In this Tip of the Week, Kickboxing Coach Vince Salvador goes over the importance of defensive tactics, and shows how to block, parry and counterattack your opponent.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Coach Vince and today we’re working on a kickboxing defense, and why my hands belong where they belong, and why I keep them where I keep them so I can stay safe in a fight.
Whenever someone throws a punch the general rule is I want to be on the outside of the punch. If he’s jabbing to my head I can parry. Parrying is when I put the punch to the middle so I don’t get hit by it. My head comes off the center line. But what I don’t want to do is … And this is the difference between kickboxing and boxing, is when he jabs is pull my head too far off the center line so he sets things up on the same side and kick me on the head. You see that a lot in the UFC, guys will go same side.
So if he throws a jab and I lean too far I could get kicked, I could get kneed, I could get hit on that side. So I want to make sure my guard is always tight. So when he jabs I can block, parry in the same position, without really moving my hand too much. So when he kicks on that same side my hand’s already clear to block. When he jabs, he throws the kick, my hands are up. I can counter. I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to jab and move my head, he kicks and he sets me up, kicks me in the head. Right? Again, my hands stay in this little box here. I keep my elbows in, my chin tucked. Always chin tucked. My hands don’t ever go above my eyebrows too far and below my chin, they’re kind of right here. So when he throws my hand’s here, if I need to I parry to the inside. When he kicks my hands do all the work and then I can counter.
Again, he jabs, my hands stay up. Again. Again, without a shin pad it doesn’t hurt as bad if you alleviate the power by using your lead hand across that center line, so when he jabs it makes it easier and safer. When you’re blocking a head kick this hand alone does not work. He throws a head kick on that side, this hand will take the power plus it sets me up for the counter.
That’s your kickboxing tip of the week.
