all posts post new thread

Kettlebell Torque, power, Muay Thai and Kettlebells

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
kodo kb said:
Full contact twists are awesome.

Watch Walter Dorey's series on them. Here's the first:
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, forgot about those. Paul Chek (ex -Gracie trainer) recommends them for fighters. They look like they would do the business.

Also I've saw HW champ A Joshua mimicking a punching motion on a cable machine. It it's a special machine that is not connected to weights but rather applies force against your push then goes limp when you stop so you don't get pulled back/risk injury.

Lots of options anyway.
 
Hey guys, just offering my two cents on the matter.

Generating power in Muay Thai is a complex technical mix of factors and of course there is no substitute for volume and practise on the basic strikes (more volume than you would believe) especially with a good pad holder and a lot of time spent on the heavy bag. Sport specific training aside, the main driving forces behind strikes, in particular kicks and knees are core rotation and hip extension. A good roundhouse kick is a blend of both whereas a long knee or front kick involves mainly hip extension (hip hyper-extension to be exact). To be clear, the rotational aspect of a strike (including punches and elbows in this instance) is less of a twist and more of a full body rotation, that is hips and shoulders working together.

With that in mind, any movement that involves bracing the midsection, especially the antirotation forces involved in a one armed swing, as well as those promoting powerful hips extension such as one or two handed swings will have great carryover towards strikes in Muay Thai.

In short, there is no substitute for repetition of technique, on pads and on the bag, but as a supplement to technical training a schedule like S&S is ideal. If it's not going to flatten you and mess with your recovery adding a moderate number of close grip push-ups (or plyo push-up) as well as chin-ups will take care of a good amount of your strength and conditioning needs for Muay Thai.
 
Sean Wright said:
Hey guys, just offering my two cents on the matter.

Generating power in Muay Thai is a complex technical mix of factors and of course there is no substitute for volume and practise on the basic strikes (more volume than you would believe) especially with a good pad holder and a lot of time spent on the heavy bag. Sport specific training aside, the main driving forces behind strikes, in particular kicks and knees are core rotation and hip extension. A good roundhouse kick is a blend of both whereas a long knee or front kick involves mainly hip extension (hip hyper-extension to be exact). To be clear, the rotational aspect of a strike (including punches and elbows in this instance) is less of a twist and more of a full body rotation, that is hips and shoulders working together.

With that in mind, any movement that involves bracing the midsection, especially the antirotation forces involved in a one armed swing, as well as those promoting powerful hips extension such as one or two handed swings will have great carryover towards strikes in Muay Thai.

In short, there is no substitute for repetition of technique, on pads and on the bag, but as a supplement to technical training a schedule like S&S is ideal. If it's not going to flatten you and mess with your recovery adding a moderate number of close grip push-ups (or plyo push-up) as well as chin-ups will take care of a good amount of your strength and conditioning needs for Muay Thai.
Click to expand...

Sean,

Your post is timely. Thanks. First, I think we can all take S&S as basically helping everything as a given. Beyond that, based on some recent one on one time with my instructor and as you have mentioned, I have made the common beginner mistake of misunderstanding how much relaxation of the striking leg and foot pivot/vertical rotation is more important than leg and contralateral power. Everyone at the gym tries too hard to kick hard on the bag. Heavy bag work is great but ego can get in the way of hitting hard at the expense of good form in solo work.

Other factors such as improving the foot pivot through repetition of the task is a better use of my time. I can deep squat and hold it while goblet squat prying so I don't think hips are the main problem.

However, I will keep up the tall kneeling slasher as it provides a nice hip flexor and bracing exercise as well as ab work maybe more important for knee strikes and clinching than the kicks I assumed it would be good for.

Lack of pivot on my supporting foot is the primary problem. I have a history of breaking my ankle/tow on my left foot twice while playing competitive soccer in my youth so I think I need to reactivate fused muscles there by spending more time barefoot. My left kick is better. I tried beat crawls and my toes are way too tight.

To be clear, I am middle-aged and doing MT for fitness not to fight, but I am finding great value in learning the biomechanics principles which carry into other physical skills and strongfirst principles and vice versa. This trainer is better on insisting on breathing right compared to a previous trainer I had.
 
Content is not related to thread. User has been warned.
Defenses in Muay Thai are categorized into six groups:

  • Blocking – defender's hard blocks to stop a strike in its path so preventing it reaching its target (e.g. the shin block described in more detail below)
  • Redirection – defender's soft parries to change the direction of a strike (e.g. a downwards tap to a jab) so that it misses the target
  • Avoidance – moving a body part out of the way or range of a strike so the defender remains in range for a counter-strike. For example, the defender moves their front leg backward to avoid the attacker's low kick, then immediately counters with a roundhouse kick. Or the defender might lay their head back from the attacker's high roundhouse kick then counter-attack with a sidekick.
  • Evasion – moving the body out of the way or range of a strike so the defender has to move close again to counter-attack, e.g. defender jumping laterally or back from attacker's kicks
  • Disruption – Pre-empting an attack e.g. with defender using disruptive techniques like jab, foot-thrust or low roundhouse kick, generally called a "leg kick"(to the outside or inside of the attacker's front leg, just above the knee) as the attacker attempts to close distance
  • Anticipation – Defender catching a strike (e.g. catching a roundhouse kick to the body) or countering it before it lands (e.g. defender's low kick to the supporting leg below as the attacker initiates a high roundhouse kick).
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom