5 Ways to drastically improve your Muay Thai!. Ian Paa

      By strikes I mean a solid Jab, Cross/straight, Hooks, Uppercuts, Elbows, Knees, Teeps, Kicks, and Clinching( a whole other separate subject from the realm of striking; do not get me wrong, the Clinch game is essential, but for the purpose of this Ebook, we will solely focus on the aspect of being in a striking range; i.e a feet or 2 away from the opponent; however I will mention a couple of positions of entry if need be).

      This Ebook is also made to be a supplementation to a Muay Thai Fighter's game, NOT a beginners' tutorial or a guideline/foundation. I have been practicing and studying Muay Thai for over 5 years to know that STYLES and PREFERENCES differ between every individual and my only goal is to outline the small(if not already obvious) details and attributes that add to the skill-set of the many facets of this beautiful art of 8 limbs.

      Let's get to it!

      Loose knees, High heels

      Now let us talk about one of the most overlooked aspects in a practitioners' foundation.

      Whilst I may not be one to claim that what I am about to say is suited for everyone, NOTABLE fighters, however have displayed one aspect that you probably noticed but never payed close attention to....

       LOOSE KNEES, HIGH HEELS.

      That's right, this style of standing might seem awkward at first as most Muay Thai fighters usually have that flat footed style of stance and/or normally have their weight on the rear leg while the front utilizes that so-called looseness.

      I have adapted this stance of comfort after a many trial and error of replicating different styles, mainly the traditional aforementioned stance, a karate-based wide stance (think Conor McGregor/Lyoto Machida/Stephen Thompson), a Rob Kaman and Ramon Dekkers Dutch style of Kickboxing, even went as far as experimenting with completely throwing my style off by recreating a Dominick Cruz-esque rhythm of footwork, in addition to dabbling with those of Prince Naseem and Emanuel Augustus,both of whom display crazy unorthodox footwork. This is also in consideration to the fact that I had amateur and intermediate training partners so being highly obsessed about finding what worked best for me to adjust to most styles, I have concluded that being in a neutral, just a little over shoulder width stance of a traditional Muay thai stance paired well with a BOXER'S LEVEL OF LOOSENESS helped a lot with moving in and out of range from the opponents' attacks.

      As the LOOSE KNEES, HIGH HEELS suggests, we see that utilizing that position not only ALLOWS YOUR BODY TO HAVE A GREAT BASE, IT ALSO SERVES UP FOR BEING ABLE TO MOVE IN AND OUT OF RANGE IF NEED BE.

      Adapting the stance puts the practitioner in the position of also being able to pivot in and out of the opponents' range too, as well as cover greater distances by leaping. Efficiency of conserving energy, which we will be talking about in the next chapter, is also, therefore, effortless.

       Flat footed Vs. Loose Knees high Heels