Muay Thai for Cross Training (diary entry)

25.06.14

This is my client’s first lesson in Muay Thai and Kickboxing for martial artscross-training. We began with some basic footwork agility drills he had already learnt during the boxing course. Then we built on them. There are certain fundamental differences between the stance of a western boxer and Thai boxer. The western boxing stance tends to be much wider and is more side on than the Thai stance.  I also introduced the Thai shin block into these footwork movements.

We then looked at the Thai round or turning kick. This kick was introduced in a rough form during my client’s Self-Defence course. Here he learnt how to deliver it from the Thai stance and then integrated into the Boxing combinations. It is very important to blend kicks with punches early on rather than to isolate them. Kicks are inherently slower and compromise a fighter’s balance considerably once one is thrown. However, if executed correctly, their sheer weight makes them a very powerful weapon. They should be thrown as the punch leaves its target in a type of seesaw motion.  

The lesson finished with a few solo exercises designed to develop form, speed and power.

Photograph by Charlotte Von Bulow-Quirk Photography. Copyright Charlotte Von Bulow-Quirk/Jamie Clubb. No unauthorized use of this picture permitted. This is part of a series to be selected for Jamie Clubb's upcoming book, "Mordred's Victory" published by Ex-L-Ence Publishing

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