Inward Angle Knee
An inward knee (familiar to Muay Thai fighters) allows the knee to be brought up and then in. It is given in a clinch, when the defender must create room to deliver the strike.
Starting Position: Begin in a clinch with an opponent.
Lift one
knee out
to the side,
pointing your
knee toward the ceiling
and your
foot toward the
floor.
Drive
your knee forward into
the attacker,
tipping your knee sharply
so that it
leads the motion
and adds more impact
on delivery.
Defenses
Inside Defense against Left-Right Combination (Two Inside Defenses)
A left-right punching combination is one of the most common moves in fighting. Students should train to be aware of it and defend it.
Starting Position: Left-leg-forward fighting stance, facing your attacker.
As your
attacker throws a
left punch, make
an Inside Defense
(page 56) with your right
hand. Your
left hand should
be up, ready to
defend against the
imminent right
punch.
As
your attacker
throws the right
punch, make
an Inside Defense
against it
with your left
hand while shifting
your head
to the
opposite side in a
body defense.
Inside Defense against Left-Right Combination (Lean Back and Trap)
The left-right punching combination is so common that fighters will often employ it over and over again, creating a rhythm of which they are unaware. Good fighters should notice and exploit this. The punch can be presented in two scenarios: either when the defender is surprised by the attack, or the defender sets up the attacker. Since setting up the attacker is the easier version, we’ll deal with the scenario of complete surprise first.
Starting Position: Left-leg-forward fighting stance, facing an opponent.
As the
left punch comes,
lean away from your
attacker to avoid
the left
punch.
As
the right
punch comes,
make an Inside
Defense with your
left hand. As
soon as the defense
is made,
hook your
left hand to
clear the punching
hand and
counterattack. Burst in
as much as
possible.
Tips:
Lean back as
much as possible but
make sure your
feet are stable
enough to
allow you to burst
back into the
fight (your
ability to do
this, however, will
depend on your
state of
readiness,
and you may
not be able to
shift your
weight much).
To achieve this, stand
on the ball of
your back foot.
When training to “time” the opponent’s punch, this technique can be very effective. Lean back as though leaving the fight. This will often make the attacker come after you, committing strongly to his right punch and leaving him open, since you are anticipating that punch. You should only attempt this technique (leaning out of the fight to sucker the attacker in) only if you’ve noticed a constant habit of left-right punches. Even so, always be aware that a fight can change, and the attacker may choose that moment to make a variation.
Inside Defense against Left-Right Combination (Using One Hand)
For various reasons (mainly due to injury), we may be forced to defend a left-right punching combination using only the forward hand. We never choose to defend this way.
Starting Position: Left-leg-forward fighting stance, facing your attacker.
As the
attacker throws
the left punch,
make an Inside
Defense using your
left (forward) hand.
As
the right punch comes in, imme diately make an Outside Defense #1
(see page 177) with the same hand, creating a chopping motion against
the incoming arm.
Variation: Using Outside Defense #3 (page 179) is possible and often safer, as it covers more variations of the straight punch.
