switch kick when southpaw?

[shs101]

As a southpaw I recently started working on my switch kick (lead leg to body) and started messing around with sparring and it just doesnt feel that beneficial when sparring people opposite stance as me.....or maybe it is? What do you guys think? Also if you know of any thai/kick boxers that are southpaw and throw the switch kick thatd be great to watch in action.
Thank you

 

[DoctorTaco]

Aim for the liver with this kick and set it up or follow it up with a cross

 

[MTScrub]

He's a southpaw... so off the switch he's kicking with his right leg and can't hit the liver....

As a southpaw myself, the spacing and positioning versus an orthodox fighter makes kicking with the lead leg odd for me too.

I prefer using my left kick to the inside of my opponents' lead leg and to their body.

 

[SummerStriker]

Try throwing it a little higher and hitting their forearm directly. If the let you hit the bicep and lower their forearm to catch the kick, just expect it and be ready to stamp down. A couple thrown against the lead arm can really affect how they feel about things.

 

[Eric Bradach]

Kind of off topic but I'm orthodox and have always switched to southpaw on occasion. However I started to realize all I really throw when I switch to southpaw is hard left kicks, 1 2's, or the cross hood cross. I never use my right leg when southpaw, so recently I've been working on throwing a switch kick opposite stance and it's weird as fuck.

 

[FaceEraser]

I'm a southpaw and I have success with a 1-2-lead leg kick to the head, especially if the person backs straight up from the 1-2. I usually step with the cross to load up the lead leg kick rather than throwing the 1-2, resetting, and then "switching" my feet before the kick.

 

[DoctorTaco]

He's a southpaw... so off the switch he's kicking with his right leg and can't hit the liver....

As a southpaw myself, the spacing and positioning versus an orthodox fighter makes kicking with the lead leg odd for me too.

I prefer using my left kick to the inside of my opponents' lead leg and to their body.

Oh yeah, I was picturing it backwards.

 

[roventu]

After Barboza's fight, ive been trying more switch kicks as southpaw. but I don't think its really as effective a tool in southpaw/orthodox matchup as it was in orthodox/orthodox (same stance) matchups.

First off in southpaw vs orthodox, the body is already opened towards your rear left roundhouse. In orthodox vs orthodox, the body is more open towards the lead switchkick (which is why barboza hammered felder with it).

So why perform the switch kick as southpaw if the left roundhouse is more powerful and has more targets?

-the outside low kick or calf kick on the lead leg is a nice tool, but it is not a power shot. i use it a lot to just keep my opponent there, if he tries to move away hook his knee with your instep lol but its really just a nuisance than anything
-you can try stepping to your left as you throw a downwards chopping switch kick to thigh (Hoost style), but you're stepping towards their power side


anyone else have success with switch kicks as southpaw (or lead kicks in general, other than the teep which is great as southpaw)? I'm not sure its effective when going to the body or head, because of the close angle you're usually kicking more upwards into their elbow (but im also not as flexible on that kick)

 

[wallysparx]

anyone else have success with switch kicks as southpaw (or lead kicks in general, other than the teep which is great as southpaw)? I'm not sure its effective when going to the body or head, because of the close angle you're usually kicking more upwards into their elbow (but im also not as flexible on that kick)

A combination I like practicing is a jab up top, left straight to the body, followed by the right kick to the head. But my main use for the switch is throwing it at the orthodox opponent's lead leg as a setup for a left straight.

 

[roventu]

A combination I like practicing is a jab up top, left straight to the body, followed by the right kick to the head. But my main use for the switch is throwing it at the orthodox opponent's lead leg as a setup for a left straight.

Yeah I love the jab into cross to body, usually just try to clinch into knee after that. i definitely do it more with my left roundhouse, do you think the right roundhouse is more successful to the head?

yeah a quick outside leg kick is nice to freeze them on the spot, for a cross or jab. I also do a outside lowkick fake into jab (sorta like a superman jab, something GSP occasionally did), which is really the only combination i work off the low outside kick. I still think its more of a nuisance kick, annoy them, it keeps your lead foot on the outside of theirs (what Condit did to diaz numerously, and it swept him a lot only bc Diaz has a very bladed stance)

 

[cshireman4]

Jab, Cross, Switch Kick
Jab, Cross, Lead Hook, Cross, Switch Kick or a little fancier...
Jab, Rear (Left) Inside Low Kick, Left Cross, Switch Kick

If you can gain their respect with the left hand, your opponent will start circling away from it. For me, that always makes the switch kick to the body more of a crushing blow w/o over committing to it. Balance, footwork, timing & distance are all crucial in finding any kind of consistent success with it IMO.

 

[Pope Leo VII]

Being a south paw and all...

Let the left kick open up opportunities for your right kick.

Tiger walk into it..

Move Ive been working on lately is faking the left kick. Keeping leg on the ground, Hands up, turn the leg over. Then right into a switch kick.

Throwing the switch kick, and returning to a orthodox stance.. firing the 2 then rifling off a leg kick.

 

[Fire of Youth]

One of the southpaws I train with does this cool little lateral shift when he switches to take him slightly outside the line of your lead leg. He can then throw the kick from a better, safer angle and then either bounce back out at an angle or come forward from the kick into a flanking punching combo.

 

[Tug]

One of the southpaws I train with does this cool little lateral shift when he switches to take him slightly outside the line of your lead leg. He can then throw the kick from a better, safer angle and then either bounce back out at an angle or come forward from the kick into a flanking punching combo.

omg, trying this out

 

[AndyMaBobs]

So I'm resurrecting this thread because I use a switch kick all the time, and I'm southpaw. It serves a different purpose to the traditional switch kick because the liver isn't targeted.

You'll notice that most people have their lead arm slightly more extended than their rear arm. You want to use the switch kick to aim under their rear arm, use it as a shepherding tool to lead your opponent into your southpaw body kick.

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

There's a slick step in sweep you can do as a southpaw v orthodox.

You can set it up by doing a small switch and kicking the outside of their lead ( left ) leg.

Once you get them to check whenever you switch, you can do a teep - hop, get your right foot on the outside of their leg, lean foreword while getting close, lean back to finish the sweep.

It's VERY hard to explain on here with pictures, you see it done in muay thai pretty often.

You can also switch up the lead switch kick with a lead teep.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Much like the jab in orthodox vs. southpaw matchups, the lead leg kick is going to be generally less useful but still not as useless as some might have you believe. You just have to use it differently. It's not going to carry the same power that you'd get in a same stance matchup because you're just not going to be throwing it as far into the body, but it can be really useful as a setup and distraction tool. One of the main ways I use my lead leg against southpaws (I'm orthodox) is to throw quick pendulum kicks to the outside of the calf with the intention of using the beat mostly to get a good outside angle from which to throw a cross or rear roundhouse (or knee, depends on the spacing). I also think the if you can get good at timing the teep when your opponent takes on outside angle (essentially giving you the inside angle, if you recognize the situation and pivot) you can knock him flat on his ass since ideally you'll catch him with his feet square. Another nice use for the teep in opposite stance is that once you've established it you can pull the leg up feinting it and step to the outside as you put the foot down once again getting a nice angle. Saenchai does this a lot and it gives him some really clean looks.

 

[Paradigm]

Kind of off topic but I'm orthodox and have always switched to southpaw on occasion. However I started to realize all I really throw when I switch to southpaw is hard left kicks, 1 2's, or the cross hood cross. I never use my right leg when southpaw, so recently I've been working on throwing a switch kick opposite stance and it's weird as fuck.

This is pretty much me...I tried throwing a switch kick from southpaw the other night and it IS weird as fuck. Then again, it's probably because I haven't trained it very much at all and it's like being a beginner at something in MT again.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

This is pretty much me...I tried throwing a switch kick from southpaw the other night and it IS weird as fuck. Then again, it's probably because I haven't trained it very much at all and it's like being a beginner at something in MT again.

I started off as an orthodox because I wanted the strong hand in front, I can't exactly remember why I made the decision to change. I was kinda lucky though that I learned a switch kick as orthodox and didn't have to re-learn it to much. So when I started making the step smaller in the switch I just started doing it both sides - I don't switch hit quite as much as I used to but it's useful to have!

 

[Leagon]

I saw Tenshin Nasukawa set his lead body kick up with a double jab and I've been obsessed with it's simplicity and effectiveness ever since. He does it around 34 seconds into this video.