kicking form

recall fight stance. thai kicks rely heavily on hip movement, swiveling your entire body with your kick and fully extending your kicking leg, driving with your shin into your opponent for a body shot and your shin/foot towards your opponent’s head for a head strike.

your arm by the leg that you are striking with should swing to promote momentum with your leg; your other arm should remain by your face and chin for protection from strikes. seek to pivot with your planted leg for added force and direction.

NEVER throw a naked kick unless you really know what you’re doing (fakes, feints, setups, etc.). always follow up with a punch, elbow, knee, second kick, or some other movement. naked kicks tend to leave you exposed as you return back to normal stance, so keep your guard up in these situations if you do throw one.

rear vs. lead kicks

the rear kick is thrown by the rear leg in your fighting stance (right leg for orthodox, left leg for southpaw). it is a singular motion drive towards the opponent.

the lead kick is thrown by the lead leg (left leg for orthodox, right leg for southpaw). you will need to momentarily switch your fighting stance in order to throw your lead kick. there are three ways to do this according to circumstance:

1. step lead foot back. this works when your opponent is advancing on you and you must temporarily retreat before striking.
2. step rear foot forward. this works when your opponent is backing away from you and you are advancing your own offense via the kick.
3. shuffle switch stance. if you and your opponent are of equal footing and are not seeking ground to gain, like if you are both close to one another, quickly shuffle your lead foot backwards then kick. this is the most space-efficient and can be done very fast.

teeps

a “teep” is a type of straight-forward kick that you can use to create distance and separation between you and your opponent. unlike a regular kick, you don’t need to switch stance to teep.

keep your supporting foot planted on the ground while, with your other leg, you first bring your knee to your chest, then kick it directly outward foot first. keep at least one hand by your face for defense from counters.

drills

the following are drills that are done in groups (specified by *) or can be done solo.

one-sided kick ladder

like the leg version of the strike ladder in boxing, but working just one leg. gradually perform kicks in succession on a given leg (rear or lead), starting at one kick for the first “set,” advancing to two kicks for the second, etc. see below:

1
1 2
1 2 3
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 5
1
1 2… etc.

perform 10 kicks on the given leg in rapid succession at the end of the drill for endurance.

when working with your lead leg, switch your stance only once per “set” (so if you’re doing 3 kicks, you only switch stance before the first kick, then perform the 3 in a row—NOT switching stance for all 3 kicks).

kick 10s

somewhat similar to the one-sided kick ladder. perform kicks on a given leg in groups of 10, then switch off and do the same amount on the different leg. continue back and forth while incrementing by 10 kicks per leg. (so round 1 is 10 kicks per side, round 2 is 20 kicks, etc… up until 50-60). if working with a partner, swap off who holds the mitts and who kicks after each round.