Using the Rear Leg
Another difference in Muay Thai’s delivery is that they mostly kick with the rear leg, using basically two ways to fire it off. One is to kick with whichever leg happens to be in the rear at the moment a target presents itself, and the other is to do a quick foot shuffle, moving the front leg to the rear and then launching it into the target. This is a deceptive move and a good way to increase the kick’s power.
The Mechanics of the Kick
Your kicking foot is launched directly from the floor; you don’t lift it into a chambered position before it’s launched as many other styles do, but rather send it from the floor directly to the target. As the kick speeds toward its objective, your support leg straightens until it’s fully stretched and you are on the ball of your foot. Muay Thai fighters believe that straightening the support leg in this fashion helps the kick move faster and more powerfully, and that standing on the ball of the foot, reduces friction and drag on the floor as it rotates up to 180 degrees.
Your same-side arm is used to help accelerate the kick. When kicking with the left leg, for example, whip your left arm down to your left side and slightly behind you. Your right fist is held on-guard near your right ear.
Okay, here is the four-step process at a glance.
1. Assume a high, right leg forward stance.
2. Launch your rear foot off the floor.
3. As the stationary leg straightens and your foot comes up on the ball and rotates, the hip of your kicking leg begins rotating in the same direction, followed by your thigh, and then the whip-like action of your lower leg toward the target.
4. Contact with the target is made with your lower shin as opposed to the top of your foot.
I like this method of roundhouse kicking, though I will never train to rotate my body 360 degrees as Muay Thai kickers do when they practice in the air. This is because it really hurts when a street thug sticks a blade in your exposed back. But I do like the four-step process, and I find that whipping my arm downward as I kick adds to its power. While it’s still hard for me to come up on the ball of my support foot after so many years of being convinced that it’s weak form, so far I haven’t found anything wrong with it, and it does seem to make my kick a little faster.
Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks.
Free Advice:
Since we are on the subject of legs, let me offer you a little advice that may save you from future health problems.
I’m a strong advocate of kicking an opponent’s legs, relating it to chopping down a tree: You hack at the trunk, not at the leaves. The legs are an outstanding target and when specific points are struck, or when any one point is struck several times in a row, the leg will cave in and the attacker will crash to the ground. But, and this a big but, it’s not a good idea to pummel your partner’s legs in practice.
Yes, I know that Muay Thai fighters do it when they train, and there are stories of some who shin-kick steel pipes and trees in an effort to toughen their legs to make them even deadlier weapons, as well as to toughen them to absorb their opponent’s hard kicks. Does this conditioning work? Yes, it does. Is it good for you? No way. It’s potentially crippling in the long run as it damages nerves.
Technique: Roundhouse Kick
Assume an on-guard stance. Step up with your rear leg and whip a lead-leg kick into the target.
Note that the support foot is off the ground and the arm has whipped down to add power to the kick, while the other arm is held high to protect the head.
8. SIDEKICK
Here are three ways that Canadian Instructor Michael Holmes gave me to help develop a fast and powerful sidekick. While your particular method of sidekicking may be different from mine or his, you can still incorporate these universal ideas to improve yours even more.
Slow Motion Kicking
“With the sidekick, technical proficiency is vital,” Holmes says. “A full-length mirror and a way to support yourself, such as a handrail or a wall, is essential. Strength can be acquired by doing slow motion kicking as you support yourself, and the mirror allows evaluation to ensure proper form. If you cannot kick high, kick low with good form, and with practice and strength development, your kick will get higher. Of course stretching will help, too.
“Practice raising your knee as high as possible prior to pushing your leg outward. This means the kicking foot should travel straight upward before it kicks outward to the target. The higher the knee, the higher the kick will be. Practice reps and sets of this lifting phase slowly, too.”
Push with the Toes
I found this little trick to dramatically accelerate the chambering portion of the sidekick. Here is what Holmes says about it.
“Another component to raising the knee, is to push off the floor with the kicking foot when you bring your knee up. To do this, push with the toes of the kicking foot, rather than just lifting or pulling the knee up. The keyword here is push. When your leg is chambered in the correct position, knee high but close to the body, you will be able to throw your strongest kick.”
Thrust with Momentum
Holmes says to put your entire body behind the kick. “The final component to developing strong sidekicks is the thrust from the chambered position. You are trying to thrust your leg in a horizontal line, parallel to the floor. All your body weight should travel in this same line, which is to say you do not bob up and down. The support leg should drive your entire body mass in the direction of the kick. If you perform a sidekick from a fighting stance with the lead leg, the support foot should move forward at least a few inches from the momentum of the kick.
“To get an idea of the thrusting motion required, begin in a traditional horse stance and spring forward with a lead leg sidekick. Regardless of whether you step forward or hop forward, take care to move in a horizontal plane. If you bob up and down, you will minimize your forward momentum because your energy is wasted moving you up and down. Move straight forward into the target for maximum power.”
Michael Holmes thoughts on momentum apply to all techniques that involve a forward thrust. Think of momentum as a straight line of energy to the target. If you allow your head and body to come up and then go back down again when you, say, lunge punch, you break that straight line of energy and you have destroyed your momentum.
Keep your head and body at the same level.
9. FRONT KICK
The muscles you use to execute a front kick get a lot of exercise from your horse stance and any other exercise that involves squatting. Here are three other ways to make this mother of all kicks the pile driver that it should be.
Standing Slow Kicks
You can never go wrong with slow kicks as a way to strengthen the specific muscles that are used for front kicking. Slow kicks hurt and they can be a little boring to do, but they will definitely put power in the thrust. To get the hip muscles involved, the ones that are used in picking your leg up into the chambered position, ensure that you always lift your knee as high as you can when doing slow reps.
Although you should never fully extend your leg when kicking full power, that is, lock out your knee joint, it’s recommended that you do so when practicing slow kicking. This