Switch Stepping

[fire cobra]

Keping your lead hip forward gives a quicker switch and a better protection against straight punches and push kicks because you torso and therefore your targets are sideways to your opponent.

I think what sometimes people forget is there are 3 main kicking angles for the tae(round kick) tae chiang is a 45 deegree shin kick into the opponents body,althogh you need to bring the rear hip into play it doesnt need to rotate all the way over,the kick is to "batter" the body like a baseball bat hiting its target.

Tae Taad is more of a horizontal plane sweeping style of kick,used mainly to the legs to knock your opponent of balance or over,tae taad to the body isnt so effective because you cant knock the body of balance with a round kick so easy(against a good boxer).

Tae Tawaad is a downward style round kick really good for the ko to the neck.

There you have 3 kicks all involving the 3 stratagies to win in Muay Thai,

1) Stop the opponent breathing(kick to body)
2) stop the opponent walking (kick to the legs)
3)Stop the oponnent thinking(kick to the neck ko).

[twtguy]

i see the thread topic is starting to change a little. but, ill take aaaall the information i can get. however, im a little confused by some parts of your post.

Keping your lead hip forward gives a quicker switch and a better protection against straight punches and push kicks because you torso and therefore your targets are sideways to your opponent.

maybe im doing it wrong, but when i switch step and keep my lead hip as my lead hip, my body looks more squared than staggered.

I think what sometimes people forget is there are 3 main kicking angles for the tae(round kick) tae chiang is a 45 deegree shin kick into the opponents body,althogh you need to bring the rear hip into play it doesnt need to rotate all the way over,the kick is to "batter" the body like a baseball bat hiting its target.

Tae Taad is more of a horizontal plane sweeping style of kick,used mainly to the legs to knock your opponent of balance or over,tae taad to the body isnt so effective because you cant knock the body of balance with a round kick so easy(against a good boxer).

Tae Tawaad is a downward style round kick really good for the ko to the neck.

im not trying to contradict you by any means. this is a serious question. but, how come (for the questions sake lets use hoost) when ernesto hoost does leg kicks, i see his hip turn over and hes kicking downward? am i wrong, or is this a legitimate question?

[Ghost]

its what fire cobra is talking about mate, the downward round kick lends itself well to the low kick, partly due to basic body mechanics but largely down to the effect it has.
Landing on the thigh muscle at that angle has the greatest effect. kickin up at the thigh at 45 degrees does nothing and is not worth using against the leg. coming in horizontal also works but is less powerful than a chopping low kick.
chopping low kick has gravity on its side and is more powerful.

[fire cobra]

i see the thread topic is starting to change a little. but, ill take aaaall the information i can get. however, im a little confused by some parts of your post.



maybe im doing it wrong, but when i switch step and keep my lead hip as my lead hip, my body looks more squared than staggered.



im not trying to contradict you by any means. this is a serious question. but, how come (for the questions sake lets use hoost) when ernesto hoost does leg kicks, i see his hip turn over and hes kicking downward? am i wrong, or is this a legitimate question?

I cant understand how your body can look square rather than side on if you switch with the lead shoulder forward/ perhaps your switching to wide?.

On the point of low kicking as Ghost said you can use the downward angle to hit the leg(like Hoost) or even the 45 deegree to hit the leg,nothing is right or wrong as such,my point on the angles was the chiang angle is real good for the body,the downward is real good for the neck and the horizontal is good for sweeping or of balancing the legs,good luck with your switch.

[Ghost]

also sharp shin round kick, coming up at nearly vertical and then turning in hard at the last moment, suprisingly powerful kick for the ribs that can sneak in the gap between elbow and ribs nicely, a good kick for head kicks as well but lacks knockout power at that height but is the fastest round kick. not to be confused with the TKD style.

[Ghost]

and and and! theres also the short range, bent leg round house kick.

PLus all the various angles you can use the round kick from such as to the front of the body by stepping off diagonally... the list goes on

[fire cobra]

You got em Ghost!,Kow la half shin half knee bent leg close range round kick,and tae chiang to the head,on that one turn the torso the opposite way to the direction of the kick! wow now we are getting technical!.

[Ghost]

lol yeah, i like it when people that dont do muay thai talk about how simplistic it is and that it only has 2 kicks. teep and round kick, then you start on all the variations and you get that "never knew that" look.

[fire cobra]

Me to,

I also like it when they say Nak Muay cant punch!

And what was that Draeger said? the round kick is slow! he he awesum..wrong!
he obviously hadnt stood in front of a decent Thai boxer,ive trained Muay Thai for around 26 years now and still im in awe of the art and science that is Muay Thai,and also in awe of the heart and spirit the Thai boys show everytime they step into the ring.

[Ghost]

yeah, thai round kick is only slow if you dont train it, like anything.
And how many thai boxers go on to be pro boxers?
many.

26 years, wow, thats a while, ive only been in thai boxing 10 years, 26 is a long time mate. good stuff.

[twtguy]

awesome info guys! thanks for clearing it up. ill have to keep working on my switch step. i think im rotating my body still when i do it. therein lies the problem.

lol yeah, i like it when people that dont do muay thai talk about how simplistic it is and that it only has 2 kicks. teep and round kick, then you start on all the variations and you get that "never knew that" look.

i understand completely, and i hope i didnt come off this way. i in no way think mauy thai is simple. same thing happens in boxing. everyone thinks a jab is a jab when there are dozens of variations.

[Ghost]

mate i really wasnt talking about you, i was just generalizing and going off topic, has absolutely nothing to do with anything you said. your questions were very good and totally valid.

[fire cobra]

yeah, thai round kick is only slow if you dont train it, like anything.
And how many thai boxers go on to be pro boxers?
many.

26 years, wow, thats a while, ive only been in thai boxing 10 years, 26 is a long time mate. good stuff.

Thanks Ghost,i dont train as hard as i used to i have to admit,and when im in Thailand training 2x pr day is to hard for me to recover properly from so i stick to 1x and give what i can,im the big 50 next month so i suppose im allowed to slow a bit.

10 years is a long time to,and training and competing in Thailand isnt easy so all credit to you man.

Chok dee khap.

[fire cobra]

awesome info guys! thanks for clearing it up. ill have to keep working on my switch step. i think im rotating my body still when i do it. therein lies the problem.



i understand completely, and i hope i didnt come off this way. i in no way think mauy thai is simple. same thing happens in boxing. everyone thinks a jab is a jab when there are dozens of variations.

Twtguy,

I certainly didnt think you came over that way either,as Ghost said your question was a very relevant one,hope you improve the switch with the advice from Ghost,myself and others.

[twtguy]

thanks guys! the advice you guys gave is awesome and is more appreciated than you know. i just dont want to be the guy that comes on to the forum and asks too many questions. some people get pissed and say one should go to a gym and learn this stuff. its kind of hard when gyms dont exist in your area. so, in a way, this is my gym, and you are all my teachers. may sound dumb, but its all i got, and i like to make lemonade out of lemons...if ya know what i mean.