Need to improve my punching

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 1:20pm

I pretty much never see thai boxers use the SBF so I figured it was an american kickboxing thing.

I understand all those things about getting kicked in the legs, believe me, I've been kicked in the legs zillions of times (plus, I do believe I posted pretty much all that you said about them here on bullshido before). It just happens that after a year and a half of training my shins are pussified, and I figure pretty much everyone has pussified shins, so shin blocking is going to suck without shinguards unless you've spent a lot of time getting your shins used to that kind of contact. Now, I'm not saying that shin blocking is a sucky technique, I'm saying that shinblocking sucks. In my last fight, shin blocking was more painful than getting kicked in the thigh, getting punched in the face, or even the one time when I got kicked in the face.

As far as elbows go... yeah, maybe the lack of elbows was a "watered down" element of my training. Meh.

**alex** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 4:34pm

so why the **** do you keep espousing the "take the kick on your thigh" strategy employed by so many people who LOSE FUCKING FIGHTS? is that some kind of tennessee joke that other people dont get? ive fought smokers w/o shinpads and yeah it hurt. nothing compared to what it would have felt like if i hadnt blocked and he had gone to town on my legs (which is what happens to people who are dumb enough to use their thigh to block). but hey, they teach people how to actually kick properly here.

every time ive seen someone, even just at local shows, try and just take thigh kicks they have lost. every time. for the reasons that villain already stated, plus you look like a fucking chump to the judges.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 5:00pm

quote me where I said you should take the kick on the leg and that's a good strategy. I don't believe I've ever said it was a good strategy. Ever.

So far in my 3 fights I haven't fought anyone that could kick terribly well, which is why getting kicked in the thigh didn't really hurt. It did still hurt to shin block. Maybe shin blocking wouldn't have been so bad if the girl kicking me wasn't so huge, I dunno.

But yeah, I'm not one of the people that says taking leg kicks on the thigh is a good idea.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 5:06pm

Originally Posted by The Villain

You sure could fool me.

I'm giving off the wrong impression and you guys are taking me all too seriously. It's not like I do TKD for ****'s sake.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 5:21pm

Originally Posted by The Villain

Get the brief case out and have the most powerful guy in the gym do three rounds on it. Then come back. My coach is a pro fighter. He tried to use the TKD kicking shield for one of our fighters. His leg fucking buckled. He had to go grab the brief case and his **** was still bout to crumble. You need to have some better people throwing thigh kicks your way. Then we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

I'm puzzled at how you can think I've never taken a hard kick to the leg, or why you insist that I'm saying it's better to take a kick on the thigh.

What do you mean by "brief case", btw?

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 5:50pm

I think you're confusing me with Kat and Yrkoon. I've never said getting kicked in the thigh doesn't hurt or taking it on the thigh is a good alternative (unless I followed it up with "LOL").

I said that IN MY LAST FIGHT getting kicked in the thigh hurt less than shin blocking and I said that shin blocking hurts a lot if you've got ***** shins like 99.9999% of the people in the world. But ya know, I also said shin blocking hurt worse than getting kicked in the face. I don't think that's really an endorsement for Omega's much loved face block.

Shin blocking is a good technique, but I'm still gonna say it sucks because shin blocking made me wheelchair bound for 2 days.

What's the material like on that thing? We have some fairly stiff kickshields at Nashville MMA but they don't look as fun to kick as that (they tend to be curved and have harsh edges).

**Anna Kovacs** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 5:59pm

I dont really think it matters if the biggest baddest mofo in my gym can crack my thighbone in half with a thai kick (and i think he probably could). What matters is can the 155lb woman on the other side of the ring do it, and the answer is probably not. I'll trade that kick for an overhand right any day.

**Torakaka** · Posted On: 4/09/2006 6:01pm

the shields we use are fairly solid vinyl. Anyway, when I was training for my first fight, my 240lb thai boxing coach would kick me in the leg every time I showed fatigue. He obviously pulled his kicks, but he still kicked hard enough to knock me into the banana bag and make my leg go numb for a few seconds. I know what it's like to get kicked hard in the leg.