The Switch-Kick (diary entry)

30.06.20 Tonight my client arrived at the fifth hour of his second MMA course. He chose to take a break from ground and pound work to look technique detail on the switch-kick. We broke down different elements from this technique by isolating them and using them elsewhere before reintegrating them back into the switch-kick. This process began with the low lead round kick. Here we identified issues like pointing the toes and and balance. We performed a simple balancing combination exercise where the teep is executed and the round kick is followed up without putting the foot down. I examined the importance of raising the heel, which is already in place for a lead kick due to the nature of a typical Muay Thai stance. Next we looked at the Saenchi shuffle to overload the switch part of the switch-kick. This tactic taken from the legendary nak muay himself involves scissoring the feet three times before throwing a technique or combination immediately afterwards. We used the rear spear knee and lead horizontal elbow. Finally, we trained the switch-kick. The switch-kick derives its power from the momentum created by the opposing rear leg. This leg drives forward past the lead leg momentarily and the lead leg immediately follows through with the kick. It is important to note that the hips remain square on the target and this isn't just a stance change; rather it is a type of shuffle. The lesson finished with two Dutch influenced combinations that utilise the switch kick. I built them up into long combinations including a counter.