Over the last two blocks of 10 lessons, we narrowed the focus to elbow strikes. We covered the main elbow methods found in Muay Thai, then used mixed martial arts training ideas to test them against movement, clinch pressure, grips, and resistance. Then we came back to karate. More specifically, we came back to naihanchi.

My client from Cotswold Karate School has been taking several months of Muay Thai cross-training lessons. The aim has not been to replace karate with kickboxing. The aim has been to use kickboxing and Muay Thai as attribute training, so certain ideas already present in karate can become more alive under pressure.

This morning saw the fourth lesson of my Karate teacher client's Martial Arts Teacher Training course on elbow strikes in Muay Thai. My mandate is to teach him how elbow strikes are used in Thai Boxing and also how they might contribute towards his karate teaching.