23.01.2023 My client’s seventh hour on her second course in Muay Thai continued building on southpaw strategies. Last week I introduced the back kick. This lesson was all about drilling everything that had been covered and to build up the specific fitness. After our usual warm up we went straight into rounds. These were three minute rounds with one minute active recovery, keeping the heart rate up throughout the session. Round 1 – Boxing only focus mitts Speed punching Round […]
Tag Archives | southpaw
Southpaw: Stepping Offline, Side Teep & the Back Kick (diary entry)
17.01.2023 Hour six of my client’s Muay Thai course introduced the back-kick. After our usual warm-up, we moved onto a couple of southpaw combinations working the strategy for moving to the outside. Often this maneuver has to be covered in the same way as moving to an opponent’s power side position. We used a lead teep to set up a rear straight left. The rear straight left is coordinated with the step that puts the fighter onto the outside, angling […]
Southpaw Setups, Slips & Punching in Muay Thai (diary entry)
09.01.2023 Hour seven of my client’s current Muay Thai course was a revision of sorts. We went back through southpaw strategies and also looked at punching. Our first three rounds all focused on fighting in a mirror stance, working off the blind side of an opponent using punching techniques. This included a lot of work using the rear hand as a jabbing straight and the up-jab from the blindside. I also introduced more slipping and we focused on how this […]
3 Southpaw Combinations (diary entry)
Hour five of my client’s second Muay Thai course kept us on the southpaw tactics path. We focused on three combinations specific for southpaw fighters. Mirror side attacks offer a fighter unique openings not normally presented by opposite side attacks. When looking at the southpaw, the liver is one of these unique targets. Combination 1 – teep/feint teep/move to the outside/jab/rear leg round kick to the liver Combination 2 – jabbing to hands/spring straight left/rear round kick to the liver […]
Back to Mirror Stance Training (diary entry)
28.11.2022 As the title suggests my client’s fourth hour of her second Muay Thai course brought us back to mirror stance training. We looked at some simple southpaw combinations, taking advantage of an angled position with the lead leg outside the opponent’s mirrored lead leg. We began with using the rear hand straights as a jabbing and power weapon. Then we brought in the lead hook, using it as an overhand hook. Here we looked at slipping the jab and […]
Switch-Hitting Finale (diary entry)
13.09.21 Monday night’s first lesson was the final hour of my switch-hitting course. We used the lesson to focus purely on principles, tactics and strategies rather than specific combinations or techniques. We began with using 1920s ace featherweight ring general, Benny Leonard, as our inspiration for dealing with southpaws. This involved remembering to angle off and being fluid with different types of jab rather than fighting for the outside of the lead foot. We acknowledged the clear danger of facing […]
Switch-Hitting Counters (diary entry)
02.09.21 The eighth hour of my couple’s switch-hitting programme focused entirely on counter tactics. Here the switch-hitter worked defensively. Countering an aggressive jab with a switch-hook, countering an inside leg kick with switch-straight punch and an inside leg kick with a switch-outside leg kick. Using switch-hitting tactics in a counter situation creates new possibilities with angles, can throw more force into the counter technique and also encourages an opponent to over-reach with their attack. However, they have to be timed […]
Switch-Kicks & Switch-Hitting (diary entry)
23.08.21 Hour seven of my couple client’s course on switch-hitting in kickboxing combined the action of the switch-kick with the tactic of switch-hitting. Usually the switch-kick only momentarily switches their stance in order to put more power into their lead leg. There are variations, such as the step-kick and the “no-switch” switch-kick, but the traditional switch-kick doesn’t really commit to a stance change and fighters are trained not to change levels as it will telegraph the kick. However, in this […]
Switch-Hitting and the Teep (diary entry)
09.08.21 My couple clients entered their fifth hour of a 10 hour course on stance-switching. Tonight we revised the previous lesson’s combination using a straight stance switch and shift to fight from a mirror side position. Then we looked at feinting with teep to move into the same mirror side position. In both instances we began with a simple entry combination and then we built on it. We then sandwiched each of the second combinations with a teep to exit. […]
The Southpaw Offensive (diary entry)
19.07.21 Monday night was hour two of my couple’s 10 hour course on switch-hitting in kickboxing. We warmed up with the three-part switch-hitting drill, consisting of transitioning from orthodox to southpaw and from southpaw to orthodox using punches and kicks. Then we focused entirely on fighting from southpaw and using two combinations that helped to develop the strategy. A good early plan in southpaw fighting is to position your lead foot outside your opponent’s. There are many other options than […]
Combination 5 Partner Work (diary entry)
15.03.21 Hour seven of my of my clients second course of stand-up fighting combinations for rhythm and flow brought us onto combination 5. As with the previous three lessons, we followed the format of warming with freestyle work and techniques in the first 10 minute round, including footwork drills, head movement and simple combinations before the two lockdown partners hit the pads. Combination 5 is marked by its footwork and switch-hitting. After throwing a jab/cross, this combination changes to southpaw […]
Movement and Southpaw Fighting (diary entry)
19.10.20 My second Monday night lesson saw the beginning of a 10 hour Muay Thai for Martial Arts Cross Training course with a new client. This client has been training for 15 years in Muay Thai and that includes in-ring fight experience. It was a new challenge for me and I enjoyed being able to introduce new concepts to an individual with firm knowledge on the art. After a warm-up of skipping my client went through some basic combinations before […]
Takedown Defence & Dissecting Set-ups (diary entry)
04.09.19 Wednesday’s junior lesson focused on takedown defence. The senior lesson looked at details for using the hands to set up round kicks, spear knees and round knee strikes. The junior lesson began with dynamic stretching and wresting callisthenics. Then we did some footwork for wrestling, looking at dropping levels and movement from a low stance. Next we did some bulling from the collar and elbow tie, moving into outer reap takedowns and two on-on-ones. Then we moved […]
More Fighting the Reverse Side (diary entry)
15.08.19 Thursday began my client’s new course on sparring development. We will still be following progress from the previous two courses, but there will be a larger emphasis on fighting conditioning and better sparring in general. Today we looked at Western Boxing and Muay Thai. The warm-up looked at agility ladder and cone activities, focusing more on tightening up footwork along with general coordination. The first half of the lesson generally covered the same ground as Wednesday’s lesson. […]
Beyond the Southpaw (diary entry)
14.08.19 My regular Wednesday client had a special extended lesson tonight, where we focused more on switch-hitting. We specifically looked at fighting from a southpaw perspective and countering a southpaw from an orthodox stance. This is something I will also address in tomorrow’s lesson with my other client’s new course on sparring. The lesson began with some more work on the agility ladders. I added in a shifting/pendulum movement and also focused moving in and out an attack […]
Switch-Hitting (diary entry)
03.08.19 Saturday’s lesson saw the conclusion of this client’s specific course on stand-up fighting. We have been looking to better develop a stronger all-round Western Boxing and Kickboxing/Muay Thai skills with my client. Although we covered the material I wanted to on this course, the next block will include some extra work on countering the southpaw. Today’s lesson was all about switch-hitting. We began with some dynamic stretching and then onto our recent regular routine of agility/coordination training. […]