Difficulty kicking the muay thai way coming from karate

RW · Green Belt

I have been practicing karate in one way or the other for 10 years. The one thing that instructors and other students always complimented was... my kicks.

I am transitioning to Muay Thai and turns out my kicks don't transition to Muay Thai (e.g. the teep is actually much different from the mae geri/front kick, and the muay thai roundhouse looks the same as the karate mawashi geri/round house but it's completely different!), which is ok, but... it seems I am terrible at kicking the muay thai way?

I am not making much progress, and my instructor is great and patient but I almost feel like I am wasting his (and my) time?

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Help!

Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

Follow through with your round house kick with full power, no pulling back, which if you miss your target, you should be swinging your body completely around in to the same position you started in.

Follow through with front kicks also, as if trying to push the opponent over more than striking, keeping in mind that it is the fall that hurts the opponent, more than the striking; also that there are two types of MT kicks to consider, long and short range.

martialartsandfitnessuk · White Belt

Hi Rw,

I had something similar going from Karate to Kickboxing. I also struggled with the kicking to begin with and also the sparring as I had only done point stop but kickboxing was continuous, very frustrating : )

As mentioned, follow through with your kicks rather than snapping them back. it's almost like you're dragging the leg round from the hip. Hope that makes sense?

Keep practicing and I'm sure you will adapt in time.

Tim x
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Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

Throwing a round house kick MT style is similar to swinging a baseball bat, also the shin is the weapon and not the foot, as in karate.

Suggest going easy on using this type of kick, as in Thailand, children to adulthood have been raised doing them with many years of conditioning behind them.

It is the knees that need the most conditioning not just the shins.

As knees are a weak spot for most, imagine whacking a wooden stick against a metal lamppost, the stick will break in two pieces, this is similar to the jolt on to the knee joint.

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Other than the advise already given, all I can suggest is to listen to your instructor, and work very hard to implement the methods he is trying to impart in you. Its tough to do, but try to leave your Karate-kicking style outside when you come in the door, and really focus on the MT components of kicking. Lots more follow-through, I'm guessing, and with the round kicks, you really turn your hips into them.

The key here, is to really learn the MT way of kicking, and when you get proficient at it, you'll be able to see ways to work both ways of kicking into your sparring. Its all a matter of time.

tallgeese · Black Belt

I have to agree with BushidoMan, it's never a waste of time. You're or theirs. As you progress and explore a new art. Keep it up. It's worth it.

To your question, totally.. yes, I dealt with the same thing. I'd venture a guess that pretty much everyone who has made that jump struggles. Again, focus on follow through, concentrate on sticking to the target, and mentally always drive through the target.

You'll get there. Keep at it and keep us posted.
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RW · Green Belt

you guys are awesome, this is so motivating. Thanks for your great advice!

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

sensei8 · KF Sensei

Oftentimes, transitions can be difficult to negotiate through learning that styles methodology. This can depend on how long one had been doing a style; teaching a new muscle memory a new way can be quite frustrating.

I believe that it's similar to when someone becomes fluent in more than one language; which one do they dream in while asleep...or...is their that pause as the brain switches form one to another, and then back, and then to another.

I've dealt with this, what you're experiencing, each time I would learn another's methodology concerning their technique(s); this can be a pit fall for any type of cross training.

I've a very close friend that subs at a local dojo from time to time. His core style is TKD, but when he subs, he teaches Shorin-ryu. He found that difficult at first because he'd refer from Shorin-ryu right back to TKD right in the middle of teaching, in which he'd have to correct himself so as not to confuse the students.

Keep at it!! After all, as the old saying says...Practice makes perfect.

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Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

What not to do when kicking, as better to learn this concept by an expert, the easy way, by some one else's experience.

https://youtu.be/NXKYZ8kWock

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