Leg Attacks

• Video Courtesy of 2-time Light-Heavyweight World Shooto Champion, Erik Paulson.

 

Overview - My opinion is that all serious grapplers and fighters should develop a leg attack game.  It is important to have that diversity in your game, and not just focusing on arm and choke submissions.  When an opponent has to be concerned about not only defending his arms and neck, but also his legs, it opens up many more opportunities for you.  Leg attacks are available at every position whether top or bottom.  Sometimes a failed attempt at a leg lock can put you in a bad position, which makes some leg attack submissions a high risk transition.  But if one trains them enough and they work consistently on your training partners, the attacks can become high percentage attempts.  Frank Mir and Erik Paulson are two World Champion MMA fighters who have made leg locks a part of their success.

 

Knee Bar Tips -

• Use your pelvic bone or your athletic cup as a fulcrum on your opponents knee joint. 
•  Your knees should be bent at about a 90′ angle. 
•  Your feet are to be positioned parallel to each other, crossed, or figure 4 your legs. 
• Hand position, two hands cup opponents heel, hug his lower leg(bow tie), Figure 4 your arms(like a rear naked choke). 
• Opponent leg should be between your head and the ground. 
• If leg above your head, weave your top arm under his leg and push his leg away from your body with your elbow/triceps.
• Squeeze your knees.
• Hips forward.  Wait for the tap, snap, or squeal!!

 Heel Hook Tips -

• Keep opponent knee bent, can not finish if leg is straight. 
• Squeeze your own knees around his leg. 
• Use your radial bone to hook under opponent’s heel. 
• Apply a clap hands grip, chain link grip, figure 4 grip, or two hands on heel to control foot. 
• Roll to side away from captured leg and put your shoulder to the ground

Figure 4 Toe Hold tips -

• Grip high on opponent foot near toes. 
• Cup and grip outside of foot with all five fingers. 
• Squeeze down on toes. 
• Figure 4 hand to wrist( free hand grabs your other wrist). 
•  Crank foot inward with a mindset you would want to put opponent’s toes in his own butt.

Achilles Lock Tips -

• Keep opponents leg bent. 
• Overhook opponents ankle with your arm so your radial bone is across their achilles tendon. 
• Marry your hands together with either a: cup and saucer grip, chain link grip, clap hands grip, or a figure 4 grip.
• Make sure opponent’s foot is wedged into your arm pit. 
• Lean back on their foot as this helps weaken their tendon. 
• Squeeze knees together around trapped leg, lift grip to high of  your chest, lean back and arch.

The author of this blog, Bruce Lombard, is a Certified Coach of Combat Submission Wrestling(CSW) and is available for training and provides a free initial consultation. To contact Bruce to setup your free consultation, please dial 814-404-7307 or write tfgma@yahoo.com for more information.

Muay Thai Counter Striking

• Video Courtesy of Muay Thai World Champion, Duke Roufus.

 

Overview - To have initial and consistent success in the ring or cage a fighter has to understand the importance of counter striking.  Every fighter usually gets hit multiple times during their fight.  Accept that it is part of the sport, and strike back. 

Counter Strike Strategy(options) -

• Strike first, strike last, and adjust to what happens in between.  
• Opponent punches - you kick, opponent kicks - you punch. 
• Utilize a first counter strike uppercut - hard for opponent to pick it up. 
• Counter with combinations, not just single strikes. 
•  Let their jab set up your power tools: cross, hook, uppercut, kick, knee.
• Simultaneous striking! 
• Use your foot jab(Teep) to counter opponent’s boxing or round kicks. 

 

Conclusion:  A fighter will be successful if they have great conditioning, dictate fight pace(strike first), and counter strike(strike last).  Sparring with experienced and ego-less training partners who hit you constantly is the best training to becoming a better counter striker.  SPAR, SPAR, SPAR!!

The author of this blog, Bruce Lombard, is a Certified Coach of Combat Submission Wrestling(CSW) and is available for training and provides a free initial consultation. To contact Bruce to setup your free consultation, please dial 814-404-7307 or write tfgma@yahoo.com for more information.

Counter The Muay Thai Clinch

 

• Two-time World Shooto Champion, Erik Paulson, breaks down two options to counter the Muay Thai clinch(Plumm) position. 

Overview -The Muay Thai clinch is a very dominant offensive position for Muay Thai or MMA competition. One of the most effective ways in my own and my fighters experience’s to counter the dominance is by utilizing this wedge or over/under arm position.  

Advantages -

1. This is a high percentage counter to the Plumm position. 
2. At the very least you will neutralize your opponents dominance. 
3. Weakens your opponents arms ,and therefore, the clinch.
4. Gives you better opportunity to re-clinch your opponent.
5. Provides a stronger possibility, with the elbow pop, to shuck your opponents arm or arms off your head to clear the clinch.
6. Allows you to create space so you can trade effective and powerful knees against your opponent.

Position Break Down -

1. Your top forearm needs to be wedged into your opponents throat while grabbing on to his far trapezius. (Glove-less or MMA gloves)
2. If wearing a 10-16oz boxing glove you should push your glove across his face to grab the opposite trapezius. 
3. Lift your forearm/elbow up to pop your opponent’s chin up. This helps to create space to weave your free arm in to re-clinch your opponent
4. Hard to weave arm through if you have 10-16oz gloves on. 
5. Bottom arm is to block opponent’s straight knees  
6. Think to block opponent’s high thigh and not their low quad or knee in case he pulls you sharply forward into their own knee. 
7. Hips are thrust in, while making yourself tall by lifting up onto the ball of your feet. 
8. Angle your feet outward(like a Duck) so you will have better lateral balance.
9. In this rare case, you want your chin up instead of down, think short strong neck so opponent cannot pull you into their knees, spin you, throw you, or front choke you. 
10. Elbow pop, instead of arm weave, is higher percentage technique if wearing gloves.
11. Elbow pop opens up a diagonal or curve knee to opponent’s body
12. Easier to shuck opponent’s arm off when you pop one of their arms off your head

 Conclusion - The Muay Thai clinch is a very difficult position to counter.  Though, in my opinion, the most effective counter is the over/under or wedge technique.  At the very least it can neutralize your opponents control. Best case, there is a high percentage if trained enough and your timing is on, you can re-clinch your opponent or clear the clinch all together.

The author of this blog, Bruce Lombard, is a Certified Coach of Combat Submission Wrestling(CSW) and is available for training and provides a free initial consultation. To contact Bruce to setup your free consultation, please dial 814-404-7307 or write tfgma@yahoo.com for more information.

Muay Thai Leg Kick

•  Video courtesy of Duke Roufus

Overview- World Muay Thai Champion Duke Roufus, demonstrates and breaks down the highly effective Muay Thai leg kick.

Advantages

• Slightly more difficult for opponents to defend against, as opposed to body or head kicks.
• There are four targets to work with on the legs: outside lead leg, inside lead leg, inside rear leg, outside rear leg.
• Allows striker to reach the target quicker and retract their leg back to the ground faster for additional strikes or to defend.
• The more you chop away at your opponents leg, this helps open up punches and kick to your opponents body and head.
• When you break down your opponents base, their game is less effective with movement, speed, and power.

Set-ups

• Leg kicks are most effective when set up with your own punches or simultaneously countering your opponents punches.
• Think high to low combinations, such as, jab cross hook - leg kick.

Defenses and Counters

• shin up check
• bounce back evade
• overhook catch
• straight cross
• lead hook
• return kick with opposite leg opponent kicked with.(Opponent kicks with their right, return with your left)

Conclusion - The Muay Thai leg kick as demonstrated by World Champion, Duke Roufus, is a frequently used and high percentage strike in the sport of Thai Boxing and also Mixed Martial Arts.  Though there are defenses against this strike, it is difficult to consistently pull them off. The best way to neutralize this strike is to counter back with strikes of your own, such as a straight cross.

The author of this blog, Bruce Lombard, is a Certified Coach of Combat Submission Wrestling(CSW) and is available for training and provides a free initial consultation. To contact Bruce to setup your free consultation, please dial 814-404-7307 or write tfgma@yahoo.com for more information.

Scarf Hold (Kesa Getami)

Overview: A very dominant, top, crossbody position that is effective for controlling, submitting, or striking.

Advantages: This top position provides effective body control of your opponent, multiple submission opportunities, various arm traps for high percentage striking. It is a very difficult position for the bottom person to escape from.

Disadvantages: Very challenging for person on their back to create space and execute an effective escape. There are not many disadvantages to this dominant position.

Transitions: Such a dominant position that—if possible—I would typically recommend maintaining it. However, one can transition to side mount, which can lead to fluid transitions to other dominant top positions such as: north/south, knee on belly, or mount.

Submissions: Keylocks, neck cranks, armbars, and chokes are the most common submissions from this position. Combat Submission Wrestling creator, Erik Paulson, demonstrates a key lock chain in Video 1, and a neck crank in Video 2.

Striking: Various traps of your opponent arms via your own legs or arms are available for the taking.  This opens up devastating striking options to bottom persons head. Common strikes from here can include: elbow high downward punches, hammer fists, reverse hammer fists, snip elbows, and downward/vertical elbows.

Conclusion: Scarf Hold/ Kesa Getami is an extremely effective and dominant top position For controlling, submitting, and striking your opponent.  High percentage results for submission grappling or MMA competition.

Video 1

• Video Courtesy of Erik Paulson

Video 2

• Video Courtesy of Erik Paulson

The author of this blog, Bruce Lombard, is a Certified Coach of Combat Submission Wrestling(CSW) and is available for training and provides a free initial consultation. To contact Bruce to setup your free consultation, please dial 814-404-7307 or write tfgma@yahoo.com for more information.