sparring w/ a muy thai guy

[SevenStar]

yeah, the sequence seems screwy. the attacker kicks, the defender catches. the defender then kicks the supporting leg of the attacker while simultaneously grabbing his head in the direction away from the direction he is kicking. It's similar to the principle of shearing.

[SevenStar]

Originally posted by neptunesfall



evade the kick, let it go by, then go for embracing, knee seizing, leading arm kicking...
(i've seen this in many muy thai and american kickboxing matches, the kicker will miss and the momentum will turn his back to the opponent...bad habit from ring fighting i guess)

evade the kick and strike

A fully committed thai kick will cause you to continue to spin around. you can put your kicking foot down, but you will have your back exposed to your opponent. you can attack from here (back kick, etc) but you have no defense from kicks - your kidneys are exposed, which is a no no - as well as the rest of your body. if someone steps in to grapple, you will then be better able to do several throws.

For that reason, they tell you continue the spin as opposed to stopping it. You want to be able to get back to a postition where you are facing your opponent as quickly as you can.

[Dedication]

Muay thai guys really emphasize on leg kicks and round kicks. If they go for the leg kick , try to move away from it, throw some of your own as well. If they like to roundkick the STEP IN to catch or at least jam. If you step in they might throw a cross, but realize since they are already kicking then that cross will have little power.

When they kick, step in disrupt their balance. Muay Thai is basically standing still and trading strikes.........so.......be circular about your movements and you can catch them off guard. Thrust kicks are great because if you look at the muay thai guard, their hands leave the midsection exposed.

[SevenStar]

Originally posted by Dedication
Muay thai guys really emphasize on leg kicks and round kicks. If they go for the leg kick , try to move away from it, throw some of your own as well. If they like to roundkick the STEP IN to catch or at least jam. If you step in they might throw a cross, but realize since they are already kicking then that cross will have little power.

When the punch comes, the foot is on it's way down, as I said earlier. He's not punching while leaning back, but while coming forward. There will be some sting behind the punch. If he gets caught unexpectedly from the jam or catching of the kick, he may still be able to reach out and clinch.

I'd reccomend stepping in over stepping out of the way as by stepping away, you merely create more space between you and him, and now you have to get back inside, which means you have to deal with those kicks more.

When they kick, step in disrupt their balance. Muay Thai is basically standing still and trading strikes.........so.......be circular about your movements and you can catch them off guard. Thrust kicks are great because if you look at the muay thai guard, their hands leave the midsection exposed.

Remember now that alot of muay thai has boxing influence - they do more than just stand and trade blows.

[YungChun]

Originally posted by SevenStar
it describes wing chun to a T, which as we all know, is very gay.

Now that's not nice. I think that's what this guy said to Bruce.

http://www.ermac.org/Mediaz/BruceLeeFlash.swf

[OneStrike]

"My point is to step in! When someone does a round kick the target distance is critical - more so IMO than even other kicks, which are sensitive anyway. In order for the RK to work the defender must not change distance more than about 7-10 inches closer or more distant."

Yeah, that's one way to do it, I guess. Personally I think it's a fairly low percentage move, and you're more likely to avoid the kick by moving back. Although it leaves you with less options for the counter, it also means less chance of misjudging the distance and getting KTFO. You can also try to hammer the back of their leg if they come all the way past.

Stop kicks are great, if you can get the timing right. They're commonly used in Muay Thai, too...My instructor has a way of nailing you with a front kick to the thigh when you're kicking with the rear leg that makes you think twice about throwing leg kicks cold.

I think it takes a *lot* of practice to get the stop kick working as a high percentage move against a full power round kick, though. If you're just a little to late you'll end up with your leg being forced back into you and you'll land on your backside, which is unpleasant in sparring and seriously bad news on the street. You have to time it just right. It takes less time to get used to shin blocking, but then you're going to have to condition your shins which takes time...So it all evens out, I guess.

It's also important to remember that a lot of the time kickboxers/muay thai guys are extremely comfortable with manipulating movement and setting up their techniques - so rather than just standing there and kicking at you when you approach, they'll clinch and knee, then push you away/let you move back and whack you on the leg/body as you move through the right range, or hit you with boxing combinations and again catch you as you circle away out of hand range.

It really, really sucks to all of a sudden find yourself circling into a MT round kick.

[Sharky]

http://www.ermac.org/Mediaz/BruceLeeFlash.swf

whoever made that is a fucking genius.

[SevenStar]

Originally posted by OneStrike

Yeah, that's one way to do it, I guess. Personally I think it's a fairly low percentage move, and you're more likely to avoid the kick by moving back. Although it leaves you with less options for the counter, it also means less chance of misjudging the distance and getting KTFO. You can also try to hammer the back of their leg if they come all the way past.

Stop kicks are great, if you can get the timing right. They're commonly used in Muay Thai, too...My instructor has a way of nailing you with a front kick to the thigh when you're kicking with the rear leg that makes you think twice about throwing leg kicks cold.

it's not low %. if you step in the power of the kick is reduced. That is the nature of an arcing kick. even if you don't break their balance, you will receive less damage from the kick - but you will be there to recieve their punches, knees and elbows. Those can be dealt with though. moving back does get you out of the way, but puts you at no advantage, unless you intend on running away.

I think it takes a *lot* of practice to get the stop kick working as a high percentage move against a full power round kick, though. If you're just a little to late you'll end up with your leg being forced back into you and you'll land on your backside, which is unpleasant in sparring and seriously bad news on the street. You have to time it just right. It takes less time to get used to shin blocking, but then you're going to have to condition your shins which takes time...So it all evens out, I guess.

That's the very reason I'd rather step in or shin block.

[OneStrike]

"it's not low %. if you step in the power of the kick is reduced. That is the nature of an arcing kick. even if you don't break their balance, you will receive less damage from the kick - but you will be there to recieve their punches, knees and elbows. Those can be dealt with though. moving back does get you out of the way, but puts you at no advantage, unless you intend on running away."

Yeah, I think that's true if you get your timing right. The difficulty with doing that, though, in my experience is when the kick comes at the end of a combination, or is a counter to your own technique, etc. Often the kick's going to come as you're moving out, and in that case it takes longer to reverse direction and come back in than it does to speed up and get back out the way. Also, the chance of running headlong into the hand that's following the kick worries me, as you suggest. I guess it's just a difference in strategy between fighting more cautiously and more aggressively.

I totally agree about making it harder to follow up on, and I did point that out in my post.

"That's the very reason I'd rather step in or shin block."

I think checking with the shin is the perfect answer too - I wasn't sure how CMA guys feel about it though.