Shifting Right Hand To A Lead Middle Kick With Duane Ludwig
The Middle kick is a type of roundhouse kick used in Muay Thai. Its primary purpose is to break the opponent’s defense through powerful kicks repeatedly until his hands are too damaged and useless so we can land our fight-ending high kicks and hurt his punching ability.
The Middle Kick has become popular due to its extensive use in the ring and cage. It showed its effectiveness repeatedly with the ability to finish the fight immediately when it lands directly at the torso and ribs.
To perform a middle kick, the practitioner needs to have a straight axis leg to turn over as he lifts his knee in a cutting motion and rotates his hips to keep the momentum and deliver a powerful kick that will go through the target.
The main problem with the middle kick is that it requires a good setup to work consistently; it is a strike that can put us in great danger as the opponent can easily catch it and control our balance, so we are left with one leg on the ground where it is easy to sweep us and take us down. The best setup we can perform when it comes to a middle kick involves creating an angle. When we are throwing a kick from an angle, our opponent will find it hard to catch as he cant wrap the leg when it’s not cutting him from side to side.
We can also use setups that involve timing our opponent and delivering the kick simultaneously as he is punching. The body will be open with no risk of the opponent catching the kick.
Remember that it doesn’t matter which setup we use as long as we are using one. The worst thing we can do is just throw a kick with nothing preparing it; this way, our opponent will easily catch it, and we will have to start thinking defensively instead of offensively.
In this video, Duane Ludwig will show us a good setup to the lead middle kick using a shifting step forward.
Who Is Duane Ludwig?
Duane Ludwig is a well-known striking coach for MMA. Duane has coached many pro fighters over the years, and the most notable of them all is the former bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw. Duane himself was a professional kickboxer who transitioned to MMA and found great success in the UFC, breaking the record for the fastest knockout in the organization.
Check Out Duane's Instructionals HERE! Click Learn More!
Straight Right Hand To A Lead Kick
In the following video, Duane Ludwig will show us how he sets up his lead round kick to the body. Duane will use a stepping motion to carry the momentum of his cross and land in the perfect position to throw the middle kick.
As we begin to train our lead round kicks, we want to start in a southpaw position to focus on getting the mechanics behind the kick better on our weak side.
Once we feel comfortable kicking from a southpaw, we can start in an orthodox stance and step into the lead kick. When we step, we want to take our rear foot in a diagonal step outside the opponent’s lead foot so we are out of danger and in position to kick the body.
After we drilled the step and it became natural for us, we can move onto the next and final step. Now we will initiate the step off the momentum of our cross, so we throw the cross, and as our body weight moves forward, we don’t resist it and allow it to carry us into a southpaw position to land the kick.
Notice that when we come back off the kick, it is two steps back, so we land with the kicking foot in front and take another step back with our right foot, so we are back in our natural stance; this way, we are in control of our strikes, and we are always balanced.
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