Attack from the Skies! (diary entry)

21.04.18   My second private lesson this morning brought my client up to the six hour point of his second course in Muay Thai for Martial Arts Cross Training. I make no apologies for my focus on the v-step this week. You will note that I covered this in another client’s current series of lessons concentrating on transitions and general combative movement. The v-step will appear again in yet another client’s Western Boxing course. I will discuss my personal history with this area of footwork and why I love it so much in that particular diary entry.  However, it is probably worth mentioning that my first formal introduction to it came through my Muay Thai training.   We warmed up with some mirror footwork, which built up into v-stepping using punch-kick combinations. The movement was largely used to set up crucial kicks, especially round kicks to the legs. The fighter consistently worked to unbalance the opponent by stepping off the main attack line and striking to the vulnerable leg. We also brought this movement into the clinch, setting up for various knee-strikes and locking off arm positions.   Our advanced technique section focused on two types of jumping knee – lead knee and the rear knee – as well as the monkey climbs the tree smash-down elbow. We used teeps to set these techniques up.   Training finished with a round of sparring.   Photography by Charlotte Von Bulow Quirk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhF6H3AaV6g https://youtu.be/s3XTFR1ihBY