Muay Thai roundhouse - bent or straight upon contact?

[Hatake88]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

 

[j123]

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

Holy shit...how would i get a personal with this guy? Or is that not a thing he does between his seminars?

 

[shincheckin]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

what he showed you is a straight kick. think of it as a straight punch vs a hook. They both have their time and place.

 

[j123]

Holy shit...how would i get a personal with this guy? Or is that not a thing he does between his seminars?

It doesn't cost a dime, he's big on being poor

 

[Hatake88]

That wasn't the kick I was talking about lol. The variation I am talking about is just like the traditional roundhouse but lands at a different angle/has less rotation.

 

[Hatake88]

what he showed you is a straight kick. think of it as a straight punch vs a hook. They both have their time and place.

Interesting. Can you please elaborate on what the time and place for each is?

I'm guessing the more traditional variation (the one where you rotate 180 degrees) is more useful for power and the thai coach's version is better for speed?

 

[j123]

Interesting. Can you please elaborate on what the time and place for each is?

I'm guessing the more traditional variation (the one where you rotate 180 degrees) is more useful for power and the thai coach's version is better for speed?

I was just fucking with you

the reason why they teach "straight leg" in most MT places is so you get the motion of the "swing" through. Lots of guys myself included at the time, had a habit of stopping at contact instead of through. Envisioning with a straight leg helped to cut through like a blade. Bent leg, for the most part with most people end up stopping at contact which is bad

 

[Hatake88]

I was just fucking with you

the reason why they teach "straight leg" in most MT places is so you get the motion of the "swing" through. Lots of guys myself included at the time, had a habit of stopping at contact instead of through. Envisioning with a straight leg helped to cut through like a blade. Bent leg, for the most part with most people end up stopping at contact which is bad

Hmmm...i find there's less rotation with the straighter leg though.

I noticed that when kicking with a straight leg, the sound generated is more of a 'slapping' sound and the motion is more like a whip. In comparison, the more traditional variation is like a hammer.

The straight leg version also gives you slightly bit more range than the traditional version. Are they two versions of the same kick ?

P.S. Here is what I meant by straight leg (although my coach said the kick should also have a bit more diagonally upward slant)...

 

[spacetime]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

I think that's the traditional MT roundhouse variation. Let me dig up a thing and you tell me if it's the same kick

 

[spacetime]

Scroll down here... (file is too large)
http://muaythaipros.com/kickingboxing-vs-muay-thai-different/

"The Legendary Samart shows how a traditional Thai kick is done. Notice there is NO bending of the the knee like in the above example. The leg comes off the ground already very much already stiff."

 

[Hatake88]

Scroll down here... (file is too large)
http://muaythaipros.com/kickingboxing-vs-muay-thai-different/

"The Legendary Samart shows how a traditional Thai kick is done. Notice there is NO bending of the the knee like in the above example. The leg comes off the ground already very much already stiff."

yup that is exactly what I'm talking about.

do you know what the pros and cons of each approach are?

also interesting differences in the low kicks - I don't understand what the advantage of the MT version is (crunching in/forward rather than slanting the body outside of the centre line)

 

[spacetime]

yup that is exactly what I'm talking about.

do you know what the pros and cons of each approach are?

also interesting differences in the low kicks - I don't understand what thedvantage of the MT version is (crunching in/forward rather than slanting the body outside of the centre line)

The traditional Thai roundhouse is not as telegraphed, but less powerful.

 

[aerius]

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

There are as many ways of kicking in Muay Thai as there are of punching in boxing. The way you were originally taught sounds like a hybrid of a what we in the West think of as a Thai style roundhouse with a bit of TKD influence in the bent leg. The kick starts with an outward path then comes in horizontally on the target. Nothing wrong with the kick, it works just fine, and in fact there's a lot of Thais that throw their kicks that way.

The kick that your trainer is teaching is a bit faster, a lot harder to track, and better at sneaking in under the arms. Since the kick is going straight up and then diagonally into the body, you can sneak the kick into the gap between his elbows & his body to hit him in the ribs whereas your normal kick will end up going into his forearms or elbows from the outside. The shorter & tighter path of the kick also makes it harder to track in the same way that a nice tight hook is harder to see than a wide haymaker.

Both techniques have their uses. Throw the kick your normal way a few times and your opponent will probably start moving his guard away from his body to block it. When he does that you'll have an opening to sneak your trainer's style of kicks under the arms.

 

[ironkhan57]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

Yeah i trained with a thai instructor that was from thailand, and a french instructor who travels to thailand every year, i've never heard of anyone in muay thau bending the leg upon impact, both of the muay thai instructors taught me to keep the leg as straight as possible.

 

[spacetime]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

Didn't your Thai instructor teach you both variants? They say any MT instructor worth his salt would.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Hi guys

When doing the roundhouse, I was always taught to keep my leg bent at the point of contact. However, a trainer I did PTs with in Thailand insisted there was value in keeping the leg somewhat straight upon contact. When doing his version the kick, he will also tell me that 'a little hip is ok' - so that the the shin will land at a 45 degree angle (cutting diagonally up towards the ribs) rather than horizontally.

Has anyone here done the roundhouse as my thailand coach instructed? If so, what is the value in kicking like this in comparison to kicking horizontally through the pads?

Thanks!
Nick

EDIT: just to clarify, this question is re: the kicking leg. unless you are doing a low kick, the supporting leg should always be straight imo

First point. Ignore eveything Spacetime says.

Second point -

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. There is a version of the round kick where you have your knee bent on contact and your shin comes across the midsection of your opponent and forces them back too. Otherwise the rest is just fluff really, it doesn't hugely matter whether you keep your kicking leg straight or not. My kick is fairly straight but that's just me.

The way I teach people to kick is to 'trace' the body so you kick upwards and then turn in. The arc is much narrower and it makes the kick quicker.

I just finished this article on it: https://www.dieselgym.co.uk/the-importance-of-fighting-like-a-chicken-how-to-kick-diesel-breakdown/

 

[NAKMUAY18]

First point. Ignore eveything Spacetime says.

Second point -

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. There is a version of the round kick where you have your knee bent on contact and your shin comes across the midsection of your opponent and forces them back too. Otherwise the rest is just fluff really, it doesn't hugely matter whether you keep your kicking leg straight or not. My kick is fairly straight but that's just me.

The way I teach people to kick is to 'trace' the body so you kick upwards and then turn in. The arc is much narrower and it makes the kick quicker.

I just finished this article on it: https://www.dieselgym.co.uk/the-importance-of-fighting-like-a-chicken-how-to-kick-diesel-breakdown/

Perfect.
Look no further

Is that Kem slipping the last kick?

 

[William Huggins]

First point. Ignore eveything Spacetime says.

Second point -

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. There is a version of the round kick where you have your knee bent on contact and your shin comes across the midsection of your opponent and forces them back too. Otherwise the rest is just fluff really, it doesn't hugely matter whether you keep your kicking leg straight or not. My kick is fairly straight but that's just me.

The way I teach people to kick is to 'trace' the body so you kick upwards and then turn in. The arc is much narrower and it makes the kick quicker.

I just finished this article on it: https://www.dieselgym.co.uk/the-importance-of-fighting-like-a-chicken-how-to-kick-diesel-breakdown/

Young Andy at the pikey camp Vs Random Cock......

 

[aerius]

Yeah i trained with a thai instructor that was from thailand, and a french instructor who travels to thailand every year, i've never heard of anyone in muay thau bending the leg upon impact, both of the muay thai instructors taught me to keep the leg as straight as possible.

Would you like to tell Nong-O that he's doing it wrong?