This above is a little video help to Benjamin who wrote me about a basic problem he was having in sparring. It seemed like the best way to answer him was in a quick video. I try to help people who write in to me as best I can. Once I filmed it I realized that this is something a lot of others are probably having issues with. I know I still run into it after 3 years here, so I thought to turn it into a “Sylvie’s Tips” video. Hopefully it helps others.
Benjamin asked about how his knee or foot kept clashing his partner’s knee, and mentioned that he knows to use his lead hand for proper range. I’ve found that I tend to catch knees or elbows when my kick is too vertical, sometimes what I call a “falang kick”. There are lots of reasons the kick can get this way. Sometimes it is not stepping over on the kick, sometimes not turning the hip over, and sometimes it comes from the padholder leading kicks in a downward pad angle position, training the student to “kick up” too often. It can be exacerbated by hesitance, the involuntary leaning back on the strike.
I’m not an “expert” in Muay Thai by any stretch, but I have a lot of experience with trial and error. These are just things I’ve encountered along the way, hoping to help others out.
You can read about the Sylvie’s Tips feature here in my first post:
Sylvie’s Tips – Muay Thai Tips, Techniques & Helps from Thailand
See all my Sylvie’s Tips articles.
The Full Sylvie’s Tips YouTube Playlist
Or go to the Sylvie’s Tips Playlist here.
