Tips for a short fighter!?

[bitesizemidgee]

OK, so I've been training for a few months now, and have been sparring throughout the majority of this period, and every time I go up against an opponent who has a considerable height advantage, (I'm only 5'4"), I'm pretty lost on what to do with them. By the time I get in close range they've already anticipated my moves and are defending against them, and throwing a front thrust kick has been pretty useless, it just eats air every time. The only things I do have going for me are to rely on my leg kicks and being quick enough to take advantage of every counter technique possible. Now, I'm not arguing that I'm still fairly new at this, and it will likely take time to learn how to use my height to its advantage, the problem is, I really have no idea on what to work on specifically to develop that advantage. Any tips?

 

[bushidomartialarts]

i'm pretty short (5'9"), but spent a lot of time sparring with my 6'7" brother.

get close and stay close. in muay thai he's not allowed to grapple, so the size advantage of grappling goes away. remember, if you're out of your range you're likely in his range and he can thump you with impunity.

train hard on bridging the gap, getting in tight without taking too many hits, then go to town. you may even want to focus less on legs and more on hands -- punching range for you takes away many of his weapons.

 

[Jeremy_The_Diamond]

Haha, well from my clinche experience in the last few months of practice with several friends who are pretty tall(6'5, 6'6, etc.) and I'm 5'11 myself, it's good to be close, but trying to stay away from the knees are hard. I'd NEVER clinche anyone taller purposely, especially an experienced MT specialist, that's a good way to get smoked.

Cross elbows and short body-shots are the best alternative. Keep your head down, because though with range-reduction his shots are likely to be weakened, but if he presses you backwards and gets your chin... you're going to sleep. Work your hardest short attacks(knees, elbows, etc...) to keep his legs down and take his breath away. He'll be exhausted in no time.

I hope this helps. ^.^ -The Diamond

 

[zDom]

I agree with the above advice: get in close, jam up his legs while working over his body (especially ribs and solar plexus).

And watch out for upward knees.

Bridging the gap, as mentioned above, is important — be careful when you do this. Try following his rechamber in immediately after a kick while watching out for followup hands.

The good thing about being very tall or very short is you pretty much only have ONE basic strategy to master.

If you are of a height where you run into lots of people who are both taller and shorter than you, you have to work on two different strategies: how to deal with shorter folk and how to deal with taller folk.

 

[Slihn]

Hello,I am not particualr short but here is a stragety that I use against taler opponets.(I atucally posted this on this site before)

When fighting taller opponets.

For fighting taller oppoents grappling is almost inevitable because if you try to stand and box with a taller fighter you will be at a disadvantage because of their reach.In order to compensate for this it is imparitive that you close the gap immediately.This is easier to do if you opponet favors boxing.If so duck under his punches and go for either a single or double leg take down.

If you are in a situation where taking the fight to the ground is unwise,then you must make your opponet come to you.When I fight against taller people in the gym,I almost never rush them straight on(unless it is with a straight blast) to do so would be asking to have a powerful cross to the face.It is wiseable to slip the tallers opponent's straight punches then move in with powerful punching combinations to the midsection (right straight to the body and hooks to the liver);follow those combintaions with low kicks.

If you are not queit adapt to closing the gap with sliping jabs and cross or with grappling you can also "chip away at the edges" this is done by circling to the outside of your opponets lead hand and then blastling him with low kicks(if he is not a rushing opponet);but make sure that he is not a fighting am oppent that utilizes spinning techniques( Especially spinning hook and back kicks);if so this tatic will not be useful.

If he is taller and likes to rush you than utilize the rear leg side kick(is you use the push kick than a taller oppent will most likely be able to reach over your kick with punches,the read leg side kick is more effective because it moves youe head to a safer position.

The are different ways to "chip away at the edges" against a taller opponet ,but the most effective method is closing the gap with grappling,is grappling is unsuitable,attacking the body is the next best method.

I hope these stratgies are useful!

 

[Giorgio]

well I am pretty freakishly tall, about 195 cm, (don't know what that is in imperial measurements). I work a LOT on my knees, as being tall helps you get a lot of power into them, so prolonged close range or clinching wouldn't be what I'd do against myself. Obviously staying at medium or long range is dangerous as well, as the tall person has a natural advantage. I usually get the feeling that shorter fighters are in general quicker. (either that or i'm a slow lug) Use your mobility.

Come in close, tread some ribs as was mentioned above, then get out. Keep the big guy swinging. When you go in close, put a lot of pressure on him, try to drive him back. These are the things that shorter fighters do that can really make my day miserable, so I hope they help.

 

[bitesizemidgee]

Awesome, thanks for the tips people, I'll put them to work. Fortunately a lot of people have been coming in lately to begin their training, and my school will be having Thai boxing four times a week early January. So in short, I'll have a lot more time to practice these techniques. Any further comments are appreciated though, I can never have enough outside opinions, bad or good.

 

[Mariachi Joe]

I'm in a similar boat ( 5'5 ) and in tournaments I have a harder time with the guys that are 6' and taller. But something I have been trying is as they rechamber go in with some quick hits then get out.

 

[Shark]

Generally in Thailand shorter fighters are trained to punch hard and low kick hard, in the clinch keep your head down and pull it into your opponents neck, again look to attack his legs, also look to pull him off balance when he knees from the clinch. Use your angles on the way in. Good luck..
www.muaythaicamps.com

 

[wee_blondie]

Number one tip: get close
Number two: KEEP MOVING!!!
Number three: stay light on your feet

Excellent tips from everyone else though (think I'll make a few notes....)