Defensively Sound Combinations From Rafael Cordeiro
Rafael Cordeiro is a three time Muay Thai World Champion, as well as one of the most sought after coaches in the combat sports world. As head coach at Kings MMA located in Huntington Beach California, Coach Rafael Cordeiro has trained world renowned fighters such as Fabricio Werdum, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, Lyoto Machida and Rafael dos Anjos among many others such as currently coaching Boxing super star Mike Tyson!
Coach Rafael Cordeiro starts by explaining that for this drill, you will start by landing a jab if your own, expecting a counter back from the opponent, block the opponents strike and then off of your block landing an elbow of your own. You can expect the opponent to try to counter your jab at some point in the fight, the jab is the most common strike thrown so it more often than not will be the strike that people try to counter the most. Your jab has many utilities, it can be used to cause damage, probe your opponent's defenses and test the distance as well as used to set up a more powerful shot. For this drill, you will use your jab to entice your opponent to try to fire back on you after you hit them.
When throwing your jab, Coach Rafael Cordeiro shows that you want to allow your arm to fully extend, giving yourself max reach while your jabbing shoulder comes up to protect your chin. This type of jab should keep you pretty protected because of the shoulder protecting your face while fully utilizing the full range of your arm, because of this Coach Cordeiro expects the opponent to counter after the jab lands. Once your jab comes back to your guard, Coach Cordeiro shows to block the opponent's rear hook with your jabbing hand. Once the strike is blocked you will step forward and throw a slashing elbow with your lead arm, the arm that threw the jab and blocked the opponent’s right hand counter!
This drill teaches you to throw your jab, using the full length of your arm while simultaneously keeping your head protected with your striking arm, expecting a counter from the opponent you are ready to block their attack and quickly move in for an elbow strike. The elbow strike counter off of the opponent’s rear hook is an intelligent counter because the looping motion of the hook punch leaves the opponent’s face open for a second, making it possible to quickly step in and slice the opponent's face with your elbow on the side that they opened up to try to counter your jab. Being able to change the distance from long range where you are using jabs to control distance to in tight where you can land elbows is a crucial skill for Muay Thai and MMA fighters alike, those who can control the distance and land their strikes without taking damage are usually the one who win the fight.
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