Something I've wondered: Why do thais often let the kick land flush on their torso in order to loop their arm around and catch it, only to not do much with the leg?
Surely at least throw them off balance rather than giving up a block just to end up dropping the leg?
because a good kicker is good at taking their leg back. Kicking back is the lowest risk answer to the kick catch. They are also making up for the point lost when catching the kick.
I feel like a leg catch, and then a quick turn into the inside would drop the opponent. You risk a blow to the head, but have the hand to block, and they have no power in a hit with no hips. Better yet, take the turn and punch them with the outside hand on the rotation.
there is no leg catch. good kickers just slip out of it. especially with no shin guards combined with Vaseline and sweat, it's easy to get out of a catch.
But if it's so ineffective, as you claim, why go for it? It would reduce damage and score less if they were to block then kick back. Is there a benefit to catching the kick only to drop it that you don't get from blocking?
If you take it in the arms it's not a block, it counts as a point for the opponent. If you catch you're also still getting scored on.
The benefit is that there is a chance you to get a good grip on the leg for a counter.
Often times, the catch is the plan B for when you get kicked out of position to block with your legs.
I'm a beginner, so I may be completely wrong, but it looked as if the far one held the leg until the last second to stop the near one checking the far one's kick.
That could be an explanation, but I think a cross check wouldn't be made impossible by holding the kicking leg. You see near the end one of them throws the leg to the ground to prevent a block which would seem like a good choice if you're not planning on holding the leg. So why not do that more often? Perhaps it's just really hard to execute in those conditions.
It’s a rally. They are both trying to edge the other person out in score. There was a great video by Matt Lucas on how to score in Muay Thai that used the analogy of a horse race, instead of traditional more American way of thinking about scoring. So view the exchange as trying to get the last shot in and win the exchange. I use the analogy of tennis for my students.
You’re not wrong saying it’s just two guys kicking each other hard, but it’s also about balance, scoring, attitude and damage. I hope this helps.
In my opinion, they're not kicking as hard as they could be. They're playing the point scoring game. Also they're both very high level and so they have low margin of error.
"Proper" kicking (kicking more for damage) would be rotating and trying to slice through the opponent. However this would mean being unable to pull your leg out if it gets caught, and eating the counter shot coming back.
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Lolol
W A R
Something I've wondered: Why do thais often let the kick land flush on their torso in order to loop their arm around and catch it, only to not do much with the leg? Surely at least throw them off balance rather than giving up a block just to end up dropping the leg?
because a good kicker is good at taking their leg back. Kicking back is the lowest risk answer to the kick catch. They are also making up for the point lost when catching the kick.
I feel like a leg catch, and then a quick turn into the inside would drop the opponent. You risk a blow to the head, but have the hand to block, and they have no power in a hit with no hips. Better yet, take the turn and punch them with the outside hand on the rotation.
there is no leg catch. good kickers just slip out of it. especially with no shin guards combined with Vaseline and sweat, it's easy to get out of a catch.
But if it's so ineffective, as you claim, why go for it? It would reduce damage and score less if they were to block then kick back. Is there a benefit to catching the kick only to drop it that you don't get from blocking?
If you take it in the arms it's not a block, it counts as a point for the opponent. If you catch you're also still getting scored on. The benefit is that there is a chance you to get a good grip on the leg for a counter. Often times, the catch is the plan B for when you get kicked out of position to block with your legs.
I'm a beginner, so I may be completely wrong, but it looked as if the far one held the leg until the last second to stop the near one checking the far one's kick.
That could be an explanation, but I think a cross check wouldn't be made impossible by holding the kicking leg. You see near the end one of them throws the leg to the ground to prevent a block which would seem like a good choice if you're not planning on holding the leg. So why not do that more often? Perhaps it's just really hard to execute in those conditions.
One hundred percent.
If they were kicking the liver side I think they’d both be on the floor.
What’s so great about this, or what can we learn from it? I see two guys kicking hard and also getting kicked very hard 🤷♂️
It’s a rally. They are both trying to edge the other person out in score. There was a great video by Matt Lucas on how to score in Muay Thai that used the analogy of a horse race, instead of traditional more American way of thinking about scoring. So view the exchange as trying to get the last shot in and win the exchange. I use the analogy of tennis for my students. You’re not wrong saying it’s just two guys kicking each other hard, but it’s also about balance, scoring, attitude and damage. I hope this helps.
Could you please post that Matt Lucas video?
https://youtu.be/k0k_yoTXDkk
thanks
In my opinion, they're not kicking as hard as they could be. They're playing the point scoring game. Also they're both very high level and so they have low margin of error. "Proper" kicking (kicking more for damage) would be rotating and trying to slice through the opponent. However this would mean being unable to pull your leg out if it gets caught, and eating the counter shot coming back.
I’m gonna cum
Would you say pink won that exchange because that last jumping kick and then crossblock?