Thai kicks 101



Is that a teep kang at 0:51?

That heavy thrust kick Yod threw with his right, almost with a lunge.
 
That looked to be teep trong to me. See with the teep you can shoot forward with it, or hop forward with it, or you can stand and kick. In any case it's a straight thrust. The teep kang or side thrust is almost identical except the lateral positioning of the foot and the higher degree of rotation of the hip.

It's not a common kick in sport muay Thai because the standard teep trong generally does the job. I use them more often then the average nak muay because I have a strong prior background using them with TKD and TCMA. In fact, I used it this weekend at the gym...the kid redirected my teep and to my inside but before he countered I rotated and turned it into a side kick as he moved in to punch.

Sooo I guess there's another application for it!
 
What I call a "cut" kick is something different. A cut kick to me is a low stepping-in kick chops into the standing leg as a counter to a high kick.

Go ahead and add something to the thread though...do a write up on some of the other kicks that I may have missed, because I just put in the ones that are commonly used by modern standards.
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I was under the impression that a cut kick was more of a quick/ leg kick, thrown from a bit closer than a normal round kick, that went upwards at a 45
 
Connoisseur said:
I was under the impression that a cut kick was more of a quick/ leg kick, thrown from a bit closer than a normal round kick, that went upwards at a 45
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^ Very true. It sounds like our definitions are quite similar.

Also, with the cut kick, I think the kind of leg kicks you see in K-1 are mainly cut kicks. Less of an arcing round kick like Thiago Alves, and more of an upward + diagonal angle. I think it has to do with the "straight line is always the fastest way" principle.

BTW, mods- STICKY THIS! I see no reason why this shouldn't be right up there with the magical jabs thread.
 
This is a great thread. Very educational, thanks for posting. I wish we could have more threads like this that discuss the actual technical aspects of various striking systems vs. most of the pissing contests we see on here.
 
Connoisseur said:
^ Very true. It sounds like our definitions are quite similar.

Also, with the cut kick, I think the kind of leg kicks you see in K-1 are mainly cut kicks. Less of an arcing round kick like Thiago Alves, and more of an upward + diagonal angle. I think it has to do with the "straight line is always the fastest way" principle.

BTW, mods- STICKY THIS! I see no reason why this shouldn't be right up there with the magical jabs thread.
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Agree on the stick. I always heard that kick you describe as an 45 degree or up angle kick. Semantics are the hardest thing when changing styles and sometimes even gyms in the same style.
 
barnowl said:
Agree on the stick. I always heard that kick you describe as an 45 degree or up angle kick. Semantics are the hardest thing when changing styles and sometimes even gyms in the same style.
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Not to mention languages.

I believe the literal thai translation for te chiang is diagonal kick. We can interpret that as an angle kick as well I suppose. I personally consider that to be the standard kick that most people learn and use. Cutting kicks are generally quicker, less powerful, and typically done to the legs. I use them to intercept the posted leg during a kick because it's safer at that point and more effective since it doesn't take much to knock someone off one foot.

The downward chops, sideways angles, and so forth are simply variations. Sometimes I think there are too many little names given to each variation--when one name would do since they're not different kicks, just slightly different ways to do the same kick.
 
vankuen said:
Not to mention languages.

I believe the literal thai translation for te chiang is diagonal kick. We can interpret that as an angle kick as well I suppose. I personally consider that to be the standard kick that most people learn and use. Cutting kicks are generally quicker, less powerful, and typically done to the legs. I use them to intercept the posted leg during a kick because it's safer at that point and more effective since it doesn't take much to knock someone off one foot.

The downward chops, sideways angles, and so forth are simply variations. Sometimes I think there are too many little names given to each variation--when one name would do since they're not different kicks, just slightly different ways to do the same kick.
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In general I agree with the opinion about names. On the other hand, if you look at this from the perspective of a military training regime, having names for each commonly used variant makes since. That way you can have a Drill instructor up there in front of the company calling out kicks while the assistants instructors are correcting things and every one knows exactly which kick is supposed to be executed and how.
 
barnowl said:
In general I agree with the opinion about names. On the other hand, if you look at this from the perspective of a military training regime, having names for each commonly used variant makes since. That way you can have a Drill instructor up there in front of the company calling out kicks while the assistants instructors are correcting things and every one knows exactly which kick is supposed to be executed and how.
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Being a vet I understand that. The difference is that in the military the curriculum is uniform across the board, in the civilian world it's not. Even in thailand there are variants on names and ways to do certain things. So it can be confusing at times for some folks trying to get a handle on things.
 
Payak said:
with the teep i was always taught to lean quite a bit back.
this helps drive the hips forward for more power and to keep your chin well out of reach.
not saying your wrong however, we just have different recipes for the same dish.
with practice and done right leaning back never throws me off balance.
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Same here, I also thrust down the kicking arm.
 
vankuen said:
TE KUK: The ax kick. This is done similarly to the ax kicks you'd see in karate and TKD. The leg is raised high with a slight inside curve and brought down quickly slightly to the outside atop it's target. Contact patch with the heel. I generally don't use this kick often, but when I do it's done to keep the opponent guessing as I'll mix it in with a series of other kicks like two teeps and a te kuk. Remember to retain your guard and not to widen or let the arms fall on this kick.

TE / TEEP GLAP LANG: The spinning heel and side kicks. These also are done with little to no variation over other's systems use of them. The spinning heel kick is done where you simply spin around on the ball of the foot, letting your kicking leg swing backwards and slightly downwards to it's target. The contact patch is the heel, and the target is generally the neck or head. Lead with the head turn so that you can keep eye contact on the target before the kick lands. Keep the hands up to protect against a rush-in. The spinning side kick is done much in the same manner except that the kick is done in a straight thrusting motion with the underside of the foot as the contact patch. The targets for this kick are generally the body or the thigh/knee. Excellent kicks to use when the opponent tries to flank you to the outside...say for example a duck under the lead hook to escape the pocket.
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Here is a vid that was shot a while back to show what I'm talking about as far as using the teep glap lang when the opponent "flanks" into it.

​
 
vankuen said:
Here is a vid that was shot a while back to show what I'm talking about as far as using the teep glap lang when the opponent "flanks" into it.

​
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That is a classic setup hit for the spin kick.
 
Agree on the stick. I always heard that kick you describe as an 45 degree or up angle kick. Semantics are the hardest thing when changing styles and sometimes even gyms in the same style.
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It's like that in any subject you get deep enough into. It'd be nice if all out terminology could be streamlined & unified, but I agree with the TS- many times it's just a slightly different way to describe a very similar thing.
 
Since there's been a lot of Karate activity as of late, I thought I'd give a translation of the kicks from Muay Thai to most forms of Karate:

TEEP TRONG = MAE GERI KEKOMI (note that this is the front THRUST kick)

TEEP KANG = SOKUTO YOKO GERI (side kick)

TE TAD / TE CHIANG = MAWASHI GERI (round kick)

TE KUK = KAKATO OTOSHI GERI (ax/heel drop kick)

TE / TEEP GLAP LANG = USHIRO YOKO GERI / URA USHIRO GERI AND USHIRO MAWASHI GERI (spinning side/back and wheel kicks)
 
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how effective is the half knee half shin in hurting the other guy?
 
Kanka said:
Where do you aim it?
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The stomach/abs. Front of the torso not the ribs like the swing kick. And through the core like a straight knee.

You can drill it with a partner face eachother and intentionally raise your arms above your heads.

Take turns shooting it through there core and not swinging it around.
 
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