Kicking the forearms is underutilized in MMA

[Dorkman]

Takes a guy/gal who has fast explosive kicks to really use it to it's advantage though. The thais whip those things fast to produce the result as you need to give your opponent as little time to react to positioning in defense as you can and getting them to panic a bit just to get the arms in the way, instead of seeing your kick coming and counter striking/dodging it. Most MMA kickers are too slow to reliably go above the stomach without heavily exposing themselves. But it definitely is effective for those who are able. I remember eating some heavy round house kicks to the arms in TKD. Always sucked.

 

[DatSamboKid]

Great video

Here’s a more competitive example of body kicking being successful against a pressure fighter.
Rottang (blue) vs Petdam (red) is an epic Muay Thai fight, rounds 3 and 4 is a must watch.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

MMA still has a lot of room to grow when it comes to kicking and kicking defense in general.

^ this poster has pointed it out before when people kept breaking their legs throwing calf kicks in the UFC. the level of kicking in MMA is even below their boxing standards, which is why only in the past few years has the calf kick taken off. so has the jab in MMA.

 

[KID Yamamoto]

My thai coach always emphasized on aiming for the forearms when throwing roundhouse kicks. I never really understood how effective it was till I was on the receiving end of them.

In Muay Thai, when someone throws a body kick you can catch, check, counter, dodge or block it. An inexperienced striker will often block a body kick with the elbow/forearm region. An inexperienced kicker can even break his foot landing on an elbow. But the Tibia bone is way bigger and harder than the Radius and the Ulna. Throwing your shin bone full force into your opponent’s arm does damage. You can break an arm pretty easily if landed correctly. I’ve also seen fights where the forearm is so damaged that the fighter has trouble lifting his arm (see video below).

With the calf kick craze going on, I’ve always wondered why we don’t see more fighters aim for the arms. A forearm is like a bitch version of a calf.

Technically speaking, you’re not "aiming" for the forearms. You’re kicking through your opponent, but the kick is targeted at the chest/upper ribs area. It’s an awkward angle, it makes the kick difficult check and catch because it’s high and tricky to dodge cause it’s low. A miscalculated pull back or duck under can lead to a nasty head kick.

Footwork, distance and takedowns make them harder to land in MMA, but I’ve still seen many fights where this kick could’ve been a game changer. It’s very effective for taller fighters and in my opinion, the two best guys to utilize them in MMA is Jones and Adesanya. Honorable mention to Barboza for his nasty switch kick and Darren Till.

See video below for example on how lethal they can be:

MMA still has a lot of room to grow when it comes to kicking and kicking defense in general.

Featherweight prospect Charles Jourdain switched southie and was kicking former Combate champion Rojo's forearm again and again.

 

[Dece]

I agree and I think it's a better option in MMA if you're fighting a grappler. Especially if you're doing the stopping round kick version. It's harder to catch and they won't be able to move forwards. It's possible to catch but then you have to grab under the leg and nobody does that in MMA anyways.

Samkor is also nice, had the oppurtunity to meet him when he was att PTT.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

I think his point makes sense. It is a kick aimed at the very part of the body your opponent will use to try to take you down. Fighters have taken leg kicks then caught one, but harder to catch the kick aimed at your handa and arms then at your legs or head is his point I believe

It doesn’t

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Great post. I thought about this a lot too, recently. Agree fully.

Right? But that's what makes MMA so interesting and unpredictable; there are so many techniques involved, that it's gotten to the point where in various instances, making adjustments for one move, makes you inevitably more vulnerable to another one.

That's true i guess.

I mean it depends, no?

Sure, there's the danger of your kick being caught, but let's say i fight an orthodox opponent and my opponent is southpaw (or vice-versa) and he happens to be the one who wants to take things to the ground, alright?
If my opponent's in range for it, i don't think he'll be too keen trying to catch a rear round kick to the body that is thrown with full force.
Catching kicks that are meant to be precise is one thing, but if you make your opponent respect your kicks the chances of your opponent trying to catch it decrease significantly, wouldn't you agree?

Yeah I hope TS gets a job as a striking coach so he can let the MMA world know how ingenious he is

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Yeah everyone keeps suggesting takedowns. but that is well known to casual fans as well. I thought the poster I commented to would have provided another level of knowledge beyond takedowns. I think my expectations were to much or I should have made them more clear.

You’re weird

 

[DatSamboKid]

Yeah I hope TS gets a job as a striking coach so he can let the MMA world know how ingenious he is

I’ve competed for 5 years at semi-pro level and was an assistant Muay Thai coach at a world class MMA gym.
You sound bitter and angry my friend.

 

[mikesparrow]

My thai coach always emphasized on aiming for the forearms when throwing roundhouse kicks. I never really understood how effective it was till I was on the receiving end of them.

In Muay Thai, when someone throws a body kick you can catch, check, counter, dodge or block it. An inexperienced striker will often block a body kick with the elbow/forearm region. An inexperienced kicker can even break his foot landing on an elbow. But the Tibia bone is way bigger and harder than the Radius and the Ulna. Throwing your shin bone full force into your opponent’s arm does damage. You can break an arm pretty easily if landed correctly. I’ve also seen fights where the forearm is so damaged that the fighter has trouble lifting his arm (see video below).

With the calf kick craze going on, I’ve always wondered why we don’t see more fighters aim for the arms. A forearm is like a bitch version of a calf.

Technically speaking, you’re not "aiming" for the forearms. You’re kicking through your opponent, but the kick is targeted at the chest/upper ribs area. It’s an awkward angle, it makes the kick difficult check and catch because it’s high and tricky to dodge cause it’s low. A miscalculated pull back or duck under can lead to a nasty head kick.

Footwork, distance and takedowns make them harder to land in MMA, but I’ve still seen many fights where this kick could’ve been a game changer. It’s very effective for taller fighters and in my opinion, the two best guys to utilize them in MMA is Jones and Adesanya. Honorable mention to Barboza for his nasty switch kick and Darren Till.

See video below for example on how lethal they can be:

It's because most MMA fighters did not spent many years training the kicks properly and even more importantly, didn't conditioned their shins. It's a very well known tactic against a good boxer. You take out his arm easily..

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

I’ve competed for 5 years at semi-pro level and was an assistant Muay Thai coach at a world class MMA gym.
You sound bitter and angry my friend.

Well that’s pretty cool lol. This just reminds me of BJJ guys I’ve watched fights with, they have all this pro BJJ stuff in their head that they point out in MMA fights, and it’s like yeah that might work for the 5-10 guys in MMA that have elite BJJ, but for 99% of fighters it’s not a good idea to focus on.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

I’ve competed for 5 years at semi-pro level and was an assistant Muay Thai coach at a world class MMA gym.
You sound bitter and angry my friend.

So did anybody that you trained use this strategy in an MMA fight?

 

[mirko>anyone]

I’ve competed for 5 years at semi-pro level and was an assistant Muay Thai coach at a world class MMA gym.
You sound bitter and angry my friend.

You and the other poster called out his “people don’t understand (implying he does)” bit and he had nothing to follow up with other than an obvious basic common knowledge that everyone does know.

 

[DatSamboKid]

So did anybody that you trained use this strategy in an MMA fight?

I only held pads / coached amateur fighters and I haven’t trained anyone to specifically use this strategy in an MMA fight. The technique is way more common in Muay Thai, than MMA, but it’s definitely underutilized. Like some have stated, it does require a fair amount of power, athleticism or experience to be successful with it.

 

[xentreos]

Fuck your Thai coach, you ever kick elbows repeatedly? I'm choosing flesh over Arms any day of the weem

 

[Sticko]

Didn't Tony Ferguson break his arm in R1 against Michael Johnson?

Also what's the difference between blocking a body kick and checking it? I know what checking a calf kick means but how do you check a body kick?

 

[LHWBelt]

My thai coach always emphasized on aiming for the forearms when throwing roundhouse kicks. I never really understood how effective it was till I was on the receiving end of them.

In Muay Thai, when someone throws a body kick you can catch, check, counter, dodge or block it. An inexperienced striker will often block a body kick with the elbow/forearm region. An inexperienced kicker can even break his foot landing on an elbow. But the Tibia bone is way bigger and harder than the Radius and the Ulna. Throwing your shin bone full force into your opponent’s arm does damage. You can break an arm pretty easily if landed correctly. I’ve also seen fights where the forearm is so damaged that the fighter has trouble lifting his arm (see video below).

With the calf kick craze going on, I’ve always wondered why we don’t see more fighters aim for the arms. A forearm is like a bitch version of a calf.

Technically speaking, you’re not "aiming" for the forearms. You’re kicking through your opponent, but the kick is targeted at the chest/upper ribs area. It’s an awkward angle, it makes the kick difficult check and catch because it’s high and tricky to dodge cause it’s low. A miscalculated pull back or duck under can lead to a nasty head kick.

Footwork, distance and takedowns make them harder to land in MMA, but I’ve still seen many fights where this kick could’ve been a game changer. It’s very effective for taller fighters and in my opinion, the two best guys to utilize them in MMA is Jones and Adesanya. Honorable mention to Barboza for his nasty switch kick and Darren Till.

See video below for example on how lethal they can be:

First off mma is different and second if you happen to hit an elbow or something that the same as a checked kick. Shit fucking sucks. I think in general it is underutilized but as mma has the other aspects in it, I dont think it'd be this insanely effective technique.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

You and the other poster called out his “people don’t realize (implying he does know)” bit and he had nothing to follow up with other than an obvious basic common knowledge that everyone does know.

I guess I should’ve worded it differently, but people seem to underestimate the downsides. Everyone is like “what I knew people could get taken down” but they don’t seem to comprehend how terrifying it is to be on your back in an MMA fight. Trying to hurt someone’s arms with kicks is high risk low reward IMO, unless you are a really really high level striker like Izzy

I see people say kicking sucks in MMA and X fighter needs to kick more allll the time and I think people should ask themselves why they don’t see it instead of assuming they have this knowledge that the top fighters in the world don’t have

Jose Aldo is a great example, people have said for years “why doesn’t he throw leg kicks, he needs to throw leg kicks, he would smoke x fighter with leg kicks” I’m not saying I know the specific reasons he started throwing them less, but he’s Jose fuckin Aldo and he is aware of leg kicks, I’m sure there is a reason he is throwing them less, I don’t assume I know some shit he doesn’t lol

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

First off mma is different and second if you happen to hit an elbow or something that the same as a checked kick. Shit fucking sucks. I think in general it is underutilized but as mma has the other aspects in it, I dont think it'd be this insanely effective technique.

It’s underutilized the same way leg locks are underutilized, yes leg locks can be insanely effective if your leg lock game is elite, but you don’t seem them often in MMA because they are really hard to finish, and the downside of being on your back after a failed attempt is a really big deal. If you’re Garry Tobin, or Charles Oliveira maybe they can be useful, for 99.9% of fighters they’re a bad idea

 

[Poatan Power]

it only works on people with melted pudding body type and no muscle mass

Yes, this. Like Couture and Franklin. Dork.

Kicks to the forearms are cool until you get countered or the added time it takes to return the kick gets you taken down, etc.

If you're really good at kickboxing and implementing it in an MMA setting it's a great tool. If you're only kind of good at it, though, kicking waist high and above becomes a huge liability because defending/countering it is much easier than becoming proficient as an offensive MMA striker.