Using The Up Elbow In MMA With Edson Barboza
Elbows are the bread-and-butter of Muay Thai, they are one of the eight signature limbs used in Muay Thai, and they're well known for their ability to cut opponents open like a sharp blade. Elbows are available only after we closed the distance and got in range, so we must have good footwork to get us in the proper range to land the elbows on an opponent.
The problem many fighters face when they try to use elbows is that they don’t understand that if you can land an elbow, you are probably in range to get hit by an elbow, so if I’m just focusing on throwing elbows from the pocket chances are the opponent will catch us with one of his own elbows where we’re open.To fix this mistake, every time we get into elbows range, the hands must be high. So, for example - if you want to block knees in the clinch, you better defend them by getting your hips close to the opponent’s hips instead of lowering your hands and allowing him to land an elbow.
When you look at Muay Thai fighters, notice that they never force anything, especially the elbows; this is because anything they throw opens them for a counter. So by keeping the fundamentals and focusing on getting points, the opponent will usually make mistakes, and that’s when it is best to use our elbows safely.
Notice that it is not always a waiting game, and we can also initiate the action if we do it correctly; we must use a setup that will lead to a reaction from the opponent where we can find our opening. For example, we can feint the hook to make him open his guard and then land an elbow up the middle between his hands.
In this video, Edson Barboza will show us how to land the up elbow in MMA effectively.
Who Is Edson Barboza
Edson Barboza is a top-notch UFC fighter known for his flashy spinning kicks and extraordinary athletic abilities. Barboza also fought for the lightweight title after many UFC victories and is one of the most exciting fighters to watch. Edson is still fighting for the UFC, pushing forward for another title shot at the featherweight division.
Check Out Barboza's Instructional here! Click Learn More!
Properly Landing The Up Elbow
Barboza starts the video by telling us that he thinks the up elbow is perfect for MMA as it combines well with the takedowns where we can faint grabbing the leg, and as the opponent lowers his body, we come up in between his hands with an up elbow. Edson shares with us that he has seen it many times in MMA, and it works very well because we throw the elbow at the same time the opponent instinctively pulls his leg back to defend a takedown, which gives us a clear path to the target.
Notice how the feet are moving when we perform this move, the first step gets us in range to touch his leg and the second step gets us in between his legs where we can come up and land the up elbow from the close range.Edson further explains that we must be fast and smooth here; we can’t stop or wait between each step, we must step, touch, step, up elbow, and everything will happen in one sequence and one motion.
Edson reminds us that when we throw elbows in a fight, we want to follow through all the way and cut our opponent open instead of just touching with the elbow as we do in training.
Learn More From Edson Barboza
Edson Barboza is one of the most dynamic strikers on the planet. He has a lot to offer you when it comes to striking, so check out “Buzzsaw Kicking Mechanics - By Edson Barboza” available exclusively on Dynamic Striking.