Some practical questions answered, more Muay Thai notes

Over the last couple of sessions, I was able to ask my instructor some of the questions that have been on my mind for months now. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Can I throw a sidekick against an opponents leg? In general, no, since the target is too low, its too easy to wind up kicking the opponent’s knee, w/c would result in a foul. Best to do a low sweep-like kick that hits/blocks with the hollow of the foot, to block an incoming thai kick to the inside thigh.
• Can I punch a guy’s hands? Even when he’s just on a basic guard position (hands up like a boxer)? Yes. Its a brute force technique, but its allowed. The effectiveness of it, of course, would be on how much brute force you can generate. Heheh.
• Can I pull the other guy’s arms down to open him up? Yes.
• If I grab a guy by the neck or back of the head, can I elbow him or punch him? Yes.
• Can I elbow a guy on the shoulder? Yes, again.

This is all in context of an official Muay Thai bout, though. In a real streetfight, there wouldn’t be anyone to call a foul, and a sidekick to the knee would be very effective, methinks.

Other notes from the previous sessions:

• Karate-style roundhouse kicks (w/c strike with the ball of the foot) are still present in Muay Thai, although its considered a “side kick”, instead of a “roundhouse kick”.
• A spinning heel kick or a spinning back kick is a viable alternative to a spinning back fist, as a follow-up to a roundhouse kick that misses its target — they’re all a good means of keeping the opponent at bay in case your roundhouse misses and you wind up with your back partially turned on your opponent.
• Eating corn instead of rice does give you greater endurance and make you feel lighter on your feet. Its all anectodal of course, but that’s my experience so far.
• So does not drinking cold drinks (help with building stamina, that is). I dunno why or how exactly it works, but again, from my experience, it does.

I also learned quite a bit about the lamentable politics of sports as well as the history of Muay Thai in the Philippines, but I’ll save it for another post sometime.