. is there only one kind of muay thai? or are there different kinds depending on which region it is at?
I only have a couple of photos available.... LEN MUAY (playing with your hair): Place the "heel" of your palm on your forehead above your eyebrow on the same side. The elbow of the blocking arm should be directly in front of your eye. When viewed from the front, one whole side of your face should be obscured from view. This block is used to defend against straight line attacks such as the Jab & Cross
TAAD MALA (Place a flower behind your ear): The palm of your hand covers your ear on the same side, and your fingers curl around the back of your neck. The elbow is kept tight to the side of your head so that your elbow actually covers your eye on the same side. This block is used to defend against circular attacks such as round kicks and hooks
TAAD MALA KWAI (place a flower behind your opposite ear): Cover your opposite ear with the back of your hand. The elbow should be in front of the face. This block is often used in conjunction with an extended arm, though not always. This block has a wide variety of uses, for instance as your defense when performing a spinning attack, and also as an elbow counter attack as you parry a strike.