is "hands up" really neccasary?

[Damian Mavis]

Guys keep in mind he was asking for advice on hands up for Muay Thai.... there's a certain way things are done in Muay Thai so discussing all the other ways to fight is great and all but it's not helping him with his question.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[sammy3170]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis

Guys keep in mind he was asking for advice on hands up for Muay Thai.... there's a certain way things are done in Muay Thai so discussing all the other ways to fight is great and all but it's not helping him with his question.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

I guess then it really doesn't matter as with sparring you can use trial and error. If your hands are down and you get nailed you'll know not to do that again and can take what you've learned to your next match. From what I have seen in Kickboxing/Muay Thai fights the guys who have their hands down are fine until they come up against someone with good punching skills. If you have been training with your hands low it then becomes a very difficult fight and you have to fight in a manner which feels unnatural to you. Like I said just keep trialling until you find an appropriate stance.

Cheers
Sammy

 

[Damian Mavis]

Not exactly.... kickboxing and Muay Thai are completely different animals. Theres no "whats good for you" in Muay Thai really. You will not see anyone with their hands down in a professional Muay Thai fight period (unless way out of range...even then not common at all). Kickboxing is something else altogether. There is no trial and error in Muay Thai either, the Kru is constantly on your case to keep your hands up which is why the originator of this thread asked why it was so damn important because obviously his Kru is nagging and nagging him to keep his hands up up up! It is annoying to be constantly badgered to keep your hands up but theres good reasons for it, some instructors are hard core and if your hands are down they beat you in the head with a stick until your hands go up again. People with their hands down can die. Like I posted earlier they arent aiming the high shin kicks to the head, they are aiming for your neck! My friend fought for a few months in Thailand at the pro level and when his coach would hear "kick him in the neck! kick him in the neck!" he knew to scream "keep your hands high!" to my friend who would happily comply knowing what was coming. When he got tired the hands tend to drop slightly which is when the opposing coach would call for the neck kick to take advantage of that weakness. His hands are still covering his head but when they get lower (from fatigue) the blocking power is lessened and a good shin kick can tear right through your guard.

The reason I say there is no trial and error is because Muay Thai is fairly regimented on how to stand, how to have your hands up, how to kick and where your hands go when you do etc.. and its all because of years of ring experience. You don't do it a cetain way your in big trouble. It's been proven time and time again so they know the best way for Muay Thai. Things would be different for anything else. It's just a huge no no to not have your hands up to a certain height in Muay Thai.

But your right, maybe the poster of this thread should just find out the hard way. I personally like to listen to my Kru as I figure he knows whats best for me and has my health and welfare in mind.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Kempojujutsu]

Here's a question, was watching a video from the fairtex camp. they were showning some basic stuff. One of the things I have question on is the shin kick or round kick. When they throw it, they swing the hand the oppsite way. They say you get more power. They also talked about using your shoulder to help guard your chin. Here is my thought, why not keep the hands up when throwing the kick. sacrafice some power in the kick for protection of the face/chin?
Bob :asian:

 

[Damian Mavis]

One hand is up for defence while kicking. Theres the arm you described which usually goes along the ribs with the shoulder of that arm protecting your face and the other hand is up in front of your chin to further protect your face. So basically it's like having one hand up and one shoulder up to protect your head. Theres no real need to put both hands up because with all the angles of attack in Muay Thai you are covered if throwing the kick Muay Thai style against a Muay Thai fighter. Don't really know if the same methodology would work in another form of ring fighting but for Muay Thai it's tried and true.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[George Martin]

This may be a little off topic, however how low are your stances in Muay Thai? How many inches approximately between front and rear leg?

 

[Damian Mavis]

Heel toe. Our lead leg (your weaker leg) toes forward has its foot pretty much parallel to our rear leg foot (toes forward) and the rear toes are in line with the heel of the lead leg. Coming from a Tae Kwon Do / Karate background I know this sounds very tight and it is. Took me forever to effectively learn how to kick powerfully from such a limitted stance after kicking for 10 years from a good foot back. But Muay Thai doesn't get it's power from throwing the kick from way back they get it from really snapping the hip over. Kinda like in TKD we get added power from snapping a chambered kick from the knee whereas MT snaps the kick from the hip with no chambering at the knee. Sounds awkward but if you learn how to do it properly it feels great and you get tons of power.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[George Martin]

How much separation between the feet?

 

[Damian Mavis]

Around shoulder width, honestly I've never asked for the specifics of distance from one foot to the other but everyone I see has a close to if not slightly larger than shoulder width stance.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD