There are few team names in the world of Mixed Martial Arts that cause people to turn their heads and take notice. While there are some such as Jackson’s Submission, ran by the world famous Greg Jackson, and gyms such as XTreme Couture, those are predominantly known in the North America. However, there is one gym that rings bell all over the globe.
Chute Boxe is a gym that has etched it’s name into stone years ago. With some of the most notorious names in MMA history, Chute Boxe has been called ‘home’ at one point or another for fighters such as Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Anderson Silva, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua and Thiago Silva. All names that hold serious weight in the sport, it’s no surprise as to why Chute Boxe is as good as they get.
Recently, we were lucky enough to have a member of the famous gym join us for training at Black Diamond Mixed Martial Arts. A Muay Thai practionar, Alex Camargo was nice enough to breakdown some of his favorite Thai kicks to our Rhode Island Kickboxing students.
Establishing Proper Technique With The Switch Kick
In a sport such as Mixed Martial Arts, the sport is far more than just punches and grappling. The sport is so intertwined in various aspect of combat, which you have to be well rounded if you want to compete. Luckily, when Alex visited, he broke down a basic, yet tricky move, such as the switch kick.
The switch kick is a quick hitter, meant to throw out in the blink of an eye while generating some serious power. While the move is quick and swift, the damage can be vast and great.
· With the switch kick, you’ll want to start out in your regular stance. The target of this kick will be your opponents lead leg.
· As your prepare to throw the kick out, make sure you shuffle your feet so that your lead foot, is now slightly behind you, and you rear foot is slightly in front. This is where the term “switch” kick comes into play.
· Now that your feet are switched, it is time to fire off that kick, using your lead foot—which is now slightly behind you—as your point of attack.
· Throw the kick in the same manner you would a thai kick—at a downward angle, cutting into your opponents leg.
The Power of The Leg Kick
There are few things that can just demoralize an opponent in the heat of battle. Being able to chop your opponent down to size with leg kicks is one sure-fire way to take one step closer to victory.
The benefits of the leg kicks can go on-and-on:
· Your opponent can’t generate as much force in their strikes.
· They begin to move slowly.
· Takes away their takedown power.
Those are just the tips of the iceberg. You can learn more about the anatomy of the leg kick in this article by DamageControlMMA.com. Like I told my Rhode Island kickboxing students, leg kicks can be some of the most effective ways to end a fight, so make sure you go out there and work on your switch kicks, ASAP!
Dan Faggella