Issue 049

May 2009

Hone up your body kick with our resident MMA fighter, Pete Irving.

One of Muay Thai’s most formidable and highest-scoring techniques, kicking to the body can have devastating effect, potentially breaking ribs and punishing the internal organs. In MMA, even more so than in Muay Thai, body kicks carry the inherent risk of giving your opponent a leg to catch, or of becoming unbalanced and unable to defend the counter. Therefore, when throwing a body kick, one must not only master perfect form, but perfect set-ups for the technique.

3 minute clinic

Keep your hands up

Different styles of guard are employed by different Muay Thai camps, but when kicking with the right leg the right arm will provide balance, held out straight from the body, while the left arm will protect the head, either against the temple or held in front of the face.  

Relax into it 

The hips should be relaxed, as should the knee joint. A stiff leg will inhibit the speed of the kick. 

Rotate for power 

Rotation is the key to generating power in the kick. Note that the back leg is completely rotated, with the heel facing toward the target at the point where the kick would connect.  

Leading with the kick

Step 1 Pete (black) and Knox (white) square up.  

Step 2 Pete leads with a right body-kick and finds himself in range for the right-cross counter.  

Step 3 This time Pete leads with a left body-kick and his head is safely out of range.  

One, two, left body kick

Step 1 Pete and Knox square up.

Step 2 Pete Jabs, bringing Knox’s guard up high and in close.  

Step 3 Pete follows up with a right cross, landing on Knox’s guard again, but forcing him back, keeping his guard up on his head. 

Step 4 Pete lands the left body kick on Knox’s right side, aiming for the liver.

Left, right, left and kick

Step 1 Pete jabs.  

Step 2 Pete follows up with a fake right cross to distract Knox, who is moving backwards away from the punches.  

Step 3 Pete lands the left hook, bringing Knox’s weight to the left side and providing sympathetic rotation…

Step 4 …for the body kick with the right leg.  

Pete Irving is a professional welterweight fighter and Fighters Only’s resident fight expert. With a record of 9-5-1, he has fought in Europe and the USA