TMK martial arts

Here are some tips from Fairtex.com along with some of my own advice.
The basic stance: In the basic fighting stance keep your weight evenly distributed on both legs. Too much weight on one leg will lock you to that position and make you an easy target. A slight rocking motion on the balls of your feet will keep you balanced and ready to attack or defend from either side. This is something that I definetly try to do. Being on the balls of your feet will help you take some shots as well. You can move faster and if you do get hit with something like a straight kick you'll be knocked backward instead of taking the full shot to the gut. I've noticed that the more tired I get the flater my feet get. So if you're very tired stay in your stance and march (A slight rocking motion on the balls of your feet)keeping your hands up to protect your face and your elbows down to protect your ribs. You can survive a flurry if you stay in your stance and work defense.

Long range head/neck kick:
When kicking to the neck from long range, stand tall and straight. Step out with your lead leg at a 45-degree angle. Be sure to stay on the balls of your feet and don't bend your knees. Bending the knees during a long-range kick will shorten your reach and keep you from hitting your target. Your goal is to make contact on the neck with the crook of your foot. Remember that this is only for a long range, distance closing kick. For a closer kick you always want to hit with your shin. I've seen fights were guys were knocked out by a kick in which only the foot hits. If your foot slaps across his chin/jaw he'll probably drop. But your foot is made up of many smaller bones and as many of our guys(including me) can tell you if you land a kick with your foot it hurts and it can stay injured for quite a while. Your shin however is one long bone and it has a blade like shape. The shin can take much more abuse than the foot and it will become conditioned with use unlike the foot which will continue to become injured.



Round kicks
Thai style roundhouse kicks can be very devistating. target areas include the head, body, thigh - or any part of the leg. Never throw kicks to your opponents shin unless he is off balance. Kicks to the shin are more likely to hurt you than him (especially if he checks it). However, if he is off balance or you catch his kick you can sweep him with a kick to the lower leg or thigh.

Remember to step out at a 45-degree angle with your lead foot when throwing roundhouse kicks. This will keep your kick short. Short kicks are fast and difficult to defend. If you don't step out your head kick will be wide and very visible. If you don't step out you will also be vulnerable to straight punches and other centerline attacks. You should step out with your lead foot, staying on the ball of your foot(not flat footed) for all roundhouse kicks. It’s almost like a hop just before the kick. Continue to pivot on the ball of your foot throughout the kick. After you connect quickly bring the leg back to your stance so that you are ready to continue the attack or defend. If you miss continue to spin completely around until you are facing your opponent again. you can throw a spinning backfist while doing this if your opponent rushes you. As with any attack beware of telegraphing you kick. A quick jab or a fient can help set up your kicks.

For kicks to the outside thigh or leg, step out 45-degrees and keep your lead leg bent at the knee. Bending your knee helps you keep power while aiming at a lower target. With a little practice these can add more power to your kicks.

AB/CROSS COUNTERS
1. Slip to outside of punch and throw body punch to exposed ribs. You can finish this counter out to something like: SLIP to outside, HOOK to ribs, UPPERCUT to jaw, HOOK to jaw, clinch and KNEE

2. Lean away from the punch and kick straight up into the exposed ribs. This requires good timing! Also, don't lean straight back, lean slightly back and to the inside of the punch to drive the kick up into the exposed ribs effectively. You can vary your targets from groin- stomach- ribs- neck- head.

3. Push Kick. Because they are straight punches (long punches) you may be at a good distance to use a Push Kick as a "stop hit" counter. Again, this requires timing. (These front kicks, of course, are a favorite of mine!)

4. Uppercut Elbow Counter. Slip to inside of the straight punch and use an Uppercut Elbow Strike. Your rising elbow will also block his other fist.

5. Lean away and strike with a free-standing straight knee attack. Again, as when you're using a roundkick, you don't want to lean straight back, but slightly to the side. You can use either knee to counter either punch. In most cases, if you lean properly, your straight knee attack has greater reach than your opponents straight punches.


Counters to ROUNDHOUSE KICKS:

1. Push Kick. This is by far the most effective counter vs. the roundhouse kick. You can either simply stop your opponent in his tracks, or you can push hard to knock him on his ass! This kick can also just plain hurt like hell.
I love this kick!

2. Roundhouse kick to support leg. Time the kick and "mirror" your opponent. If your opponent throws a right-side roundhouse kick, you step to your right and throw the left kick at his support leg. You should REALLY try to kick all the way through the support leg because you want to take the leg out from under him. If you are going to take a leg kick, instead of checking it, then you should fire one right back at him.

3. Step in with a JAB-CROSS combo right onto your opponents button. With him standing on one leg, you will drop him if you land it effectively. The downside is that you end up eating a kick. The upside is that the more effectively you land this counter, the more you will nullify the effectiveness of his kick.

4. Catch the kick. You can use the "underhook" or "guillotine" trap to catch the leg. I only recommend doing this against a mid-level roundhouse kick. Don't try to catch a low kick or a high kick in this manner. Once the leg is "guillotined", you can either grab his shoulder and knee, throw him, punch him, or kick his support leg out from under him. YES, it IS legal to hold and hit in Muay Thai.

5. Against a high kick, you can lean away from it so that it misses. As your opponents leg spins him past you, throw a roundhouse kick of your own straight up at his head. I would recommend throwing the same leg as your opponent. If he threw a right roundhouse kick, lean away and counter with a right roundhouse kick of your own.

6. Overhook trap. You block a mid-level or high roundhouse kick with your arms held TIGHT to your body for the extra support. In this block/counter, lets say your opponent has thrown a right roundhouse kick. You keep your left arm tight to absorb the shock, your right hand reaches over top of the kick and traps it. You then take a 1/2 step back and push the leg down into the floor, exposing your opponents side. From here I recommned roundkicking the back of your opponents thigh, or roundkicking him in the back of the head (base of the skull). Kicks to the back of the head can jar the brain and score you a K.O.