kicking reach

[muayThaiPerson]

hello fellow MAist,

When my opponents kick me, i get kicked by their shin. The People who hold pads for me say i evade quickly and my attacks are strong but when I spar, my kicks to the opponents leg seem to be by my foot instead of my shin. Can you guys tip me on how to kick with my shin sucessfully and avoid getting hit?

Thanks:asian:

 

[Deathtrap101]

stay close enough to hit with the shin. Im a karate practitioner but ive tried some shin kicks on my bag and im just trying them out because i find it defficult to hit with the foot when your in too close, so im trying to add the shin kick to my arsenal.

 

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by muayThaiPerson

hello fellow MAist,

When my opponents kick me, i get kicked by their shin. The People who hold pads for me say i evade quickly and my attacks are strong but when I spar, my kicks to the opponents leg seem to be by my foot instead of my shin. Can you guys tip me on how to kick with my shin sucessfully and avoid getting hit?

Thanks:asian:

Footwork. Footwork can make your timing and distance judging a lot easier. How long have you been training in muay thai?

 

[Angus]

Yep, if you're hitting with your ankle/foot/instep, you're way too far. Shin kicks have much less distance, and even more so since you aren't supposed to lock out the legs.

Footwork is EVERYTHING in MA, regardless of the MA, in my opinion. Slide/shuffle in, kick, and get out. That's usually one of the first footwork application drills I've seen done in MT schools.

 

[muayThaiPerson]

Footwork. Footwork can make your timing and distance judging a lot easier. How long have you been training in muay thai?

ive been there for 3 months and like any other MA, its very fast paced and ive seen results

 

[sweeper]

maybe your problem is how you use it, the mauy thai round kick isn't simply a kick to be thrown out there without fore thought, you gota use it in combination or you have to have realy good timming. either intercept them when they step in or mix it up with a hand combo. Realy you can throw the shin kick fine from a long boxing range, I would suggest either a jab/cross(as feint) rear round kick, jab/cross/rear round kick or jab/cross/hook(as feint) lead round kick (slide the rear leg up on the cross and than just do a little step on the hook to set up your lead leg). if you can put them on the deffencive and take a step it's alot easyer to hit.

if you want to intercept maybe a thrust kick round kick combo would help, use the thrust deffencivly, and sorta hop off the support leg as the thrusting leg hits the ground and pivot the hips for the kick, I think some people call this a switch kick?? not sure on that, but basicly if you cna't land it on it's own you have to let it team up.

 

[muayThaiPerson]

I find kicking with combinations easy, but it takes a little too much energy. We have to go 3+ rounds, which is very tiresome. i needed to pace myself. and i hear people talk about timing a lot, its very hard to have precise timing. im looking into grappling, which requires less if no timing.

 

[Angus]

Later when you've trained yourself for more endurance, you'll find that for success combinations are necessary to winning a fight because you can cause WAY more damage than just randomly tagging a guy with a kick and running away. My rule is generally never go on the offensive if I don't plan on using multiple kicks and/or punches. Combinations are absolutely necessary, you just haven't developed enough stamina and endurance yet.

It's hard to have precise timing, but that's why you're training. You can't expect to be great after 3 months. It will take years to develop all your skills, tools, and timing. Just keep at it.

By the way, in grappling, timing is still VERY important, just like anything else. Maybe more so. For example, if your opponent is trying to put a lock on you and you don't counter it quick enough, you're gone. By the time it gets to a certain point, you can't counter the lock, and you're gone, all because you didn't time your counter correctly or quick enough.