*Quick note before I begin this week’s article. Last week I discussed warm ups and mentioned that you should run. I would like to amend that. Run on the balls of your feet. Keep your heels up the entire time you run. This will add monstrous growth to your calves and make you quicker on your feet resulting in more agility.
Stances
This week I will be discussing stances and footwork. There are four stances in muay Thai: standard stance, square stance, weight back stance, and southpaw stance.
The standard stance puts the right arm and leg back into the power position. A slightly larger proportion of weight should be placed on the front (left) foot. The back foot should be planted flat on the ground and pointed at a forty-five degree angle in relation to your opponent. The front leg should be slightly bent, while the rear leg is kept nearly straight. Your posture should be upright with weight distributed evenly above your hips. The head should be hunched to allow your shoulders and elbows to protect your head. Hands should be kept at eye level to protect the face and head. The right hand is kept close to the face to protect the chin. Elbows are slightly bowed out so you can bring your knees up to check kicks. Now here is where things get controversial: eye placement. There is a large debate about whether eyes should be locked to your opponent’s eyes or his chest. For now go with whatever is more comfortable for you. I tend to focus on my opponent’s chest, but of course eyes tend to wander during fights.
The square stance is intended for people who prefer to kick above any other attack. Distributing your weight more evenly between your legs makes checking and throwing kicks much easier. It also allows to you switch between right lead and left lead stance quicker so you can change direction if you want to catch your opponent off their guard. The drawback to this stance is that it leaves you more vulnerable (especially in the groin area) than the standard stance. It is important to keep your guard tight when using this stance. The left foot should be slightly in front of your right, with both legs slightly bent at the knee. Again, head hunched with shoulders and elbows protecting the face. Your lead hand should be held out about a half arm’s length from your face. Again, as with the standard stance, the arms should be slightly bowed to allow for kicks to be checked easier with the knees and shins.
The weight back stance is useful in closer proximity that is to say when you and your opponent are just within kicking range of each other. From this stance you can unleash kicks with your lead leg, block or check kicks with your lead leg, or stop an advancing opponent with a front push kick. From this stance your rear leg is left vulnerable as it is not bent (meaning most of your weight is rested on the rear leg) which means you can be thrown off balance much easier. Be mindful of sweeps when using this stance. Very few seasoned fighters use this stance for long periods of time, but rather shift back and forth between this stance and another when an opportunity calls for it. Start in the standard stance. Unbend your rear leg so that most if not all of your weight is resting on your rear leg. Next lift your front foot until it is balanced on the tips of your toes. Bounce your lead leg up and down. Fighters often do this to throw off their opponent’s rhythm.
The southpaw stance looks exactly like it sounds: a stance for left handed fighters. Just reverse the standard stance and you got it. Any good fighter learns how to fight using both standard and southpaw stances. In fact the more stances you learn the better. This way you will constantly have your opponent guessing what will come next, so instead of worrying about your knees and elbows they’ll be worrying about your rhythm.
Footwork
Once you learn how to position yourself using proper muay Thai stances, you then have to learn how to move around in those stances. Some key points to remember with footwork: 1) balance is very important, practice your balance often; 2) stay balanced while on the balls of your feet for optimal mobility; 3) feet should be shoulder width apart; 4) never position yourself so your back is to your opponent (sounds obvious enough but still something that should be practiced).
Stepping: When stepping, always start with the foot that is closest to the direction you want to go. If you want to move forward start with your front foot, if you want to go back start with the rear foot. To go left move your left foot first and immediately follow with your right. To go right lead with the right foot and immediately follow with the left. Always make sure your following foot covers the same amount of ground and your leading foot to ensure you end up in your original stance. Do not take big steps and always make sure your feet stay as close to the ground as possible. This will make it harder for your opponent to knock you off balance. Jumping rope is a great exercise to train stepping concepts.
Pivoting: To perform a successful pivot spin on the ball of one foot while the other foot swings around in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Your entire body should be turning at the same time. If done correctly you will maintain your original stance. You can begin the pivot with either foot depending on what the situation calls for. Again balance is crucial here because you can easily be knocked down or swept mid-pivot. A pivot is very useful when your back is against a wall, fence, octagon, or any environmental obstacle. A successful pivot will allow you to switch places with your opponent and put them against the wall where you can punish them as you see fit. A successful pivot more times than not will put you in a position to counter your opponent. Practice the pivot often because if not done correctly the momentum of the spin will leave you off balance and prime for an attack.
Sliding: Sliding is used to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. To perform a slide: spring off your rear foot, which will send your front foot gliding forward just above the ground. By the time your front foot lands your rear foot should have already caught up so you remain in your original stance. This move is great for quick attacks like the front push kick, or a jab.
Switch Step: A switch step is when you switch from a right lead to a left lead stance or vice versa. The key is to keep the switch step subtle. The switch step is done using a very small hop (as small as you can get it). This way you avoid telegraphing your intentions to your opponent. No distance is necessarily covered with this move. It will however allow you to easily change your momentum and your rhythm to confuse your opponent. Another reason to employ the switch step is for situations where you have a kick opening. If you are in a front lead stance and your opponent’s left side is open you can use the switch step to bring your left leg back. This way you create more momentum when you execute your left leg kick thus causing more damage.
Thanks all for this week. Next week I will finally be getting to the good stuff: attacking! |
