HOW TO THROW A MUAY THAI KICK

Step 1

Set your stance

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lead foot slightly turned in. Your weight should sit about 60 percent on your rear leg, because that leg is the weapon and it needs to be light enough to lift. Hands up, elbows tucked, chin down.

Coaching cue: The kicking leg should feel light. If your weight is parked on it, the kick starts late.

Step 2

Step out at 45 degrees

Step your lead foot diagonally forward and out, about 45 degrees from where it started. This angles your hips toward the target before the kick even begins. A bigger step means a bigger turn, which means more power, but do not overstride or you will lose balance.

Coaching cue: The kick is already loading during the step. Lazy step, lazy kick.

Step 3

Lift the knee across

Raise your rear knee high and bring it across your body toward the target line. Think of lifting it like a knee strike aimed at their ribs. Your hips should already be turning as the knee rises. If the knee goes straight up instead of across, the kick will swing wide.

Coaching cue: Knee across the body, not straight up. The knee is the steering wheel.

Step 4

Rotate the hips all the way over

This is the whole kick. Whip your hips over as if you are trying to turn your belt buckle to face the target, then past it. Your standing foot pivots on the ball so your heel turns toward the target. The leg swings like a bat, not like a knee extension. There is no snap at the knee.

Coaching cue: Bat, not knee. The power comes from the hips turning over, never from kicking the knee straight.

Step 5

Swing the arm down

As the kick goes, swing the same-side arm down and back past your hip. If you kick with the right leg, the right arm swings down. This counter-rotates your torso and adds serious power. Keep the other hand glued to your chin.

Coaching cue: Arm down like you are throwing a baseball down at the ground. The guard hand never leaves the chin.

Step 6

Land with the shin

The weapon is the shin, not the foot. Turn your hips over enough that the inside of your shin connects with the target. The foot should be pointed or relaxed, but it never leads the kick. Follow through the target, then let the leg come back to stance.

Coaching cue: If you are hitting with the top of your foot, you are not turning the hip over enough.

Snapping the kick like a karate kick

Chambering and snapping the knee looks fast but robs the kick of hip rotation, which is where all the real power lives.

Fix: Slow it down and think of your leg as a baseball bat swinging through the target, not a knee extension.

Standing flat-footed

If your standing foot does not pivot, your hips cannot turn over, and the kick gets cut in half before it starts.

Fix: Pivot hard on the ball of the standing foot. Your heel should face the target at the end of the kick.

Dropping both hands

The arm swing tempts beginners to drop their guard completely, which leaves you open to the counter every single time.

Fix: One arm swings, the other stays glued to your chin. No exceptions, even on the heavy bag.

Leaning back away from the kick

Fear of the counter makes beginners lean away, which pulls the hips back and turns the kick into a weak push.

Fix: Lean your head slightly toward the kicking side instead. Your weight goes with the kick, not away from it.

Landing with the foot instead of the shin

The foot has small bones that break. The shin is a dense, solid bone built for impact.

Fix: Turn the hip over one degree more. The shin reaches the target when the hip is fully committed.

Rushing before the step is set

Throwing the kick from a square stance with no step means no hip load, which means arm punches with the leg.

Fix: Step out first, every time. The step is half the kick, so drill the step until it is automatic.