From TKD to Muay Thai

Discussion in 'Thai Boxing' started by Grasshopper, Jul 18, 2003.

  1. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper New Member

    I've had about 2 years of TKD training and have been inactive for about 4. I'd really like to take up MT.

    From TKD, I have it ingrained in my head to always use a strong chamber with any kick, and always return to chamber before lowering my foot. I understand that (most?) muay thai kicks seem to be "deadlegged" (they have little or no chamber to them.)

    My question is this: How much trouble do you think I will have changing this habit, and how much trouble will it cause me in MT untill I do change?

    Thanks for any input you can give.

    Also, I'd just like to say that I'm really looking forward to being able to throw some knees and elbows!
     
  2. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper New Member

    Another question:

    In all of the MT that I've seen, it seems that MT fighters drop their hands and put their arms out to their sides when kicking (especially the roundhouse type kicks.) They seem to do this to create more power from the swinging/twisting motion, but wouldn't this leave the head open for attack? Is this bad form on the part of the fighters I've seen, or is this proper MT style? Can anyone help explain this to me?

    Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to find out all I can about MT before jumping in!
     
  3. nicolo

    nicolo Valued Member

    simple! STOP CHAMBERING YOUR KICKS!!! JUST WHIP IT man...use your hips to power the kicks. The power isn't gonna come from the snap of your leg.
    You know how to swing a bat right? Take a slight step forward, your HIPS, TRUNK twist and then the arms follow, and then the bat comes...whoosh...all the way around.
    Same thing, kick thru your opponent.


    The arm on the side of the kicking leg drops for several reasons...one being the fact that it's a natural reaction. The power of the kick will naturally cause you to drop that arm or swing it out to maintain balance and add more thrust to the power of the kick. You'll see that in knees too.
    Ever kicked a soccer ball? Ya step forward and smack the ball up and away with your rear leg. But what happens to your arm on the side of the kicking leg? It naturally swings back and away. So it's not really a bad habit for Thai boxers to do that. You can always post your arm out in front for better coverage against counterattacks because yes, you can get hit. Sometimes the swinging arm is used to smother counterattacks or smother the other guy's face.
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2003
  4. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper New Member

    Thanks for the info. It makes sense that when swinging your leg like that you would drop your arm. I just stood up and tried it (very sloppily) a few times, and you're right: when i kick like that and try to keep both hands up in front of my face I seem to get less thrust behind the kick than when I let my arm swing back.

    It just seems wrong to let my guard down like that... :)
     
  5. Khun Kao

    Khun Kao Valued Member

    A couple of things to bear in mind:

    1. You may be wondering about how you will come back to your basic fighting stance after throwing a dead-legged style kick. The trick is that if you kick CORRECTLY, there is a natural "rebound" effect that occurs when your kick makes contact with its target. You literally "bounce" back into position. If you do not feel your leg "bouncing" off of its target, then you are not kicking correctly.

    EXPLANATION: You lean you upper body away from the kicking leg and pivot on your support foot to develop centripedal force. That is where the power of the MT roundhouse kick comes from. NOT leg power!!! When the kicking leg makes contact with its target, the leg actually stops, BUT THE HIP DOES NOT!!!! The HIP and SUPPORT LEG continue their rotation. This is what causes you to "bounce" back into position.

    2. The "swinging" of the arms that you note *should* be more than a simple method of generating motion and keeping your balance. A *PROPER* Muay Thai roundhouse kick guard consists of the Guard Arm and Swing Arm. The Guard Arm is the arm on the same side of your body as your support leg. The Swing Arm is the arm on the same side as you are kicking from. When you kick, the Guard Arm SHOULD come up into a tight guard position, with the elbow in to protect the body, the shoulder up to protect the jaw, and the hand up to protect your face. The Swing Arm has MULTIPLE functions. YES, it serves to help generate momentum and a faster pivot. It also serves as a counter balance. But it is also used to protect you, and to disrupt your opponent. A common tactic is to "STIFF ARM" your opponent as you kick. You stick your Swing Arm right into your opponents face so that he is unable to see exactly what you're up to, or where your kicking target is.

    Khun Kao
     
  6. nicolo

    nicolo Valued Member

    yuppers...grasshopper for example, you can palm the guy's face with your right glove, push his head off to the right side and slam him in the ribs with a right half-knee, half-shin round kick. You're basically taking the swinging motion of your arm and pushing his head along with it....and wherever his head goes, his body goes...in this case, right into your kick.

    Or you can sweep his guard away and kick.

    Yeah khunkao is right about the bounce back effect. In a lot of cases, you're literally shoving the guy away with the thai kick. This feeling is very evident when you're doing a half-knee, half-shin kick. Your body and hips turn so much, you literally plant the shin into him and shove him away...hard. To the opponent it should as if he'd been rear-ended by a car.
     
  7. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper New Member

    Sounds like fun... BTW, what is a half-knee, half-shin kick?
     
  8. nicolo

    nicolo Valued Member

    Grasshopper,

    Oh it's when ur closer than usual to your opponent that you fire a thai kick with your leg bent so that it's almost 90 degrees. Think of it as a knee/roundhouse kick. You drive with your hips and shove your leg into your opponent. It sort of resembles a horizontal knee but not quite.
     

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