Sylvie's Technique Vlog - The Non-Switch Lead Kick

My technique vlogs aren't demo videos. They are just plain old discussions of my personal experiences in training techniques that I work on as a fighter. They are just vlogging about the things I've discovered around techniques. 

This technique is one that I've kind of be working on, on and off, for many years. It more or less developed over time on its own, but I have focused specifically on it a few times per year for the past 6 years or so, ever since moving to Pattaya. My trainer Kru Nu has an amazing non-switch lead leg kick that comes out of f***ing nowhere and has really nice speed and power on it. The reason it's been developing whether I've worked specifically on it or not is because of him, because he holds for it. That's also how I learned my teep. Just doing it, almost like a panic button until it became an actual tool.

The reason the non-switch lead kick is so good is that it's very hard to read and, if you're the same stance as your opponent (Orthodox vs Orthodox, or Southpaw vs Southpaw), this goes right into their open side which in Thailand is a high-scoring strike. The open side is the side where the belly button is pointing to. The switch step that is sometimes used for the open side kick is often a telegraph. Not always and there are reasons to switch at times and in some contexts, but many Thai trainers see the switch as a waste of time and a "tell." So learning to not switch is a benefit both in your own arsenal and also to not have your Thai trainer shaking his head at you all the time if you're training in Thailand. It's about weight transfer, often very subtle weight transfer. It's how Karuhat throws a headkick from a standstill, it's how almost any of us throws a lead leg teep. Shift your weight to your back foot and fire the front leg. You'll be clumsy and obvious and have no speed or power at first, but you just keep doing it until all those things come into the picture. And a secondary, less difficult, way to not switch in space for that lead kick is to instead just walk forward, turn the front leg into your back leg, and fire away. By switching stance by walking forward (a switch kick is, technically, just switching your stance at a stand-still) you can still nail that open side but close distance at the same time or cut an angle, if your opponent is moving backwards.

Thanks for supporting my technique vlogs as a patron, I hope you are enjoying them!

All my Technique Vlogs for Patrons

Check out my other Patron-only technique vlogs:

#24 Getting on Your Toes (13 min) 

#23 How to Use Bagwork in Thailand (17 min)

#22 Guard: Palms Facing Outward (17 min)

#21 Your Ambient Footwork (15 min)

#20 Jang-wa, Rhythm and Timing (15 min)

#19  Training Ruup & Composure  (13 min)

#18   Closing the Door in Long Guar (11 min) 

#17  Static Block for Balance (9 min)

#16 The Diamond Guard (20 min)

#15 Mental Gym, Beginning to Advanced Visualization (19 min)

#14 Getting the Right Hand In (13 min)

#13 Rising on Techniques (6 min)

#12 Control of the Kick (6 min)

#11 Body Position First (11 min)

#10 All About How I Recover (12 min)

#9 Creating Power and Distance At Close Range (9 min)

#8 Where Are Your Feet? Foot Position (9 min)

#7 Evolving in the Long Guard (10 min)  

#6 The Power of Eye Contact (10 min) 

#5 Dieselnoi's Lowkick in the Clinch (12 min) 

#4 Air Knees in the Corner (8 min) 

#3 Acceleration at the End of Strikes (10 min)

#2 The Kem Pivot (12 min) 

#1 Dealing With Fear, How to Cut it Out (13 min)

Remember you can browse the entire Muay Thai Library here