20.10.21
Wednesday night focused on style development with my Mixed Martial Arts client. Looking at it from a western boxer’s perspective he would probably be classed a slugger – that is a fighter whose tactics and strategies should be worked around delivering one or two very powerful techniques.
We looked at working his straight right/cross and also his overhand. The overhand is definitely a strong punch for him and I brought in a good set-up. This involved using a flicker and/or pawing jab to move to the outiside. We then used a pawing right to cover moving to the inside from where a Saddler shovel hook was accompanied by an overhand right. We then went to the ground to look at pinning the right arm from the top position to set up the overhand right again.
From a Muay Thai point of view, he is somewhere between a muay dtae (kicker) and muay mat (solid boxer with low kicks). I made use of my client’s strong right hand punch to feint a cross in order to set up his powerful rear leg round kick to the body. We used double-jab/cross/jab/round kick. The action used in muay Thai with the rear hand to generate force and torque for the rear round kick mimics the action of a straight right or cross. This combination uses the double jab/cross part to make the opponent wary of straight punches to the head. They will flinch or cover high, especially after the powerful right has been thrown. With a jab thrown again and what looks like another right following, the opponent should raise their defence high on the lefthand side. Such a response is perfect for leaving the way open for the round kick to the left side ribs.
We finished 2 x 5 minutes of MMA sparring.