Issue 064
July 2010
One of the most entertaining and creative strikers in MMA, Cung Le competed in the Chinese martial art of san shou for many years before making the switch to MMA. His flashy techniques look like they belong in a kung fu movie, but he can pull off moves in the cage that catch fighters unaware.
Right hook
As a southpaw, Cung Le’s right hand is ideally positioned to hook over his opponent’s jab.
In the Gym
Try reversing your stance and see how much stronger your lead hook is when using your power hand. Work the bag standing lefty and throw Cung Le-style hand combinations such as right hook, left uppercut, right hook.
In Action
In Cung Le’s MMA debut, he KO’d Mike Altman with a perfectly placed right hook set up by a left body kick.
Throws and takedowns
Cung Le’s repertoire of takedowns from san shou (a Chinese style of kickboxing) closely resemble those from traditional wrestling styles such as Greco-Roman and freestyle. The major difference is that setups are based on using (or reacting) to punches and kicks.
In the Gym
Throw the sidekick but deliberately miss and slide your hips in deep. Post on your hand, spin all the way through and execute a leg-scissor takedown.
Cung also favors high single-legs and suplexes – catch kicks or slip under punches before hoisting your partner up (crash mats are essential for training the suplex).
In Action
Cung routinely sends his opponents flying to the canvas. Look at his fight with Frank Shamrock for how to counter a kick with a takedown.
Spinning back-kicks
A southpaw, Le often leads with the left body kick, encouraging his opponents to circle away from the power side. As they maneuver their lead leg to the outside of Cung Le’s lead leg, they put themselves into the path of the spinning heel-kick from the left leg. If they move back when the left body-kick connects, Cung can follow up with a spinning back-kick to the body with his right leg.
In the Gym
First train using a body shield to build up accuracy with the spinning back-kick. Keep the target in sight until the very last moment – let your body begin the spin, and then whip your head around as you kick.
In Action
Check out Cung Le versus Tony Fryklund. Cung used his sidekick and body kick to maneuver Fryklund into the path of his spinning techniques.
Kicks
Cung Le’s success with his kicks comes from a keenly developed sense of distance and timing. Because he has great variation in his choice of techniques, he is very unpredictable.
In the Gym
Both you and your training partner hold Thai pads. Trade kick combinations one for one (the way Cung Le does) to give you the sense of a real fight while working the pads. Combine spinning back-kicks with body kicks, leg kicks with sidekicks. String together combinations of two kicks, then three, four and upwards, going back and forth with your partner.
In Action
Cung Le dominated the heavy favorite Frank Shamrock by using all of the various kicks in his arsenal and controlling the distance throughout.
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