My front kick resulted in my leg getting caught and me getting knocked the fuck out. I need help to improve because I like to use it to pressure or create distance. The guys I fight always catch or counter strike.
Don't put all of your hip into it. It's quicker and even if it does get caught it's pretty easy to recover it if your hip isn't all the way into it. Watch Rory MacDonald's recent fights get a couple examples of it in action.
If it's getting caught, make sure the retraction is just as violent as the kick. And if it does get caught get even more violent about bringing it back in. And ya, agree with Tug. I hate the way MT teaches kicking, where you throw your hands down. I much prefer to keep a boxing stance throughout kicking... just in case. I realize MT has built in defense as well, but it's not good enough for my tastes.
in my MT gym we're taught to protect the standing side chin, and even to cross your kicking side arm diagonally across their shoulder, so you lose some power at the expense of better defense depending on range and reach. i guess there's no perfect solution, but flapping your arms about with your static head directly on your opponents centre line like the guy in that gif is probably not best practice edit: this is for a low kick btw
Um, I don't think it's intrinsic to MT to drop your hands. At most I've seen dropping the same side hand in a swinging motion similar to a roundkick, while keeping the other up. Regardless, it sounds like your are either doing the kick too slow or are doing something to give away that the kick is coming, if it is getting caught all the time. In general, it is most effective as a stopper, when the opponent is coming in. If you are using it to set up a combination, rather than as a distance controller, you need to make the opponent focus on your hands first. If it is happening because you throw it a lot, start to mix in feints and tricks. For the lead teep, I will change height of the kick, switch to a superman, switch to a brazilian style head kick, fake into a step in knee ect to keep the opponent guessing.
Slam your elbows together when you kick that'll give you a straight punch defence. No hook will reach. Disguise the front kick with a fake punch. Faint between front kick and punch to create some hesitancy in their reaction. Also switch between front kick to body or face, this also inhibits their respective defence as if they commit to a body counter their face is open.
You should always be feinting the teep, that will open up possibilities plus he won't know when it's really coming
you're right, many thai fighters swing their same-side arm down with a roundhouse, but never on a front kick. the arm swing is for counterbalance, which is not really needed for front kick, but if you do become imbalanced, you will usually lean your upperbody back instead of your arm. if your kick does get caught, try to kick off before they have a good hold on it. it's usually pretty hard to catch fast teeps unless you're consciously attempting to. but if theyre preemptively dropping their hands to catch, fake a front kick into a headkick (lead front kick fake, knee hop, rear roundhouse) also fake a jab before a front kick (if they guard high, then attack low), and if they dont react, just step into a double jab lol
Lol. When I was first beginning, a major part of my game was playing with that algorithm. I think I posted a thread a few years back just talking about that. I'm glad it works for other people too.
