The cut kick, delivered to the legs of the opponent, is one of the pillars of muay thai. The jab-cut kick combo is as prevalent in competition as the jab is in boxing. This is an opportune technique that can be used taken advantage of unlike in boxing matches. In fact, it’s a great rule of thumb that every combo in muay thai be ended with a kick. This is especially effective against boxers who were never required to defend against kicks. Practice concluding every combo with a kick to either the legs, the body, or the head of your opponent.

The muay thia clinch, or collar tie, is one of the most devastating techniques to the art and is still underutilized despite this. Controlling the head of your opponent is often a powerful strategy in many martial arts. Grabbing the opponent around the neck and pulling his head downward to deliver the knee strikes to the face will instantly dispose of any opponent who is untrained in the art of muay thai.

Skip knees, the technique of skipping into the knee strike, can deliver much more power when thrown to the body of the opponent. Practice straightening your leg out completely before delivering the knee. This is a very common mistake, and even practitioners of many years forget to straighten out the leg completely and take advantage of the raw power of the strike.

Kicking with both legs is of paramount importance. Since so much of what ties success depends on a high-low concept, that is, mixing up attacks which are thrown at the head with attacks which are thrown at the legs, being able to kick at all three targets from both sides of the body grants many more are possibilities for attacks, many of which your opponents will not expect. Fluidity with both arms and legs, from punches to knees to kicks from both sides, is enough to overwhelm the most experienced strikers, especially boxers and practitioners of traditional martial arts.

The lethal kicks off this art combined with its telltale clinch technique make muay thai an explosive type of offense against any opponent. Using these as a basis any fighter can easily enter MMA competitions and meet success. Muay thai is an incredibly dependable premise in MMA and need only be combined with the essentials of grappling defense, like sprawling and training for full mounts, side mount, and full guard.

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