Elbow Strikes 101

[LWPD]

What follow is a series of old posts on elbow strikes from the rec.martial-arts archives. The material is from ten years ago...but the quality of the information itself is timeless.

Muay Thai's Elbow Basics
Credit Khun Kao Charuad

Probably the most feared of all techniques in Muay Thai are the Elbow Strikes. With good reason! One well placed elbow can (and does!) end a fight during any round.There are a number of different strikes from numerous angles. I will try to discuss the most commonly used elbow strikes.

A few bullet points first. I will try to remember them all this time rather than have to keep re-posting. (wish me luck...)

*When you strike with the elbow, you ideally want to hit with the sharp pointy bone. If you were to hold your arm in front of you as if you were throwing a hook punch, the part of the elbow that you want to strike with is the sharp pointy bone on the bottom. To make sure that you are striking with this part of the elbow rather than flush or with the top part of the bone, you should hold your open palm toward the target.

*it is of UTMOST importance that you keep your guard high and tight when executing elbows. If you throw an elbow, rest assured you will be given one (or more) in turn. Keep your guard high so that your wrists are at eyebrow level.

*DO NOT REACH for the elbow strike. With very few exceptions, the elbows should be thrown at "CLINCH RANGE". They are designed to be subtle, yet quick and powerful. If you extend to far from your body, they lose power and are easily seen and avoided.

*Because you are standing very close to your opponent, you must widen your stance to maintain balance. Face it, when that close, your opponent will grab you and try to throw you off balance. Learn to use the elbows WHILE clinching... find your opening and strike quickly!

*Keep your elbow glued to the side of your body for as long as possible when executing an elbow strike. This makes the elbow harder to see coming. Also, the closer the elbow is to your body (center mass) the harder the strike will be. (this is some physics principle that I've heard of but am unable to quote. I do know that this technique works though...)

*FOR GOD'S SAKE, KEEP YOUR CHIN DOWN AND YOUR SHOULDERS UP!!!

Ok, on with the show.

HORIZONTAL ELBOW STRIKE: Thrown the same exact way as a hook punch in boxing. Make sure that BOTH feet rotate.

UPPERCUT ELBOW STRIKE: This elbow is best used to defend against a punch. Step inside the punch, bending you legs a bit (just like Mike Tyson does when he's loading an uppercut). Bring the elbow straight up as you straighten your legs ALL THE WAY OVER YOUR HEAD! Keep the arm bent. Your hand should reach back and practically be touching your shoulder. As you straighten up and execute this elbow, you should rotate your body sideways to get the extra torque into the strike.

VERTICAL or DIAGONAL ELBOW STRIKE: This strike is one of the hardest to learn, yet the most effective. Most people are aware that a Thai boxer uses the Peek-a-Boo guard. If you throw a horizontal elbow, you only hit his guard. What you want to do in this case is throw your elbow so that it comes straight down the middle, in between his guarding hands. In many ways, this elbow is similar to the horizontal elbow, except that you lean over your opposite knee as you throw. For example, you are in an orthodox stance (left-side forward) You wish to throw the right handed DIAGONAL elbow strike. Step with your left foot sideways as you lean your upper body over your left knee. Throw the elbow as you are leaning so that the otherwise HORIZONTAL elbow is now striking VERTICALLY in between his guard hands.

These are the three most basic elbow strikes. There are a few others, of course, but we can get into those later.

Again, I'll wait a day or two for comments before getting into "when" to use the elbow strikes, and also how to use some of the elbow strikes not covered in this posting.

Continued...

[LWPD]

Muay Thai's Elbow Basics
Credit Khun Kao Charuad

So, moving right along, I will start to discuss a few other elbow strikes in Muay Thai.

AXE or SPIKE ELBOW STRIKE: This strike is the basic overhand elbow strike. Raise your hand straight above your hand and SPIKE the elbow down onto your target. (Usually your opponents head of collar bone) As you drop the elbow, also drop your weight with it by bending your knees to get your body weight into the blow. Remember to keep your back straight! DO NOT LEAN OVER INTO THE STRIKE! Additionally, when striking, keep the elbow close to your body. Do not attempt to extend outwards with the elbow.

As an example, in Dan Severn's first UFC appearance, he faced a Thai boxer. When Dan Severn shot in and grabbed the Thai boxers legs, he attempted an axe elbow strike. Granted, I believe the Thai boxer would have lost anyway at that point, but he executed the technique incorrectly by dropping the elbow onto Dan's shoulder blade. Had he kept the elbow strike in close to his body, he could potentially have hit the head and stunned Severn. Most likely not, but you never know...

So, when you practice/execute this elbow strike, you should strike downwards with the elbow as close to your body as possible. Imagine somone who had his arms wrapped around your waist with his head tucked into you. You should try to strike with your elbow so that it hits the opponent in between your body and his head and pries between the two of you. You can create a wicked cut this way. Or, you can bring the elbow right down on his grape.

BACKWARDS ELBOW STRIKE: This is an elbow strike that most people are probably familiar with in their own martial arts studies. If the opponent gets behind you (for instance, your round kick missed and the opponent steps in) you strike backwards with the elbow. You can aim into the opponents rib cage, solar plexus, or aim it upwards under his chin.

An unorthodox variation of this technique that my instructor, Master K, used to use with success is to turn slightly more sideways than the normal boxing stance and strike with the lead elbow in this manner, as though he were striking an opponent behind him. The elbow is aimed right under the opponents chin. It is a very tricky manuever, but has its inherent risks, as you are leaving your lead guard down. The shoulder to the chin only offers so much protection.

SPINNING ELBOW STRIKE: Probably one of the most exciting techniques in Muay Thai, a real crowd pleaser! In Thailand, boxers who score a knockout with this technique recieve a bonus with their fight purse. The footwork is similar to the throwing of many spin techniques, just make sure that you do not cross your legs when performing this, keep a good boxing stance. As you spin, you should be stepping into the opponent because again, you want to be at very close range when executing an elbow strike. The elbow is thrown overhead, so that it chops down into the opponents face or onto their head, NOT sideways like a backfist!

The most opportune time to use this elbow is either right after you have missed a round kick, or when you have blocked a high roundhouse kick from your opponent, you can spin in on him while his leg is still up. (actually, trap his leg and spin in at the same time for the best effect)

There is another subtle way to use the spin elbow. A Thai boxer I used to watch was a master of this one. I believe the boxers name was Buelong (yes, from Thailand). He would slip his opponents straight punch and throw the spinning elbow in mid-slip so that his elbow would come straight in from his rear side.

This is a hard variation to put into words, but as you slip the straight punch, you throw a spinning elbow from the same side that you slipped to. If your opponent throws a right cross, you slip to your left. As you slip, you roll your body so that your left elbow comes over the top of your back straight into his jaw. Your feet rotate, but you do not need to step. Try this technique SLOWLY with a partner to see how it works. I guarentee that you will like this one.

Continued...

[LWPD]

Muay Thai's Elbow Basics
Credit Khun Kao Charuad

Muay Thai's Forgotten Elbow Strike

Perhaps not forgotten, but neglected. Over the last week or so, I have discussed most of the basic elbow strikes and a couple variations. However, this next elbow strike is one that I have never been shown, never read about, nor seen used, outside of our gym. In my years of experience, Master K is the only Thai boxing instructor I have met that uses/teaches this technique. (To clarify, I have trained with two other Thai coaches besides Master K, and have worked out with NUMEROUS boxers from other gyms from all across the world.)

It is actually a series of strikes, each one is the counterpart for one of the basic elbow strikes we have already discussed. These strikes are the RETURN ELBOW STRIKES.

***The basic elbow strikes in Muay Thai are the HORIZONTAL, DIAGONAL/VERTICAL, UPPERCUT, and AXE elbow strikes. Only the AXE ELBOW has not return strike, as it IS a return strike (see below).***

In each case, after you have thrown a basic elbow strike, most people/boxers simply return to their basic position, or follow with another basic strike. In our gym, we have a "philosophy" that after you have thrown the elbow in one direction, hit with the elbow again as you bring it back to basic guard position. After all, you have to bring your arm back anyway, so why waste an opportunity?

Simply strike with the flush part of your elbow as you bring it back into position. Remember, you have to follow through on the strike. Example: The HORIZONTAL ELBOW STRIKE. When you bring the elbow back, you should bring it back as though you are trying to throw a wide sweeping elbow to hit someone behind you. Very similar to slapping someone with a lot of follow through, or even throwing a frisbee. Make sure your entire body pivots with the strike, just as the other basic strikes.

The elbows strikes that have return strikes are the HORIZONTAL ELBOW, the DIAGONAL/VERTICAL ELBOW, and the UPPERCUT ELBOW. In the case of the DIAGONAL ELBOW, you can use the BACKWARDS ELBOW STRIKE as the return strike, or you can bring the elbow back overhead to strike downwards between your opponents guard as you bring the arm back to its basic position.

With the UPPERCUT ELBOW, merely bring it back to position using the AXE ELBOW STRIKE.

By practicing a return strike with each of your basic elbows, you can make sure that you don't miss an opportunity to strike your opponent.

I've mentioned by instructor often, but to clarify the importance of the RETURN ELBOW STRIKE, let me tell you a bit about his fight experience:

Master K fought in and around Bangkok in the 60's. He had over 75 fights. He unfortunately does not remember the exact record, but he lost less than 10 of those matches. Most of his fights were won by KO, and most of his KO's came by way of an elbow strike. The majority of his elbow KO's were with the RETURN ELBOW STRIKE. He remembers that his opponents were typically caught off guard by this strike, as no one seemed to have been trained with it, therefore no one expected it.

This ends my postings on the different elbow strikes. I hope everyone enjoyed them. If anyone has any questions, or would like clarification on any of the techniques I've mentioned (elbows or otherwise) please don't hesitate to post a question. I'll answer as soon as I can.

Stay tuned for a short post on ELBOW TARGET AREAS.

[LWPD]

Muay Thai's Elbow Basics
Credit Khun Kao Charuad

Targets for the Elbow Strikes

Most elbows are aimed at your opponents head, of course. Specifically, you should target the opponents scalp, forehead, and eyebrows area. The reason is this. These areas of the skull are protected by a thin layer of skin and muscle over solid bone. An elbow hitting on this surface will break or cut the skin open. As we all are aware, scalp/head wounds bleed extremely badly. The idea is to cut your opponent so that the blood flows into his or her eyes, blinding them. If they can't see, they can't fight. Nuff said...

Another target of course is the jaw. Obviously, the intent is a KO. When using elbow strikes, use your basic strike (horizontal, diagonal, or uppercut) to make you opponent bleed, bring the return elbow strike with intent to knock them out.

In the case of the UPPERCUT elbow and BACKWARDS elbow strikes, you should aim for just under your opponents jaw.

The SPINNING ELBOW STRIKE should be aimed right at the forehead area.

Another variation is to use the AXE ELBOW while clinched with your opponent to strike his or her hipbone. This is obviously very painful for the opponent.

The elbow strikes can also be used to strike the opponents chest to knock the wind out of them.

Though it is considered "dirty pool", when you scoop catch an opponents round kick, you can then SPIKE the elbow into their leg. Though I don't remember the actual Thai name for it, it translates to "Breaking the Elephants Tusk".

As a final note, those of us with boxing experience know that you can use the elbows to block rather than your arms and hands.