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Hey guys, I'm at it again. This is my most recent guide on strategies to deal with southpaws. Alternatively you can view it as how to fight if you are a southpaw.
Hope you guys find it beneficiary.
Southpaws: A Cheat Sheet To Defeat The Elite
If you train for any length of time, eventually the day will come when you face a southpaw.
They’re a confusing breed of creature; everything they throw seems so backward to you. Not only that, but they’re entirely used to fighting orthodox fighters like you. They’ve got far more experience dealing with you, than you have dealing with them.
So how do you beat a southpaw?
Allow me to betray all my fellow southpaws by giving away our secrets. The way to fight a southpaw is far easier than some folks make it out to be. Everything that a southpaw does to you, you can do right back to them.
There is a lot to touch on, but for now let’s get to a central concept: the location of the liver.
Liver Logistics
The liver is the most important organ to understand in an open guard (southpaw vs. orthodox) match-up.
The liver sits underneath your right pectoral, just below your rib cage. Strikes to it can be absolutely debilitating — some say even deadly.
The southpaw can target your liver very easily with a powerful left kick to the body. The downside is that if the southpaw wants to hit the liver with a punch, they need to pivot outside and throw long hooks to the body.
On the other hand, if an orthodox fighter wishes to strike the same region, he can do it more or less the same way as he would against an orthodox fighter, albeit from a more awkward angle.
Remember the liver.
Fluid Footwork
The first thing to understand about fighting in the open guard is understanding the footwork.
You will often be advised to circle away from your opponent’s lead hand. In an open guard match, this means that the orthodox fighter needs to circle in the direction opposite of his normal movement. This prevents his opponent from circling headlong into the southpaw’s left hand and left body kick.
Stepping outside of the opponent’s lead leg to throw a rear straight is the best way to counter your opponents jab. When you step to the outside, you set in motion two actions:
Knowing when to step to the power side or step straight forward is mandatory for winning a fight in open guard. If you constantly step towards a southpaw’s right side, eventually he’ll use the opportunity to slam your spleen with switch kicks. Alternatively, he’ll let you step outside his lead foot and use that inside angle to land a lead hook.
(TL) Kaew Fairtex takes a deep step past his opponent’s lead leg and into his blind side. (TR) This angle is only available in open stance match ups. (BL) He uses this moment to catch his opponent with a left kick as they turn. (BR) He then resets ready to exchange again.
Alternate Angles
Let’s elaborate on the inside angle. When a southpaw is looking to land a lead hook and wants to take an angle to do so, he has two ways of going about it:
When your opponent steps outside your lead foot in punching range, he will always give up a potential inside angle to do so. This means that if you time it right, you can step straight in with a hook or jab.
In the rest of the article I go over southpaw jabs, teeps and frames!
Full article can be found here:
http://www.muay-thai-guy.com/dismantle-the-sneaky-southpaw.html
Hope you guys find it beneficiary.
Southpaws: A Cheat Sheet To Defeat The Elite
If you train for any length of time, eventually the day will come when you face a southpaw.
They’re a confusing breed of creature; everything they throw seems so backward to you. Not only that, but they’re entirely used to fighting orthodox fighters like you. They’ve got far more experience dealing with you, than you have dealing with them.
So how do you beat a southpaw?
Allow me to betray all my fellow southpaws by giving away our secrets. The way to fight a southpaw is far easier than some folks make it out to be. Everything that a southpaw does to you, you can do right back to them.
There is a lot to touch on, but for now let’s get to a central concept: the location of the liver.
Liver Logistics
The liver is the most important organ to understand in an open guard (southpaw vs. orthodox) match-up.
The liver sits underneath your right pectoral, just below your rib cage. Strikes to it can be absolutely debilitating — some say even deadly.
The southpaw can target your liver very easily with a powerful left kick to the body. The downside is that if the southpaw wants to hit the liver with a punch, they need to pivot outside and throw long hooks to the body.
On the other hand, if an orthodox fighter wishes to strike the same region, he can do it more or less the same way as he would against an orthodox fighter, albeit from a more awkward angle.
Remember the liver.
Fluid Footwork
The first thing to understand about fighting in the open guard is understanding the footwork.
You will often be advised to circle away from your opponent’s lead hand. In an open guard match, this means that the orthodox fighter needs to circle in the direction opposite of his normal movement. This prevents his opponent from circling headlong into the southpaw’s left hand and left body kick.
Stepping outside of the opponent’s lead leg to throw a rear straight is the best way to counter your opponents jab. When you step to the outside, you set in motion two actions:
- You bring your rear shoulder directly in front of your opponent’s face
- It shortens the path that the hand needs to take in order to find the chin
Knowing when to step to the power side or step straight forward is mandatory for winning a fight in open guard. If you constantly step towards a southpaw’s right side, eventually he’ll use the opportunity to slam your spleen with switch kicks. Alternatively, he’ll let you step outside his lead foot and use that inside angle to land a lead hook.
(TL) Kaew Fairtex takes a deep step past his opponent’s lead leg and into his blind side. (TR) This angle is only available in open stance match ups. (BL) He uses this moment to catch his opponent with a left kick as they turn. (BR) He then resets ready to exchange again.
Alternate Angles
Let’s elaborate on the inside angle. When a southpaw is looking to land a lead hook and wants to take an angle to do so, he has two ways of going about it:
- Take an outside angle, pivot around, and throw a hook from the opponent’s blind spot
- Step inside the opponent’s lead foot
When your opponent steps outside your lead foot in punching range, he will always give up a potential inside angle to do so. This means that if you time it right, you can step straight in with a hook or jab.
______________________________________
In the rest of the article I go over southpaw jabs, teeps and frames!
Full article can be found here:
http://www.muay-thai-guy.com/dismantle-the-sneaky-southpaw.html
