how u ppl doin .. hope ur fine, bla bla .. lets cut to the chase

Im currently training on MMA and after a long periods of thinking and analysing I decided to choose Muay Thai over Kyokushin as my main striking MA.

One of the FEW reasons that helped me make that decision was that MT has a more limited set of techniques that u can actually count on ur fingers .. and 2 me thats a good thing, cuz it helps me concentrate on important and practical moves instead of practising dozens and dozens of techniques and katas that will never come in handy in a real street situation.

Dont get me wrong, Kyokushin to me is one of the strongest martial arts on earth, but im only talking about one aspect of the Kyokushin Kai.

OK, so i picked MT because its more focused .. further more, in a limited MA such as MT i still pick my favorite moves and concentrate on them (<<< too lazy) so all this talking was only to get to this tiny little question :

** Does the Uppercut Elbow really work?

I know that i like practising it, but every once and a while i stop and second guess myself .. does it really work? is it that unique that no other type of elbows can replace it? will i actually encounter a certain situation in which i would wish that i've trained on it if i haven't already?

so please.. to all experienced MT fighters, this question is waiting for YOUR answers .. do u guys use it rapidly in matches in street fights like .. alot?

please .. im open to advices..

YouTube - Anderson The Spider Silva Awesome Elbow KO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s6rF0gId4E)

Hmmm, I don't see why not any elbow couldn't work....

if you have arms like mr tickle (or anderson silva) of course an upward elbow would work but tbh a normal uppercut is probably more practical for with an arm span of less than 6 metres

1) MT possibly has MORE techniques than kyokushin due to the clinch.
2) Stop using bold font for everything.

To answer your question:

There are quite a few variations of "uppercut" elbows so i'm not quite sure which one you are talking about. If anything they are more effective than horizontal elbows since you can sneak them through the guard as a boxing counter, i've seen dozens of uppercut elbow KOs. Of course what i see as an uppercut elbow other people might classify as a straight elbow.

It's a technique that seems like it'd work nicely, but I've yet to see anyone actually use it.

It's a technique that seems like it'd work nicely, but I've yet to see anyone actually use it.

That's because outside of the Thais, scarcely anyone seriously gets into elbow strategy. You don't see a lot of people really fighting at "elbow range", and by this I mean between "kickboxing" and "clinch" range... I guess what chunners would probably call "trapping" range.

This picture right here is an example of when elbows are going to come in most handy and you'll start seeing dudes make use of different elbow angles like the upper elbow:

http://www.tourismthailand.org/ajaxengine/upload/mod_interestingarticle/33/html_library/article/Watching%20Muay%20Thai%20in%20Bangkok/Watching%20muaythai_1.jpg

Most non-Thai fighters use a more stick and move strategy and especially in MMA the range goes right from kickboxing to clinch/grappling. I think if fighters got more comfortable in this range, awesome use could be made of all the nasty elbow techniques you see used by the Thais, but it's just not something that many fighters focus on. If you watch a lot of muaythai you'll see a lot of fights with two Thai dudes spending the majority of a bout with their gloves together like the picture above.

Just try it if you see the opening in sparring, then decide for yourself.

Just try it if you see the opening in sparring, then decide for yourself.

Therein lies the problem. elbows and not getting cuts/facial fractures don't seem to go together

Just try it if you see the opening in sparring, then decide for yourself.

yeah that is probably not a good idea... if you want anyone to train with you again anyway

How much does it hurt to get hit by elbow pads? I've wanted to spar with some of them on ever since i heard they existed. No takers though :*(.

How much does it hurt to get hit by elbow pads? I've wanted to spar with some of them on ever since i heard they existed. No takers though :*(.

I find that just putting on the knee pads I wear for grappling on my elbows and as long as he's wearing some sort of headgear, preferably with face cage you can elbow pretty uninhibited. In particular one of my personal fave weapons in trapping range is the straight spike elbow, alot fo times off of a bong sao or shoulder toll I''ll slightly bend my arm and spike my elbow point right atthe nose. Obviously this wouldnt be possible to train safely and realistically without the face cage but it's a pretty nasty elbow move and he doesnt seem to be hurt at all once we take the gear off so I'd say from my limtied expereince elbowing should be fine, if you hate face cages normal boxing headgear is fine but def use pads and dont aim straight at the face.

yeah that is probably not a good idea... if you want anyone to train with you again anyway

You don't have to throw it HARD, just see if you can get it in there. If you do actually hit the guy, as long as you're not throwing it full force, you're probably not going to cut anyone.

If you have a good clinch and train with people who respect the elbow you can train elbows with the cloth volleyball style elbow pads. This is one of those things that I'd never do with a newb but I'd practice with anyone I already trusted. The idea is to just lay the elbows in and land them lightly but try not to slice. I did it a few times when I was doing MT only but again I only ever did it with a pro or an an instructor.

I find that just putting on the knee pads I wear for grappling on my elbows and as long as he's wearing some sort of headgear, preferably with face cage you can elbow pretty uninhibited. In particular one of my personal fave weapons in trapping range is the straight spike elbow, alot fo times off of a bong sao or shoulder toll I''ll slightly bend my arm and spike my elbow point right atthe nose. Obviously this wouldnt be possible to train safely and realistically without the face cage but it's a pretty nasty elbow move and he doesnt seem to be hurt at all once we take the gear off so I'd say from my limtied expereince elbowing should be fine, if you hate face cages normal boxing headgear is fine but def use pads and dont aim straight at the face.

unfortunately your style field and the fact you use face cages means we're actually not allowed to listen to you

I've been wanting to get some muaythai elbow pads so I can start practicing elbows soon. Now there are all these events doing Full thai rules in the US so it would be great to really get some good sparring practice in using elbows. I do think it'd be pretty easy to hurt someone even with pads doing certain elbows, like the straight elbow. Even if you're trying to be controlled, getting a little excited to sneak a quick elbow in could result in a broken nose pretty easily... though I suppose these are the risks we take, eh?

Probably why no one wants to go elbows with me WhiteShark, sometimes my hits are not as soft as i intend to throw them. Maybe i could spar with the instructor but i'm not sure i'd survive it. I have two permanent black eyes just from hitting pads :violent1:

The other option is to enter elbow amateur fights and learn the hard way. There are a couple of events here which allow elbows with pads on if both fighters agree to it. If you end up doing some sparring with kat could you tape it kid? Would be great to see how much the rest of your training initially helps with the timing.