Any tips for fighting someone with Taekwondo experience??

[dave_UK_MT]

I'm having my first amateur fight on the 10th of May and I'm in with a fella thats done some Taekwondo .

Anyone got any tips on fighting someone thats been training MT but might go all 'kung fu' on my ass??

I'm purely Muay Thai BTW.

Bring it on muthafuker!!!!

[Typhoon]

Depends on how good the guy is at keepign you far apart enough for you not to be abel to box with him and him use his legs. Try to get in after he throws a kick and start workign hands. Watch out for refolded kicks though as those might cause some trouble if the guy is good.

[Khun Kao]

What rules are you fighting under?

One of TKD's best weapons is the Side Kick. A good TKD'er can keep you at legs length constantly by judiciously using the Side Kick. You want to focus on lateral movement to sidestep it and then be able to close the distance to bring your own weapons to bear. But, what you from that point will depend on the rules...

Khun Kao

[JP Prideaux]

If he throws a Side-Kick, try this...

Assuming its with his RIGHT leg deflect it away with you RIGHT forearm. Almost simultaneously you should "dip" in low and hit his fixed LEFT leg with a RIGHT low-kick. Might trip him or knock him off-balance.

One thing Ive learned about fighting against Kyokushin and Taekwondo fighters they tend to lack proper boxing skills. Not trying to generalise but i notice a lot of bad karate habits creeping into their thaiboxing strategy... also most karate styles dont punch to the face - so when they are in a situation where they are called to "box" their punches may seem a bit awkward. Even great fighters like Andy Hug and Francisco Filho struggled somewhat with boxing when they first starting fighting in K-1.

But - assuming his boxing skills are decent enough to negate the above paragraph... with his Taekwondo background expect him to use his kicks. Expect back-kicks, spinning-back-kicks , all sorts of high kicks. And lot of kicks to the mid-section.

When i spar against a "kicker" I try my best to keep it close range so that Im out of range of any high kicks he might want to throw. I'll only open the distance if im planning to throw a high kick (even then you should not allow him a moment to throw one). Keep close with knees and tight punches... push him away for leg strikes.

IF he comes in with kicks try and trap them - grab his leg - get you other hand around his neck and twist him off balance - then close the distance and kick/knee to his head.

If he's throwing high kicks - as soon as you block one move in with a flurry of punches before he's got his footing. With luck his guard should be down and he should be off balance...

Work around that... listen to you corner... DONT PANIC... stick to the combos you've drilled into your head... use your strengths... agression is important - use it if you can.

good luck.

[Tom Yum]

Same as above. Is he around the black belt level TKD, expect him to chamber like he is throwing a front snap kick and switch to a hook kick or round house to the head. The point of this is to get you to try to parry a front kick and drop one of your hands.

Watch for kick combos like side kick- spinning back kick or round house kick- spinning wheel kick. These are common TKD combos. Work the angles and get inside to see how his hands are.

He will use his front leg to throw side kicks; they're like TKD's foot jab. The kick is snappy and solid and can bruise. If he uses the front leg side kick, take his supporting leg out.

[darrianation]

fighting against tkd

Well I've done MT and have 3 friends and a nephew who are black belts in tkd. I've sparred them a number of times. But it's more than just the tkd- The guy trains in MT too? Are you fighting Mt rules? How tall and how strong is your opponent? Is he a good puncher?

These things I would need to now before I could give any specific advice. Here a few things I think work well against tkd practitioners (at least work well for me).

Tkd guys like the distance game. They love to stay out of range and do hit and run attacks. They love their kicks. The best way to fight a kicker is get inside. Keep in deep. If he’s a good puncher though you may want to rethink this. Now if he’s a good puncher then get in and clinch him. Use knees to the body. Also against a good kicker try to pin him in the corner don’t let him out. I’ts hard to kick in tight spaces. As you close the gap on him expect a kick. Keep covered specially the chin.

He may lead with kicks, if he leads with a back leg kick specially the round kick– step in and r-cross. Or teep him. Also I like to do a cut kick, l-inside low kick to his l- ankle (support foot) Assuming of course he’s a righty. I like going for the support leg a lot against kickers.

Another thing I notice about tkd guys when punching they drop there jabs at the end of the punch a lot. One thing I do that works well is slide back (1/2 step) and jab over the top of his hand as it drops, but the r-cross is my fav’ for this.

One other thing I notice about some tkd guys. They like to change stances to try and disguise their kicks (attacks). They often cross there feet or bring them together. Watch for this. I like to pick them, again (step in) stiff jab. Or things like (step in) jab, r-cross.

Anyway I have know idea what type of fighter your fighting. He may not do any of these things so this stuff may not be of much use to you. I know some of these techniques may be a bit more advanced, so if you’re new to MT don’t use them if you haven’t practiced them. Tkake what you can use here dont worry about what yor can't.

One more bit of advice- What ever you do don’t be afraid of getting hit or loosing the match. This is your chance to learn. Set goals, like working the jab. R-round kick or what ever and work them while in the match. Don’t use techniques you haven’t learned. Relax and have a good time. Good luck in your match. Let us know how it went.

[dave_UK_MT]

Cheers fellas,

Only thing I know about my opponent is that he's a couple of inches shorter and around 5kg lighter than me (I'm 6'4" and 98kg or 216lbs).

I've been doing MT for around 7 months and he is supposed to be of similar experience. Its an amateur (class c) bout; in the UK thats 3x2 rounds with body/head/leg armour, I'd rather not wear the head/body gaurd but what can you do??

I'm confident my instructor wouldbn't put me in if didn't think I could do it, he one of the best over here, he has also told me about not giving him the range to execute TKD stuff so I'll pratice that tonight.

I'll let you know how I get on.

thanks

[ceasarx]

Step in kick low and swing high

Good luck

[JP Prideaux]

Start of Round 1... START FAST AND HIT HIM FIRST preferably with a stinging low-kick.

That should give you a psychological edge. If your first shot is hard with lots of agression your opponent will know you mean serious business - and might even throw him off to some extent.

If its his first fight then there's a good chance it will rattle him since he hasnt got the experience and his still full of 'first fight jitters'. So... get the psychological advantage - that will give you confidence - and that confidence will open up the way to a win.

Good luck.

[Guest]

Just wade in hard and fast. If his only training is Taekwondo you will find him a Paper Tiger.

[retired]

same as bri mate, when the bell goes let him swing something then slam the hardest leg kick you've got at him (although not on the hip hard as i did in my last fight or it may break), sorry to put you off there but i cant help me gob sometimes as goatnipples2002 will tell you.
if he's taekwondo all i can say is if your an amateur as well is to watch out for the axe kick - i know it's a bit naff but if caught correct it can stun/confuse you if your not use to this kick.

[JP Prideaux]

Ah... the lovely Axe-Kick.

If you can see the Axe-kick coming - best thing to do is the X-block - cross your arms above you head and block the kick. From here if his kick gets stuck on your guard then push him backwards while following up with a HARD low kick.

Or if you want you can just 'accidentaly' trip him as you push him back. Falling from a blocked Axe-Kick will do some nice damage... and bruise his ego. If he knows you can repel the fancy stuff then he wont bother trying it.

Most axe-kicks Ive seen in amateur fights are very clumsy and rather useless. Just to get a pop out of the crowd really. Never seen anyone get knocked down or even hurt by one of those. One fighter used it excessively against a friend of mine and it seemed to be irritating him more than anything else.

[Lost Ronin]

Hmmm... it depends on his approach. If he's more Muay Thai than TKD then you're gonna have to rely on your MT skills. If he decides to get more TKD on your ass then you are gonna have to be wary of a couple of factors. Remember to watch out for that axe kick, he can mess you up big time if he catches ya with that one. Unless he loads up that side kick with some pre emptive footwork then you are not really gonna have much of a problem dealing with it. Just watch his footwork, and hopefully you have been working on your boxing because most TKD and MT people don't seem to be able to use it singly. ( I'm not ragging on anybody, I'm a MT guy and Kyokushin guy myself.) Close the gap and keep pressure on him, you might want to spend the first round being cautious and getting a taste of what he does. Good luck and I hope that you kick his ass.

[retired]

lost ronin

you seem to have hit the nail on the head there mate.
a lot of fighters nowadays seem to be out of proportion in their training eg:

1 big guy gets in ring with loads of muscles but burns out 1-2 rds in.

2 guy gets in ring & very good puncher with a few average kicks.

3 guy gets in ring with awsome kicks but pathetic punches.

4 skinny guy gets in ring with week punches & kicks but awesome ring control & techniques - fight goes distance & wins on points.

5 guy goes in with haymakers & get tired towards end & gets KOed.

6 guy goes in & throws 2 many kicks & dies from havin no stamina & gets the shit punched out of him.

7. guy goes in with reasonable techniques but fight is boring from no-one going forward enough.

8. guy goes in showing off but any technique he throws the other guy does the same back but twice as hard...LOL

which one are you?
ring any bells?
would you like to be any of these?
or are you exempt from the above?

[Khun Kao]

JP...

"Start of Round 1... START FAST AND HIT HIM FIRST preferably with a stinging low-kick. "

This is how I see almost every single amateur Muay Thai match begin. If the guy has TKD experience, and is actually any good with it, there is a good chance you will eat a Side Kick and be possibly knocked on your ass attempting this. Make sure you set up your leg kicks first!

Khun Kao