
How to Avoid Getting Wiped Out in Muay Thai
Sweeps are some of the highest scoring techniques in Muay Thai. Knocking off an opponent’s legs and sending them crashing to the canvas requires exceptional timing and skill. The simple sight of you standing over your downed opponent can often sway the judges and ensure a close round in your favor.
Since a single sweep can compromise an entire round’s efforts, no one wants to risk getting swept. However, considering that sweeps are often performed as a defense against essential techniques such as the body kick, it is nearly impossible to compete in Muay Thai without several sweep defenses in your arsenal.
Fortunately, with the right skills and the right approach, it is possible to attack the body relentlessly while avoiding being overwhelmed by even the most skilled opponent. In this article we will share three simple but effective strategies for delivering body kicks while avoiding being dragged to the canvas. So if you find yourself cornered every time you try a body kick, read on, this article has all the information you need to know to avoid getting wiped out on the next kick!
The standard capture and sweep
Although Muay Thai offers a wide variety of sweeps, the standard grab and sweep as a kick-to-body defense is by far the most common. Body kicks are the most common weapon in Muay Thai and trying to fight without them usually puts you at a huge disadvantage. For this reason, in the next paragraphs we will focus on defense against this type of invasion.
Throughout this article we will reference this footage of former ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight World Champion, Nong-O Hama, demonstrating the catch and sweep with Evolve instructor, Penaek Sitnumnoi, so we recommend you study it carefully before continue reading.
Sweep defense n. 1: hide the kick behind the fists
The best way to avoid the over-catch and standard sweep is to prevent your opponent from catching your kick in the first place. Without first grabbing your kicking leg, your opponent will have a smaller window to kick out your supporting leg. Therefore, the best way to avoid this type of sweep is to make sure your opponent’s hands are too busy to grab your leg when you kick.
In the video above, Penaek kicked Nong-O without hiding the attack behind his fists. Because of this, Nong-O was in a good position with his hands free, ready to defend himself. Simply punching your opponent in the head just before kicking can often be enough to prevent them from receiving the kick, as their arms will be raised to defend their head, potentially obscuring the kick from their view. Pre-kick punches also push your opponent onto their back leg, making it much more difficult to move to the side and receive the kick. Many fighters won’t risk attempting a hold if they can’t move away to reduce the impact on the ribs.
Defense with sweep n. 2: “throw” the football
In the demonstration above you will notice that when Nong-O receives Penaek’s kick, Penaek’s foot is hidden behind his armpit. This is vital for a grab and sweep as the foot acts as a “stopper”, preventing Penaek from breaking free of the leg caught by Nong-O’s grip. Therefore, Nong-O would only be able to perform this sweep in a real combat scenario if Penaek kicked at a distance where his foot passed his body.
In a fight where effective scoring is critical, you don’t necessarily want to kick so that your foot touches your opponent’s body instead of your shin. Sure, in traditional scoring, every body kick will earn you points regardless of whether your foot or shin connects, but kicks that cause damage will definitely score higher. As a result, we recommend that you prioritize using your shin as much as possible.
“Throwing” a kick when it’s about to be caught is the perfect way to balance the need to deliver a kick with power while avoiding getting swept if your opponent tries to grab your leg.
To do this, kick your opponent with the intent of hitting him with your shin, and if you see him move his arm to catch you, pull your leg back by bending your knee so that only your foot connects with your opponent’s ribs. It will still score according to many rules, and even if your opponent has the right skill and timing to catch, your foot will still be able to slip easily from their grip as you pull it back, making the catch and sweep impossible .
Sweep defense n. 3: The knee guard
The knee brace defense, demonstrated in the video above from Chaowalit Jockygym. it is often used to prevent an opponent from kneeing you in the clinch, but this technique can also be appropriate in situations where your leg becomes trapped to avoid being swept.
To perform the kneelock when your leg is caught, simply turn your leg horizontally as your opponent gathers it under his armpit so that your toes are pointing at his back instead of towards his armpit. Then, bend your leg at the knee and jump towards your opponent so that your shin is pushed through the waistband of his shorts. This will prevent them from coming through to sweep you.
As you jump, lock your arms into a clinch and then, with your hands tied, pull your head toward you while pushing your hips away from your shin. You need to do this to break your opponent’s posture as they may still be able to sweep you if they are standing.
In the catch and sweep demonstration above you’ll notice that Nong-O lifts Penaek’s leg high under his armpit and leans back after catching it, breaking Penaek’s posture. If your opponent does this, it becomes almost impossible to protect the knees on the hips. Therefore, you need to quickly move on to the knee brace. While they are still grabbing your leg, you can often avoid being swept by quickly pulling your foot back.
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Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia’s leading martial arts championship brand. It has authentic world champions in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling and No-Gi Grappling. Named the #1 martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, ESPN StarSports, Tokyo Times and many other leading authorities, Evolve MMA aims to provide the best martial arts instruction available anywhere on the planet.