Muay_thai_footwork Article
Most Martial Arts Have Similar Ways Of Moving Your Feet...Muay Thai Has Some Important Differences
The proper way to move from place to place in muay thai is pretty much the same in all stand up martial arts, sports, and even dancing. They all have this very important rule...
The foot that is closest to the direction that you want to go... moves FIRST!
That means that if you want to go right, your right foot moves first. If you want to go left, your left foot moves first. If you want to go forward...you get the idea.
The other foot slides up to close the distance so that the feet are never further apart than they have to be for very long. It's a step, drag, step, drag, type of rythym.
Never take big long steps to gain ground quickly, if you have to do this take small quicker steps.
Never cross your feet either. If you get caught with a hit during a crossed feet situation your have no balance, no ability to brace for the strike, no way to change direction quickly.
Even though these rules are universal it's amazing how many people don't do them properly all the time. This boils down to either their trainer or the student being too impatient to learn the cool things like kicks and knees before they learn the boring basics like footwork correctly.
There are a few things, however, that are different in muay thai kickboxing footwork that you don't see in other arts and even American style kickboxing...
1. There isn't as much 'dancing around' as you see in other styles. One main concept in fighting is to keep moving so that your opponent doesn't have a target to lock in on. Too much movement will spell death for the muay thai fighter. Muay thai leg kick attacks are so deadly that even a glancing blow to the lower extremities will knock your opponent to the ground. So dancing around and being very light on your feet doesn't work as well all the time.
2. You also need to be able to raise your front leg at a split seconds notice to be able to shin block a kick in time. If you can't quickly shift your weight back on your rear leg to block you'll be wearing a thigh kick.
3. The other factor is that a big defensive technique in muay thai is the front leg push kick. You also need to fire this off the instant your opponent comes into range so having both feet in constant contact with the floor is not your best option.
So what is the best footwork technique for muay thai? Exactly the one you see the Thai fighters using in Thailand every day...
Try to model off the Thai's rather than take what you think will work and modifying it to suit some style you have learnt in the past.
The Thai's do a slightly strange movement where they walk forward in the usual step, drag, step, drag, fashion...then stop and tap their front foot on the ground a few times. They then step, drag, step, drag, again...then stop, put their weight on their back foot and tap their front foot on the ground a few times.
The reason the Thai's do this is outlined above...
1. They have to have stability over mobility.
2. They have to be able to block leg kicks fast.
3. They have to be able to defend with a front push kick/foot jab.
These are the main reasons the footwork of muay thai is so unique. Again, people have been watching the Thai's kick the arses of westerners for years but instead of imbracing the way muay thai is traditionally taught they say things like..."I like the way they kick but they hold their hands up way too high!" or... "I like the way they throw knees but they stand still way too much, and what's with the funny toe tap thing!"
The Thai's invented muay thai, they've been doing it for thousands of years, they test it out against the best fighters in the world each and every day...THERE'S A REASON WHY THEY DO THINGS THE WAY THEY DO!
All that being said here are the main principles to think about with muay thai footwork...
1. Hold your head high - keep an upright posture and don't bob and weave into a knee.
2. The body is quite open to your opponent.
3. Your weight is mostly evenly distributed but occasionally on the back foot.
4. keep on your toes but shift weight according to the technique being thrown.
As well as these principles be aware that there are 3 main forms of footwork...
1. Sliding forward or the 'step drag' technique explained earlier.
2. Hopping - where you have one leg off the ground for a length of time to deliver a technique (flying techniques fall into this category).
3. Switching - where you quickly switch the front and back foot and deliver a technique shortly after. If you want to throw a front leg round kick you usually switch feet first. It makes the kick more powerful and is actually faster.
Find out the 'why' behind muay thai footwork and you'll immediately begin doing it better.
