a question about checking

[cyb5]

what do you think is the best way to check a leg kick ?

as far as i know thai stylists check with the foot horizontal

but normal kick boxers do it with the foot vertical..

but i have seen JWP check with the foot vertical.

does this make sense ?

any one got any ideas ?
suggestions? comments ?

[SDM]

I've been taught to keep the foot horizontal as it is supposed to tense up the muscle & nerves around the shin hence making it more effective long term & hurt less. Gotta say i do find it hard to do it as my feet seem to want to just fall vertical out of habit.

~ONLY MY OPINION~

[sooty]

A Good Question!

The checking leg lifting styles varies from style to style & fighter to fighter.

One of the benifits in keeping the toes pointed to the floor when leg checking, is that it can make it harder for your opponent to slip his or her low kick "under" your blocking foot/shin and try and attack the "back leg" thus making it easier to knock / sweep you down.

Idealy you want to Block, Knee to Shin. Your opponents Shin collides with your knee when you leg check. If done correctly your opponent "should" take most of the percussion of the blow on their Shin, and again ideally, you should feel "nothing". If you feel pain when blocking this way then you are probably "doing it wrong".

On another not if you Block shin to shin, then it will always be " who has the "hardest shins"

Well theirs my 2 bobs worth.

regards
Mark [ aka sooty ]

[Glenn]

I've always checked leg-kicks with the top half of my shin if possible, where the bone is the thickest.

Watch Thai's fight and you'll notice that they don't leg kick much at all when fighting each other. Perhaps this is because that:

1) Leg kicks are easy to check

2)Shins get banged up very easily when it's bone against bone.

When I've been to camps in Thailand, there was no emphasis on leg kicking whatsoever. Whilst I'm no "expert" on this and the above is my own opinion, it would be interesting to see what some of the fighters on this board think.

[cyb5]

i used to check with my foot vertical and shin to shin.

but now having moved toa muay thai gym, i have been taught to check with my foot horizontal and use that hard bump just under your knee to collide with your opponets lower shin or foot, depending on how good u time it...


thanks for the input mark.

i always thought that the latter way i mentioned above was typical for thai stylists, but then i noticed a gew photos with JWP using the first technique i mentoned.
and as JWP is known for his great defences i tought i would ask..

do you think this is just becasue of personal preference ?

[Glenn]

Just read your post Sooty and I agree with the knee to shin comment.

[cyb5]

cheers to the other that gave there feedback too.

appreciate it

[lamb_chops]

i think the best way to check is to hold your leg up as soon as he starts to punch and if he trys to kick the back leg just switch to the other leg and keep lifting each leg up one after the other if ther a good leg kicker or a repeditive one on both legs.And as to horizontal or vertical i still think just to put your leg straight up. but deffenitlly holding your leg up like JWP is the go. most fighters get cought to much by hand and feet combanations which is the best set up for a leg kick. so i think you shouldent wait just already start holding ya leg up as soon as a punch combanation is thrown.

cheers. jason

[sooty]

Points Noted lamb_chops.

Experience would contribute greatly when standing on one leg for too long. The experienced fighter ( one assumes is talented and highly skilled ) could/should
note the difference between someone throwing only a hand combination & then not continuing, or someone who will "set" with the hands and ultimatly steping through and trying to attack with a sweeping low kick after the defensive fighter holds the gaurd up & front leg raised for too long..

Yes, we see JWP do it, but we also see that it is very rare to see someone throw combination with the hands and then step through effectivly to upset Waynes balance. ( All the Thai fights i guess )

cheers
Mark

[Don Damage]

I think the way you hold your foot is personal preferance. Although holding the foot horizontal will lesson the risk of being hit on the foot with the full force of a shin. One thing I have tryed to do when checking is to rotate the shin back so it is 45 degrees to your opponent and keep the check low as they attack with a leg kick. This has a three fold affect. Firstly your opponent is more likly to hit your shin with there foot (small bones Vs big bones). Second if the kick comes high, the rotation of your body takes some of the power from there kick and thirdley if the kick comes high you can catch the leg and perform a plow.

[Rickstar]

I agree with Chops method. I think that wayne parr's defence is the best in the business. It may be hard to get right, but isn't it worth the initial hiccups if you can establish a form of defense that is as good as wayne's. Checking is very much a personal preference i think, because so many people check in different ways, but i have always been told to check with the foot horizontal- for all of the reasons previously listed and to turn out 45 degrees.

Increase the peace- Rickstar