Knee Catch And Sweeps With Jompop Kiatphontip
While there are a lot of fighters that utilize knees and elbows, there are no other fighters who are better at it than Muay Thai fighters. Knees especially are used a ton by Muay Thai fighters, especially the ones who grew up training in Thailand.
They have so many knee variations and setups that they could basically land a knee whenever and wherever they want from any distance on a less experienced opponent. This is a pretty impressive feat considering that knees are a pretty close range strike and can have a lot of telegraph if thrown from a big distance.
However, knowing how to throw knees is simply not enough if you want to be good in Muay Thai. You need to know how to defend and counter them as well. That’s why we’ve brought in one of the best Muay Thai fighters from Thailand to show you how it’s done.
In this video, Jompop Kiatphontip goes over how you can catch an opponent’s knee and sweeps off of it.
Who Is Jompop Kiatphontip
Jompop Kiatphontip is a fighter from the motherland of Muay Thai Thailand. Jompop is a Muay Thai veteran who eventually moved to London to teach his art to the eager Brits who wanted to learn. He now owns and is the head coach of his own gym Kiatphontip Leeds in England.
How To Catch A Knee And Sweep It
The video starts off with Jompop having his partner throw a left switch knee at him. Now you don’t want to block knees because even if you get something like your arm in front of a knee, your arm will likely lose that exchange. This is because the knee is a solid bone, at least the cap is, and it will have so much force that it will hurt, even if your opponent blocks it.
This is why catching is a much better option. Jompop has his partner throw the switch knee and this time he steps to the outside and catches it with his rear hand. From there he gets his lead hand on the far side temple of his opponent.
From there you use his lead leg to trip his opponent off of his one standing leg as he uses his arms to pull his opponent towards it to complete the sweep. Make sure that you get some lift on the opponent's leg that you're holding. This will make the trip much easier.
You can also do the same thing when defending against knees from the rear leg, you just have to step to the opposite side. When your opponent throws a rear knee, step out to the side and scoop it to grab it. Then get your other hand and leg in position to sweep.
Just remember, the arm that has the knee lifts up, while the arm on the head pulls down and the leg trips.
Learn More From Jompop Kiatphontip
If you like this breakdown and want to learn more from Jompop Kiatphontip, then you should check out his complete video series “Mastering Muay Thai Elbows & Sweeps by Jompop Kiatphontip” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!