Muay thai footwork

[bowlie]

So, I use boxing footwork mostly, even while doing TKD, although im slightly slower / less agile on my feet than some. Muay thai footwork seems completely different though. Instead of moving in and out of range quickly, trying to take angles e.c.t. it seems like thai fighters just square up and throw strikes. That bouncy thing they do with their front leg to help checking / throwing kicks seems to limit movement alot. Im not sure how my footwork should look in muay thai

 

[Wolveswithkeys]

What's your question/topic here?

 

[bowlie]

Im not sure how to move in muay thai. Just watching fights, there tends to be significantly less movement than in boxing and my boxing footwork doesnt seem to be particulary applicable.

 

[MarxP]

Well I don't train in Muay Thai, but to me it looks like thai fighters use aggressive footwork mainly to put guys in position for round kicks or clinch up. I also don't train in boxing anymore, but its footwork is more about in and out movement and angling to land or avoid punches and that's probably why you're uncomfortable using it in a muay thai setting.

Just ask your coach what you should be doing.

 

[Tecks]

Im not sure how to move in muay thai. Just watching fights, there tends to be significantly less movement than in boxing and my boxing footwork doesnt seem to be particulary applicable.

yes, it is an entirely different style of fighting.
Just like if you were a baseball player, and then went to throwing footballs. They both involve throwing something, but have different techniques and reasons for those techniques.

Like the guy above me said, get a coach to show you how to move.

 

[a guy]

The thing about Muay Thai is all the kicks really neutralize movement. That on top of the scoring of punches makes boxing footwork a little less practical in that rule set. That isn't to say there is no footwork in Muay Thai, there are plenty of ways to counter and set up kicks that involve footwork. But there's less overall movement in general because it isn't all that practical and can be taken advantage of. If you leap in and out too much, you can get teeped on your ass. If you circle too much, you walk into round kicks.

 

[bowlie]

The thing about Muay Thai is all the kicks really neutralize movement. That on top of the scoring of punches makes boxing footwork a little less practical in that rule set. That isn't to say there is no footwork in Muay Thai, there are plenty of ways to counter and set up kicks that involve footwork. But there's less overall movement in general because it isn't all that practical and can be taken advantage of. If you leap in and out too much, you can get teeped on your ass. If you circle too much, you walk into round kicks.

This is what I was thinking. Its interesting, because it never occured to me before I trained. I mean I watched videos, but never noticed it. Why is the same not true in MMA? I guess because of takedowns, but muay thai does still have clinch work. Maybe the gloves are part of it. In muay thai its easier to block / parry due to the gloves. In MMA you need to evade more? Most muay thai footwork seems to be sliding into clinch range.

 

[a guy]

This is what I was thinking. Its interesting, because it never occured to me before I trained. I mean I watched videos, but never noticed it. Why is the same not true in MMA? I guess because of takedowns, but muay thai does still have clinch work. Maybe the gloves are part of it. In muay thai its easier to block / parry due to the gloves. In MMA you need to evade more? Most muay thai footwork seems to be sliding into clinch range.

Takedowns and punches. With smaller gloves and the fact that punches are valued much more by MMA judges, kicks immediately become less important because they aren't the only way to score points and it becomes easier to hurt people with punches since it's easier to land clean shots. Add in the fact that every wrestler ever now drills catching kicks for hours, and the fact that it's very difficult to box or wrestle out of a "muay thai stance" and the movement becomes much more valuable again.

The fact is, unless it's a high kick, you're extremely unlikely to end a fight with one kick. Especially when you compare that probability to the chance of you ending up on your ass under a wrestler for the next 5 minutes after throwing 1 kick. It's just a really punishing environment for kickers, which means the main method of cutting off movement is taken away. That isn't to say you can't still use kicks to cut people off in MMA cause it happens all the time, you just can't do it to the point where you take away the value of their movement.

 

[Vinzr]

I see muay thai as more of a game of trading hits. You stand your ground and return when you're hit

 

[Harukaze]

I see muay thai as more of a game of trading hits. You stand your ground and return when you're hit

Don't believe the stereotype; break out of the shell of ignorance. Too many mistakenly believe that MT is a game of attrition -- that's a very facile, uneducated point of view.

Just look at a guy's post higher up in this thread for an example of an educated answer.

 

[NAKMUAY18]

The foot work is just very subtle, they is lots of movement but it's tiny movements.
The hopping/foot tapping is a tool, it's not a stance. A few guys fight with the weight fully on the rear foot, front foot tapping all the time but not many. Most guy rock their weight, front foot, back foot, front foot, back foot, not 100% standing on one leg, but maybe 70:30. That's the reason they look like they're dancing, they are shifting their weight. As they shift their weight, they shuffle.

As you shift your weight back it frees up your lead check, switch kick, lead knee, jab, as you move. As you shift your weight forward, your rear kick, rear knee, rear cross are all free.
The foot tapping is part of the game to land your own strikes. If you start to load up your front leg or start moving to your left, I might shift my weight back and start tapping my lead leg to show you "if you kick I'm checking that!" You could be just out of range and I tap to warn you off bull rushing in unless you want a teep. I can load up the lead leg and threaten a right kick, you check, I punch instead.
Subtle stuff. Easiest way to start is think, weight to the rear I can attack/defend with lead weapons, weight at the front means rear weapons.

 

[SummerStriker]

My impression is that it is more difficult in Muay Thai to land a power shot than it is to clinch after a miss or to throw a power shot as a counter.

Both men are often trying to bait a kick they can check or counter. The bait makes the movement smaller. The powerful counter grounds you. It is played this way because rings are small and you have to hit to win.

If MT became a self defense art and you got points in the sport for making shots miss or taking less damage, people would move around more.

When I spar with strong MT people, my style of rarely trading and avoiding being hit often causes me to give up the middle of the ring, and some times I have no choice but to attack to keep from being cornered, which is hard.

 

[Harukaze]

The foot work is just very subtle, they is lots of movement but it's tiny movements.
The hopping/foot tapping is a tool, it's not a stance. A few guys fight with the weight fully on the rear foot, front foot tapping all the time but not many. Most guy rock their weight, front foot, back foot, front foot, back foot, not 100% standing on one leg, but maybe 70:30. That's the reason they look like they're dancing, they are shifting their weight. As they shift their weight, they shuffle.

As you shift your weight back it frees up your lead check, switch kick, lead knee, jab, as you move. As you shift your weight forward, your rear kick, rear knee, rear cross are all free.
The foot tapping is part of the game to land your own strikes. If you start to load up your front leg or start moving to your left, I might shift my weight back and start tapping my lead leg to show you "if you kick I'm checking that!" You could be just out of range and I tap to warn you off bull rushing in unless you want a teep. I can load up the lead leg and threaten a right kick, you check, I punch instead.
Subtle stuff. Easiest way to start is think, weight to the rear I can attack/defend with lead weapons, weight at the front means rear weapons.

Quoting this for truth.

 

[bowlie]

Wow, this site is a bunch of pussies.

Over at http://www.martialartsplanet.com, we have a real forum. Not this retarded bjj rolling on the floor or slow Muay Thai. We train lethal arts of Karate, Ninjitsu, and TKD. Some of our members even learn the old Chinese forms.

You think you could ever beat anyone on our forum? You guys are pathetic. Probably train once a week while you drink beer and watch football.

what even is this? I cant tell if its trolling or advertising, becasue its so shit at both.

 

[DMT]

I see muay thai as more of a game of trading hits. You stand your ground and return when you're hit

Some fighters take that approach. I personally prefer watching the more evasive fighters like Saenchai and Lerdsila.

 

[bowlie]

Cheers guys, some interesting responses. To save starting another thread, might as well ask here. How often should a beginner spar? Ive trained in standup arts for a few years, but never spared much, so i consider myself a beginner. Ive started sparring once a week, but i always feel a bit shitty for a few days after. Almost like im slightly hung over, despite trying to go light and take it easy. I presume this is just a natural response to getting punched in the head, and nothing to worry about, but part of me is worried about brain damage. I was just wondering if it would be healthier to spar less often, so like if i feel fine after sparring, then go next week, but if i feel a bit beat up leave it till the week after so that my head always has at least a full week to recover? Or am i just speaking bollocks?

 

[cakemuncher]

I think how static or dynamic you are also depends on your opponent. If he is much taller than you, i.e. with longer reach, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to just stand there and trade, you will need to be much more dynamic in that case.

 

[Snubnoze707]

If you want to see great footwork in Muay Thai look up Sam-A and Saenchai.

Kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan is also worth looking at as he maintains an upright Muay Thai stance but utilizes a lot of Boxing footwork tactics.

 

[Heikki Mustola]

what even is this? I cant tell if its trolling or advertising, becasue its so shit at both.

Trolling I think, you cant even say any curse word in that forum. I like that forum, but I have no idea why anyone would advertise it as a place for tough guys. Lot's of peaceful talk there, talks of religion and philosophy too. That guy is just trolling

 

[Yodsanan]

I see muay thai as more of a game of trading hits. You stand your ground and return when you're hit

The top dogs in the sport aren