Hey, kids! Welcome back to Part II! If you are reading this it means you want to learn more or you want to critique my teaching skills. Either way, you are here. Today in Part II I’ll drop some more historical knowledge about fighting, my favorite technique Muay Thai, and talk about three of the deadliest punches; the hook (left and right), the uppercut (left and right) and the overhand right.
Fight History
As stated in Part I, fighting is every bit apart of human nature. It allows us to establish dominance, defend property, defend ourselves, and our family. Speaking of defending, the Ancient Thai did just that. Like the Spartans, these warriors were trained from birth to defend their country. The Thai infantry (also known as elephantry) used fucking elephants instead of horses to get the upper hand in battle. That’s right, ELEPHANTS! 12 tons of fury heading towards you with a pissed off army. Since elephants are giant creatures that have vulnerable legs, the Thai had to defend them. The Thai had to be proficient at armed and unarmed combat. The unarmed technique of choice was Muay Thai. Furthermore, it was a style that meant to debilitate an adversary with every blow. Every blow was meant for hard impact. Because Thailand was under constant threat of war, they had to be ready to fight at all times.
So, You Want To Do Muay Thai?
As a result of war, Muay Thai was born. In addition to Muay Thai being a martial art, it is also the national sport of Thailand. It is my favorite striking sport. So you want to try Muay Thai Kickboxing? First of all, I’m not talking about cardio kickboxing your sister does at the local YCMA or a shopping mall so she can look good in her club selfies. Secondly, I am not talking about Van Damme doing the splits style of kickboxing. I am talking bone shattering, shin numbing, blood-soaked kickboxing. Can your puny body handle getting kicked in the thigh a million times? How strong are your shins? Can you handle kicking banana trees until they break? Lastly, I bet your beer gut can’t handle the conditioning nor can your heart handle the cardio. In Part I, I stated that most of you can’t fight. Moving to Thailand and taking up the sport won’t help you. Most of all, if you don’t have the heart, you won’t make it. But since you will probably go to a local MMA gym, you will learn and gradually get to that point.
Hook, Uppercut Overview
In Part I, we covered the jab and cross (the one-two). Now, we are going to discuss the hook (number three and four for left and right respectively) and the over-hand right. These punches, in my opinion, are more devastating than the one-two. These punches can knockout an opponent if landed accurately. Before you go trying to knock someone out because you just watched Ong Bak on Netflix, try learning some techniques.
Hook
To throw a hook make sure your hands and feet are in position (See Part I). For the lead hook(non-dominant hand), pivot on the ball of your lead foot turning it to the right. As you are pivoting, rotate your hip. Instead of throwing straight forward like a jab you will curve your arm like a hook. You can rotate your fist to wear your palm faces you or it faces the ground. The back hand hook (dominant hand) is the same as your lead hook except it is further back. You will also rotate your back leg to the left.
Uppercut
To throw a lead uppercut, first be in your stance. Second, you will make the same leg and foot motion you would make if you were throwing a hook. The difference is your arm will not make a hook motion. As you are pivoting from your foot and rotating your hips, your fist should be coming up, elbow pointing at the ground, arm bent at a ninety-degree angle. To get a better example, watch this video of one of the best to ever do it. He needs no introduction.
Fight When You Have To
As I have previously stated, we fight because it is in our DNA. Since it is in our DNA, we fight when we have to. In this series, I have told you how to throw proper punch combinations. This does not mean go to your nearest watering hole and start trying to punch the first guy that bumps into you. Research, research, research. There are plenty of people out there more skilled and diverse than you. You do not know what someone is capable of doing. Along with boxing, I suggest taking other martial arts or perhaps signing up for classes at the MMA gym. Lastly, do not go picking fights. True warriors use their words first. Thanks for reading! Lastly, Don’t get beaten up. If you do, don’t blame it on us. Oss!
