Muay Thai Kickboxing fundamentals

This is where you learn the foundation of weight distribution, how to transfer weight from one leg to the other and generate momentum. Master this lesson because everything else  builds up on top of it.

Thais like to kick the arms of their opponents as a destructive tactic, to lower their guard, but also to disable their punches. On the other hand, they also prefer to avoid or evade that type of kick, rather than blocking it with arms. In this lesson, you will learn how to evade kicks coming to your arms and also to your head. Remember, Good Muay Thai is  about being fluid.

What's most important in this lesson is to think of weight distribution, which is the foundation for everything, as you learned in Lesson 1.

When doing a Low Kick, the energy of your standing leg is going low, in the floor, and make sure you open your foot to the outside to allow full momentum, and most importantly, to avoid a knee injury. Opening your foot to the outside is crucial. Watch the footage many times and pay attention to my foot, my knee, and how i let go the other leg.

Unlike in Boxing ,  the  Thai left hook, ideally, has little to no rotation in the ankle. Momentum is generated by a forward motion and shoulder rotation, bringing the elbow down and up.

Some will say this leaves you opening for counters, but not if you have mastered measuring with your lead arm, and understand the "minimum 2 principle".

Keep it simple, use momentum from the legs to generate power, and always throw a jab or two first.

Of course, after a right hook, you can also follow up with another  hook (left) and a Low Kick. You should start feeling and practicing how things can flow together, and how every lessons adds up after the other.

Now I highly recommend you stop  at the end of this lesson, and review the previous ones . Practice until full mastery and understanding of the principles, techniques, and  bio-mechanics explained. Trust that a solid foundation will make everything else easier later. You have enough baggage to practice on a bag now. Drill everything separately, drill drill drill. Repetition is the mother of skill and the father of learning. And then  You can do 5 rounds of 3 minutes, bringing together everything you have learned, but focus on proper form, timing, and balance at first, then add some speed and power to build up your power and cardio. And remember,there is no tension in Muay Thai. Be fluid.

Regularly watch Muay Thai matches on Youtube. Pick a role model or two, and mimic them. Full immersion is important when you decide to take up or learn anything in life. Be consistent. I recommend you give it an hour a day, 5 days a week.

Note:  The kicking leg is like a rope(your thigh) attached to an iron bar (your shin bone), it is fluid. You throw the knee (the rope) at the level which you're aiming for, and you let go of that"iron bar" towards the target of choice(ribs, arm,body). This leg doesn't do much. It is the standing leg that is the detonator.

One advice: If you want to good at , abuse the "teep". A good "teep" helps you shut down any opponent by controlling distance and the rhythm of the fight (or sparring at the gym in your case). It also sets up many tricks and strikes if you learn to fake it convincingly.

The secret of elbows:

1-Open hands(no closed fists)

2-Relaxed back/arm pit muscles

3-You generate the strike with your legs (weigh distribution), not by throwing your elbow or your body forward.

The most painful punch in any fight sport. The liver is a target, that if shot at, with a good punch, knee, or kick, can stop any opponent no matter his/her size.

Shadow Boxing is considered a warm up, yet it is the best exercise to improve technique, rhythm, and fluidity. It should be a stable in your training regimen.  15-20 minutes of shadow boxing is a must before bag work, pad work, or sparring. Pros usually go for a run, or they jump rope for 15 minutes, then stretch a little and do shadow boxing before anything else.

Unlike in Boxing where it is often done fast because moving on your legs and i the ring is more accentuated, in Muay Thai, you should pace it and focus on fluidity and rhythm, especially when you kick. It is not a good idea to throw  Thai style kick, with full speed and power, without a target, it can lead to damaging your knees.

Bag training is where you can do all at once. You can go slow to warm up, you can drill a specific sequence, you can sharpen a single strike...

And you can build up power and cardio by mimicking an actual match, by going 5 rounds of 3 minutes, full speed, full power, while maintaining excellent technique, which is the goal and culmination of this course . After every round, you take a 90 seconds break.

Train smart, which means demonstrate skill, don't loose composure in exchange for brute meaningless aggression. Anyone can do that without learning.