Muay Thai: body punches?

[zokce]

So I've been training like 3 months at a Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Rural gym. I often get one on one sessions with my coach when the stable goes home. Cool ass dude. Refuses my money. So I buy shit for the gym.

Anyways, when we spar, I try to throw body shots but he nearly always catches me head when I come in. He also told me to never stay in the body shot position too long or I'll catch a knee or kick to the head. He told me (well... showed me. He doesn't speak English and I don't speak Thai.) to get in and out quick.

Any tips for body punches in Muay Thai? I'm tired of always getting tagged when going in.

 

[ARIZE]

Body punches in MT is not a basic technique for a reason. It's very hard to pull of, very dangerous, and in my opinion rarely worth the reward.

Specially if you're "goin in" from the kicking range, he has all the time to see you.

You may want to throw body shoots after some head punches, making him shield up minimizing his vision

As he said, be quick about it.

Don't be too low for the strike.

Don't stay in throwing combos.

Understand that you're wide open for elbow counters if you stay high, knee counters if you go low.

For body shoots you're probably in a range for him to clinch, giving him an huge advantage.


Anyway my personal opinion is not to focus to much on body punches, specially as a beginner. In MT, I consider them an advance technique, and not one with great success. I wouldn't try to build my game around it...

 

[AndyMaBobs]

You want to put body punches at the end of combinations or when you're against the ropes, you'll probably find it hard to land otherwise because the distance is usually a bit much. You wanna close the gap to land body punches and most importantly aim for the chest.

Everyone and their mum seems to think that you've got to punch them around the belly, fire a right straight or left straight down their guard and into their solar plexus. That's the sort of body shot that you wanna use. If you look at Joanna Champion, Holly Holm and other kick heavy fighters thats the sort of body shot that they use.

If you're going for hooks to the body you want to throw your jab and straight first and shift a bit closer to the opponent on each punch, then dig to the body. Look up Ernesto Hoost and Pornsaneh for a pure muay thai example.

 

[shincheckin]

you dont change levels like you do in boxing. Everything is relative though, there are alot of DONTS in muay thai, you see guys in MMA and Dutck Kickboxers pull off.

 

[aerius]

Everyone and their mum seems to think that you've got to punch them around the belly, fire a right straight or left straight down their guard and into their solar plexus. That's the sort of body shot that you wanna use. If you look at Joanna Champion, Holly Holm and other kick heavy fighters thats the sort of body shot that they use.

I think context matters, Joanna throws the rear straight to the body from open stance since it's not something an opponent can duck under or run through for a takedown, and her goal in MMA is to stay standing and keep hitting. She throws front kicks to the body for the same reason, it's difficult for an opponent to get a takedown off of them. Plus there's few fighters in MMA who know how to counter those body punches, pretty much everyone from Joanna's opponents up to Daniel Cormier just ends up eating them and taking damage.

In Muay Thai, the dynamic changes. While there's still sweeps & throws to deal with, no one's going to double-leg you for throwing a body kick at them. Which is why round kicks and knees are the preferred tools for attacking the body, with teeps/front kicks being a good alternate depending on the fighter. And fighters have ways of taking your head off or otherwise defending or countering long straight body punches, higher risk, same or less reward than a good ole' round kick to the body.

 

[freaky]

Fake high go low. It's hard to go straight for the body from the outside. You'll be eating knees all day going in.

Only time I go for the body is when they have a high guard and I'm already in punching range.

 

[Universal Kombat]

I know this is a meme fighter to bring up, but Buakaw has a very good left hook to the body.

Notice how he doesn't lean in or bend over, and he disgusises it as a left hook to the head.



Jose Aldo does a much shittier version of this. But the key is not to hunch down like a boxer or you'll eat a knee or be put in a clinch