How To Drill The Hook - Low Kick On The Bag With Duane Ludwig
If you ever went into a Muay Thai gym, you know that working the bag has an essential rule in developing the fighters, but why is that? When we work the bag two main things happen:
- The impact on the bag will develop the muscles and energy systems needed in a fight.
- The impact of the bag will condition our bones, so we are more durable.
When we are drilling with a partner or against the bag, we have some combinations that go well together; one of them is the lead hook to a low kick, and this is because when we throw the hook, we can push our partner's weight to his front leg, so he cant block the low kick coming.
Many athletes face the problem of getting tagged with punches when they throw a low kick; this happens because the range is short, and the athlete throwing the kick keeps his head in the centerline.
The solution to the problem is simple; we need to move our head off the centerline or pull it back and frame with our hands; here are some options we can use:
- stepping to the left with the low kick
- stepping to the right with a hook and landing the low kick from an angle
- pulling our head back and extending our right hand as a frame while throwing the low kick
Drilling this simple combination is so important because it has many variations. We can easily make a mistake if we are not used to the combo, which can be dangerous for us as we are at a punching distance
In this video, Duane Ludwig will show us how he likes to drill the hook - low-kick combination.
Who Is Duane Ludwig?
Duane Ludwig is one of the best striking coaches in MMA, and he has worked closely with former UFC bantamweight champion T.j. Dillashaw. Duane began his career as a professional kickboxer and then transitioned to MMA, where he found success and broke records. Today Duane is focusing on developing his team and making striking in MMA better than ever before.
Check Out Duane's Other Instructionals HERE! Click Learn More!
Drilling The Hook - Low Kick
Duane starts the video by introducing us to the drill “The hook - Low kick,” this is one of the most basic combinations in kickboxing; we are simply going to step forward with a hook and follow it up with a low kick.
Notice that it follows the same guidelines as the “Jab - Low kick,” where we pull ourselves forward to the bag with a step and then take our head off the centerline with another step to the side while throwing a low kick.
When I throw my low kick, I want to extend my right hand forward to touch the bag; this forms a frame and a measuring stick for us, so we can exit the combination at the proper distance instead of getting too close to our opponent where stepping out of range can be dangerous.
The rhythm we want to have when performing the drill is - start slow with a gallop that pulls us forward and then immediately cut to the side with the low kick. After we finish the combination, we must stay in a fighting stance and use a switch step (where I retreat by pulling my lead foot back first and then the back foot steps back) to get us back in front of the bag.
Learn More From Duane Ludwig
If you liked this drill and how Duane teaches it, you will find many more drills that can help you improve if you check out - “The Complete Line Drill Manual - By Duane Ludwig” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.