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In The Arena Blog

How and Why to Break Your Rhythm in Kickboxing

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What you throw may not be as important as how you throw. Everyone is throwing the same strikes, but changing your rhythm, feinting and faking make it difficult for your opponent to react. Here Coach Vince Salvador shows how to vary combinations to increase your likelihood of landing.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Coach Vince Salvador:
I have one, feint, one two. And I make it look like I’m going to kick by looking down for a second. Right? So, that’s two different feints. Head feint, a visual feint. All right? Now he thinks low is coming. I go high. So I looked down, punch high. So again, hit him with the first jab. Second one I feint. There. When his leg comes down, I fire on that leg or I just keep continuing with my hands. Right? Depending on the situation where he’s at, but now I’ve layered my attack. So the first one. Right? Second one. Now he’s knows that blocking. Now he knows so he’s blocking. I go one there, feint, chop back into that leg. So again, one, big feint. Here look down. Two, three. Low kick or two, three body shot, wherever you guys want to go with it. Right? So again, one, big feint, look down, two, chop. Right? Try it up. Good. So watch. Like look down for a second. All right? So I got one, feint, look down.

So when I set everything up, his legs like start to come up. You don’t have to extend that jab. I can go here, but I can go one, feint, two. Right? I can use the feint to throw my power to set up the hook. So I can go look one, feint, two, three. So you can alter it for your body style, right? For your body type. So I don’t have to go one, big feint, one, two, three. Sometimes I can go one, big feint, two, three, chop.

Student:
So go right into it.

Coach Vince Salvador:
So try going into that right after that. It’s a one, feint, two, three, low kick. Closing your eyes ain’t going to help you with the blocking. Got to keep your eyes open. Elbows down. Look at my elbows. So if I’m relaxed, my shoulders don’t burn and I can control everything I do. But if I’m here every time he punches now, I make a big reaction. Now look, all of this is open. Right? But if I’m right here relaxed and he punches, whatever he throws, I’m relaxed. So if he goes for his drill, he goes one, feint, one. Right? I’m still looking right at him. Again. Again. You see how that reaction helps him build his reactions. You see what I’m saying?

Look at my elbows. So if I’m relaxed, right? I don’t, my shoulders don’t burn and I can, I can, I can control everything I do. But if I’m here every time he punches now, I make a big reaction. No, look, all of this is open, but if I’m right here with, and he punches whatever he throws, I’m relaxed. So if he goes for his drill, he goes, one thing, one, I’m still looking right at him again. Yeah. You see how that reaction helps him build his reactions. You shouldn’t turn.

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