Are we talking Muay Thai or a taekwondo kicks?
I’ve adapted the Muay Thai kicks because they’re more powerful but with the speed of a taekwondo kick, so it’s a hybrid really. I don’t throw a kick as slow as Thai boxers do and I don’t get the full rotation in my hip because it’s difficult to recover from that if someone moves forward. So I tend to use a faster kick. It’s still powerful enough to knock somebody out. Do you still hit with your shin? Yeah. So you’re giving up a little bit of power for speed? Yeah, exactly. The thing is with kicking in MMA, especially at a high level, and with you’re fighting with wrestlers it’s risky to throw a kick – if you miss, you’re wide open. So I have to time my kicks right and I have to set them up with my hands. Why doesn’t taekwondo play more of a role in MMA? I think it’s because it’s more of a point scoring sport. When I first started my school was a lot more about taking a kick to land a kick, and it was a lot more power based which has worked out well for me in recent years but as my care
