Kickboxing Gloves Article
Learn The Main Reason Muay Thai Boxers Keep Their Hands Up So High...Elbow Defense
Just get someone to throw a muay thai style elbow at your head (softly of course we don't want any stitches) and notice your natural reaction. You'll probably bring your arm up in an action similar to the way karate guys do an upper block... with the forearm high and the palm turned slightly out for greater strength in the arm.
If you tried to get your arm up to this position from a typical boxers guard where the gloves are at the level of the chin or cheekbones it's way too late. You're in for several stitches and the immediate loss of the fight.
You need true muay thai defense to beat an equally authentic muay thai technique like an elbow. Let's look at each tactic in turn...
1. Getting out of the way - if your in close enough to be elbowed you may not have enough time to step out of the way with footwork but if your opponent is stepping in himself then you might get away.
The preferred method is to lean your upper body away and getting you head well back. Keep your hands up.
2. Parrying - doing this with your hands is very dangerous as an elbow is more powerful and will smash through.
You can, however, use your hands to push on your opponents face or shoulders just before they launch their elbow. This will put off their timing and distance which are very important when delivering an elbow. The elbow has to just hit it's target to do any cutting damage and pushing them away slightly is enough to neutralize this.
3. Shielding - most people teach this incorrectly. You can just plant your gloves on your forehead and keep your elbows in together but a good elbow fighter will find a way through this pretty quickly.
You can do a combination of the parrying technique outlined above with basic shielding. This is where you put your lead hand out to push your opponents face whilst keeping your rear hand high on your forehead and close to your out-stretched arm. This creates a good shield and keeps your opponent at bay.
The proper muay thai way of blocking elbows involves doing the opposite elbow to what your opponent throws at you. For example...if your opponent throws a downwards elbow, you throw an uppercut elbow to meet it. If they throw an uppercut elbow, you throw a downwards elbow. This, however, takes a lot of practice and experience to read the other person.
4. Neutralize with your own attack - one of the best techniques against the elbow is a knee. You are in close so it's a good choice and you naturally lean back away from the elbow as you knee.
5. Grabbing the weapon - again the elbow is too quick to catch but because you are so close in you can clinch without any problem. Just make sure the clinch is on nice and tight and there is no room for your opponent to elbow.
The muay thai elbow is such a devastating weapon that you have to have a great defensive strategy against it. In fact most people fear the elbow so much or don't know how to defend it that they end up never fighting under full muay thai rules.
If you're fighting in the pavement arena, however, there are no rules. So it's better to be prepared for anything.
