Using The Teep To Cut Off The Jab With Firas Zahabi
Jabs are a super important part of any fighters arsenal. Jabs help fighters to keep their distance and help set up combinations. The same can also be said for the teep, which can be seen as the kicking version of a jab.
This is because the teep can also keep distance, especially when it comes to keeping your opponent off of you. This is why it’s good to be able to use both techniques.
The thing with jabs is, if you’re able to stop your opponent from using theirs effectively, you are able to take away most peoples offense. One of the best ways to do this is with the teep. This is because unless you are fighting someone that is drastically taller than you, your teep is going to be long than your opponent’s jab.
This can be a hard skill to master though, even with the advantages the teep has over the jab. This is why we have one of the best MMA coaches of all time to teach us how.
In this video, Firas Zahabi goes over how he uses a teep to cut off his opponent coming in behind their jab.
Who Is Firas Zahabi?
Frias Zahabi is one of the best coaches in MMA today. He is the head coach of Tristar Gym in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he trains a ton of top level fighters in the UFC, Bellator and in other large promotions. He is most famous for being the head coach of UFC legend and former middleweight and welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre.
Using Teeps To Counter Jabs
The video starts with coach Firas talking about having your hands in the proper position to parry the jab. Firas wants you to have the fingers of your glove above your eyebrows on your forehead.
Firas also doesn’t want your hands leaving your head when you want to parry a jab. Instead, coach Firas wants you to simply turn to the side as the punch makes contact with your guard. This will parry the strike and redirect it, as well as hopefully put your opponent off balance.
After parrying the jab, Firas wants you to throw a teep kick out. This will push your opponent back and make them think twice about using their jab to come in against you.
You can also do this against someone throwing a rear straight. Ifr your opponent is throwing a rear straight ,Firas likes to extend his lead hand to cut it off. Think of it like a long guard.
When you are throwing your teep, do not just drop your hands. This is tempting but it leaves you exposed to any counters your opponent might have. If you drop your hands when you teep and your kick slides off, you are in danger.
Try your best to use your lead teep wehn countering. This is because it is faster and will be quicker to cut off your opponent. Your rear teep might be too slow, even if the kick itself is fast. This is because it has just a longer time to travel.
You can drill this with a partner each taking turns to throw the teep each round. The nice thing about this as a drill is that it lets the person kicking develop their kick and the person using their jab can build some serious conditioning and tolerance for pain by getting kicked.
Learn More From Firas Zahabi
If you like this technique breakdown and want to learn more from the legendary MMA coach Firas Zahabi then you should check out his complete video instructional “Core Striking Combination and Tricky Attacks By Firas Zahabi” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.