I cant believe there arent that many videos comparing and explaining guards, not only is this video wonderfully done, it has Gabriel Varga in it to explain with his knowledge and experience.
Hehe! Nice one dude. It just sounded really blunt, but I’m sure you were just rushing the reply or something, right? 🙂 I’m just super used to very high levels of respect and humility in my gym. Our best fighters are super polite and humble. 👍 Take care bro 🙏 PS. MVP is MEGA overrated imo. My brother-in-law is probably one of the finest Thai boxers in England, with potential to go to the very top. Alas, his demons have taken him away from his absolutely effortless genius and freakish vision and slips in the ring. Gareth Lloyd...some of u should have heard of him. He was on the cusp of greatness a few years back, but life took him away from it. Very frustrating for me to see it. 😔 I’m rambling, sorry. Cutting a long story short? He broke down an MVP fight with me, and he honestly isn’t what many people think. Gareth convinced me in no time at all. 🤷♂️
I don’t think there’s much to break down about Conor nowadays though...unless u wanna break down how he’s breaking down because of his Diamond breaks. 🤣😆😂
What's your favourite guard and what the one you wished you could pull off? I obviously like the kickboxing guard but wish I could feel more comfortable with the long guard and wide stance. That works nicely in MMA.
I'm comfortable with the wider stance because I box like roy jones a bit using leaning and head movement to draw out shots for counter punches. But I wish I was a bit better at cleanly switching between that and the thai style for quick counter kicks. I would love it if you made a video about transitioning guards to avoid being cornered, like how adesanya circles out against the cage with his long guard.
@@siegfriedo aAgood understanding of how to frame with the lead hand and work with the rear is the key. You shouldn't see the rear to be stationarily crossed nor the lead to be fully and only stretched out. The rear can still work to parry and block, you can even switch it to a high guard while letting you lead hand stop punches from ever leaving their body by framing or stopping it midway by blocking their elbows for full extension, pushing their shoulder so the punch never reaches you, so on and so forth.
I'm an Okinawan/traditional karate guy that transitioned to MMA and I teach both. What frustrates me about traditional karate stances is that so many are transitional, yet karate people insist on trying to stay in those stances and fight from there instead of the stance that Gabriel highlights above (Which are awesome)
A note about the Philly Shell and the long guard. Philly: as you mentioned with the long stance you have the option to lift the front leg. Which is exactly what Bill superfoot Wallace did during his undefeated reign in PKA. The way you deal with kicks is by counter kicking. Jabs combo to lead kick attacks and vice versa. The long guard can be used with an arrow stance, but what you do is not try to deflect strikes directly but to smother them by pressing on the inside of the elbow. Great example of this is George Foreman's return to boxing and his later career.
I remember watching a video about a young woman who competed in Muay Thai, who specialized in a thrusting knee. She would get close, combining a narrow stance with a long guard to jam the opponent's shoulders from the inside and would just blast the strange knees. Their opponents seemed to have no answer. It looked so unique.
This is awesome Gabriel, I've been brainstorming a lot on how to incorporate different stances into my own unique fight style depending on type of opponent, distance, etc... so thank you!
This is definitely one of the best instructive videos about martial arts and fighting in general (be it for sports combat or real fighting). I knew about most of the stances, but I have learned a few more things with this video. Thank you for the video (and also all other videos in general).
Ah dude, as a TKD practitioner I felt that burn. To be fair one is instructed in keeping the arms up but a lot of people in competitions keep their hands down because of the fighting rules. In TKD you are not allowed to punch the face so they only need to worry about kicks. For self defense it’s different. We train hitting the whole body and we train elbow and knee strikes as well as takedowns. But I have to agree that the way KB and MT way of training and competing is much better to train for a real fight. I’m thinking about training either of the two and some MMA/JJ. And your passion for KB has inspired me. Great videos!
TKD is actually a great foundation for MMA, as long as you are willing to discard virtually everything except the kicks because when it comes to striking kicks are by far the most technical and complicated components and a high level of these first also gives you amazing balance and good footwork etc Then learn to how to jab, cross and left hook like a boxer and after your technique is good enough start studying and mimicking Dutch style kickboxing combos (ernesto hoost is a great one to copy, also you will get the hang of leg kicks extremely fast) then once your a scary full package striker you can start worrying about grappling (its not as intimidating and doesn't require as much training as you might think to be proficient enough to survive on the ground and get up/stuff a take down against most mixed martial artists) if you are serious, committed and somewhat talented and you shadow box everyday, this can be done to a high standard within 1 year.
Extended lead hand for me. Also known as the intelligent left. Works well for me especially if you’re into using quick footwork for evasion. Great vid champ as always!
Gabriel i was sparring this guy at my muay thai class that was fighting me like a point karate fighter i found it super frustrating and akward He would just explode w single shots and had akward timing. I normally leg kick karate guys cause they stand bladed but this guy was in a square stance. I feel like i should have pressured him with boxing, but he had fast reaction time . Another annoying thing he was doing was when id leg kick hed just pull his leg back about 6 inches and i was hyper extending my foot on his leg😂😂😂 I am going to use this , it was actually very effective
Feints are your friend, my friend! 👌 If ure talking about that quick leg pullback/pullup thing (forget its proper name, sorry 🤷♂️), that’s a legitimate defensive (and potentially offensive) tactic. You can effortlessly evade an incoming low kick or oblique whilst simultaneously leaving a kinda brief standing knee for them to bang their shins on. 🙏 ...requires excellent timing though...and I’m not good enough for it yet. 🙃
if he is a karate point fighter.. they just explode and do all the stuff inside your pocket so you can clinge them to death....i encountered a karate girl who is very fast but they get used to getting into clinch range to punch you because the ref will separate them in a karate fight but if they do this in a thai boxing gym. haha good luck to them
This is an incredibly important video. Great job. Favorited. People, esp people who just got started, who train Muay Thai or something similar(or even boxing) should watch this video. I also built my fighting style around my guard, protecting my head, like you. In fact you could say I modelled my fighting style somewhat on yours; though our kicking style is somewhat different. I fight with a priority on protecting my head and thus I use a high guard normally. I'll deflect punches and counter, or attack, and my guard deflects their counter(s), and I can continue my combo. Assuming all goes well of course. I like low kicks and body kicks, and body knees(provided Im clinching: I can only rarely land standing knees, flying knees slightly more success).
Yeah, that Ramon Dekkers guard that u showed in another vid, I’m gonna start trying that style in my sparring, but definitely need to alternate guards depending on opponent, circumstances, and distance. 🙏
I like to use a hybrid stance of the karate and long kickboxing... Shortening it sometimes for power kicks going long for lead leg attacks and power punches n knees
I think the lengthened stances are better for kicking styles of Karate or Taekwondo. I did train in both of them for a total of 7 years so I'm using around 60%-70% of different kicks(round kicks, horse kicks, frontkicks, headkicks, etc...) and for kick like horse kicks I must to turn my front leg around to turn the whole body and fire the kick, and with Muay Thai stance it's almost impossible to kick like that and keep balance. Also I'm tall guy so it's good to keep my distance and use it for my advantage. I think that your height and kicking styles is also things to consider and can be helpful when choosing stance, and wasn't mentioned in the video.
Great video, probably the most underrated and least covered topic in fighting sports. Do you think that a personal fighting style should be built from the defense up or from the offense down? I've always looked at stance/guard as a foundation to a house, solid foundation makes for a solid building platform. Cheers!
It comes down to your strengths an weakness I prefer to fight defense an counter so I have a wider stance and a open guard so I bait people to throw thier power shots an counter them
As primarily an Outside Boxer/Catch Wrestler, I prefer to blade my body and use defense at kicking range, and shorten/square up my stance for explosive takedown attempts/weaving in the pocket while at the edge of punching range. I guess it depends on what your best assets are. Mine are: · Head movement · Fairly non-telegraphed straight kicks [Body/High] · Versatile grappler So, I use my Head Movement to get in past punches, gain double-unders or get a single/double-leg, take them down, and drown them in top pressure, or attack with submission attempts or sweeps after I inevitably get reversed and get put on my back. What are your strengths as a fighter, @SelfRighteousBasterd?
@@smokeyjoe6059 I'd say strong striker for one, I always used my size/weight for extra impact, long limbs which means good reach, generally reactionary in style, trying to keep good guard etiquette and counter heavy. About what you would expect from a big fighter.
Thank you so much for all of your videos! Really great material! By chance, could you make a video elaborating on the Philly Shell and expanding on its uses in kickboxing and may thai?
The comment about "traditional Karate" being low is actually Japanese style Karate (ex Shotokan) which is actually a modern sport version. Okinawan Karate has shorter and higher stances.
I use a lwo guard i know people dont use it but rarely there are people who feel more comfortable with it so it couldve been a good guard to introduce in this video
One quick note about traditional Karate Stances is one in the Okinawan styles they are never that long and two these aren't supposed to be fighting stances. Like if you look at a kizami tsuki in a Zenkutsu Dachi Stance it's not much different than a jab you find in boxing or Kickboxing.
Gabriel, love your videos. They're a great help since my muay thai instructor doesn't speak English. Do you have any tips for someone who has flexibilty issues with kicks? A video on flexibility would you great.
I was told that an old-style Muay Thai guard was long guard with narrow MT stance. The idea was that the fighter was looking to clinch and throw knees.
I am a Mantis Kung fu practitoner but I don't necessarily like the stance I was taught. (dont tell my Sifu lol) Anyways I was hoping if Gabriel or anyone wants to give a little input or give suggestions on which stance i should acquire based on the styles characteristics. Trying to evolve and make the style more effective. So first off despite what you see in Kung Fu movies we don't stand holding Mantis claws. It's either fist or an open hand. Our guard is the extended lead(Dominate hand)+tight rear or the long guard. We dont throw many power shots with our hands prefering to use tight trap/parries and combinations. The style is very aggressively short and fast when it comes to the striking so we don't like to load up shots. Strikes are (Jabs, straight, hooks, uppercuts, elbows, vertical back hand, horizontal back hand, forearm slice). We don't retract our strikes prefering to stick but we like to clinch like Muay Thai fighters. Which is where the "mantis claws" come into play. Although we can kick high for head shots we rarely do prefering to strike at the torso and legs. (Roundhouse, Oblique kick, Front kick, Side kick, Low side kick to the leg, Push kick/teap, Low kick or Coup de pied bas in Savate, Spinning back kick or mule kick, and lastly Knees. The style quickly mixes up punches and kicks into combos at short range while rushing down someone and after we are done. We prefer to fight from mid to inside range. Invading people space and putting on pressure. We utilize throws particularly sweeps like you would see Muay Thai fighters employ but also sweeps similar to the ones you see in Judo. I might have missed a few things but this generally what Mantis boxing or Mantis Kung Fu is actually supposed to look like. So what stance and guard would maximize this fighting style?
I’ve always had more of a kickboxing stance but recently tried adopting a Muay Thai stance and feel like I’m just stuck in the mud and can’t evade shots as much as I use to
I got more of a bas rutten stance personally, i know my liver get more exposed than if i was a bit more sideways but i get great power in both arms that Way, my hand are up most of the time. there a video on my account can i send it to you? I was drunk so maybe it's better i do another one 😂. We can't film in my gym only if its outdoor training
It can be a good idea, as long as you don't make any big mistake. I personally transition from a stance to another, without even thinking about it. I have adaptability, it all depends on the situation.
I wanna build off a stance I'm familiar with from other training, to make the move more natural. I've been shooting for a number of years and prefer a balanced stance for shooting on the move (right-handed.) A shoulder-width stance, left-foot slightly forward at 11-12 o'clock, right foot aligned around my left heel and pointing at 1-2 o'clock. My shoulders though, tend to be almost squared to target (isosceles) rather than the Chapman Weaver stance I first started with. I'm 5'11"@ 180, with some long arms, plan to punch vs. kick 75%, and keep my guard up in a more traditional if not closer stance. What do you recommend?
So, as a Kick boxing muay thai beginner quite tall and slim who love low/midle and high kick, the best stance for me could be Muay thai with Muay thai guard/ or long guard right? Or am i wrong ahah
It's very interesting. With the right contract it's definitely something I'd try. I do wish that low kicks were allowed. But other than that I like the rules.
The concept of that organisation is very interesting, and ANYTHING that mercurial legend Bas Rutten is involved with has gotta be worth a look. 👏 However, I find the idea of ‘karate combat’ a tad oxymoronic. I’ve loved karate most my life, but honestly? After trying several styles throughout my life (leaving at 3rd kyu 2 years ago), it doesn’t interest me in a ‘combat’ sense. I’m obviously not remotely close to Gabriel as a karateka, but I nonetheless don’t view karate as a ‘combat sport’ tbh...kokutsu dachi DEFINITELY helped prepare me for the painful squats and weighted wall-sits we regularly do at Touchgloves though! 😀
@@paulpelle3046 well i’m a karateka myself and if you feel that way it’s ok but karate was created with a purpose of being a martial art that is supposed to protect yourself and there are full contact styles such as kyokushin and even in other styles such as shotokan all the techniques taught to you are supposed to be used in a self defence situation and even thought that competitions are only contact based they’re supposed to represent a safer battle even katas were made in order to pass down the fighting techniques. So in my opinion karate combat is a great sport that represents what karate is today. If you train karate for the sake of fun it’s totally ok, but saying that karate is not a combat sport is wrong.
No offence, but did u read what I said? 🙄 I’ve trained (and competed at tournaments) in several karate styles since the age of 8 (I’m now 44), and whilst I adore it in so many ways...it simply does not compare to what I now do (Muay Thai). So, no disrespect, but there’s not really much u can tell me about karate. 🙏 PS. Kyokushin is super unrealistic dude. Hello? Head strikes anyone. 🤦♂️
Coach I got a question? Do muay thai fighters rotate their hips when they punch. Like boxers and kickboxers. Because I'm confused whenever I rotate my hips to punch. My feet are rotated in the opposite direction to throw a kick. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I can't find any videos breaking this down. Maybe someday you can. Thanks love your videos
Hip rotation is used in every style to utilize more bodyweight in their strikes. Since a Muay Thai stance is more square, there is a bit less hip rotation than other styles but is still important to use.
In my observation it's more about the shifting of weight that you should focus on. For every strike you shift your weight to the opposite leg. For a right punch your weight should always come to the left leg, for a right kick your weight should always come to the left leg, vice versa, and so on. You could throw 2 rights with one weight shift like a right punch that is directly followed up by a right kick. Or you could just use small shifts to gain a little more even distribution of power since with the first option either the punch or the kick has to be thrown half heartedly. You would achieve this by punching without full extension, rotation, or more simply weight shift, then drawing back to let your kick off. Otherwise you just have to let the left side do the work, since shifting from right to left is easy, but maybe a right punch followed by a left kick is not the most effective.
Gabe why is BOB the beat me up guy so expensive?? $700 is a bit ridiculous,,,,,, I have a heavy bag but would love the stand up Bob I've shopped around and thays the going price but this guy ain't paying that for plastic and rubber. Any good places with reasonable prices for BOB like sparring partners
Everything seems so expensive this year. That does seem like far too much and I'm honestly not a big fan of them. Sorry I don't have any great suggestions for better prices. I would change up and go for a proper bag. Cheaper and better.
Gabriel, I've been learning Mauy Thai, for self-defense purposes. As you said, I like doing the round kicks & other kicks, as well. I like punching, & being able to work angles & utilize my footwork. Which stance would you recommend me to utilize in a street fight, where I could guard myself, & work my strikes/ style? And, good video. Also, thanks for taking time out of your day to share your knowledge.
You’re coming to the wrong channel if u think ure gonna get tips on how to street fight better. Probably the first step to training Muay Thai is to learn how it’s spelled. 🤦♂️
@@paulpelle3046 Well, learn how to spell the word, "you are". And, my spelling of Muay Thai was a typo-error. Was in a rush. Don't worry about the spelling, you should focus on minding your own business & try learning how to defend yourself, in the streets. And, you need to find you something better else to do with your day. And, if you was watching the video, you would know that Gabriel said those stances, were good for inside and outside the ring. So, get a life. You just miserable, that's all.
If youre using a muay thai stance youre supposed to be able to keep aggressors at bay with teeps, lift the leg inward to defend against groin kicks and be able to close the distance to clinch
Stances:
1:42 Muay Thai
2:47 Traditional Kickboxing / Dutch
3:29 Summary of Muay Thai and Dutch
3:49 Lengthened stances
4:40 Narrow and Long / Karate / Bladed
Guards Intro 6:18
6:23 Muay Thai
7:08 Traditional Kickboxing / Dutch
8:02 extended lead hand + tight rear
9:40 Philly Shell
11:09 Long Guard
Was looking for this thanks
You're the man. Thanks for the effort
Thanks! Time stamps like these are always helpful.
You deserve the world
Are there any good stances for MMA?
this is the best stance breakdown on youtube , i’m a karate guy who just recently got interested in kickboxing . thanks sir
I cant believe there arent that many videos comparing and explaining guards, not only is this video wonderfully done, it has Gabriel Varga in it to explain with his knowledge and experience.
Do a breakdown of Stephen "Woderboy" Thompson, Raymond Daniels, Michael "Venom" Page and Conor McGregor's styles
Since you asked so nicely huh? 🤦♂️
@@paulpelle3046 Please Mr. Varga. Can you do the breakdown? Thanks in advance!
Hehe! Nice one dude. It just sounded really blunt, but I’m sure you were just rushing the reply or something, right? 🙂
I’m just super used to very high levels of respect and humility in my gym. Our best fighters are super polite and humble. 👍
Take care bro 🙏
PS. MVP is MEGA overrated imo. My brother-in-law is probably one of the finest Thai boxers in England, with potential to go to the very top. Alas, his demons have taken him away from his absolutely effortless genius and freakish vision and slips in the ring. Gareth Lloyd...some of u should have heard of him. He was on the cusp of greatness a few years back, but life took him away from it. Very frustrating for me to see it. 😔
I’m rambling, sorry. Cutting a long story short? He broke down an MVP fight with me, and he honestly isn’t what many people think. Gareth convinced me in no time at all. 🤷♂️
He already did Wonderboy and Conor, check them out
I don’t think there’s much to break down about Conor nowadays though...unless u wanna break down how he’s breaking down because of his Diamond breaks. 🤣😆😂
What's your favourite guard and what the one you wished you could pull off?
I obviously like the kickboxing guard but wish I could feel more comfortable with the long guard and wide stance. That works nicely in MMA.
For me mix of KB and MT style works the best. And I'd like to learn to utilise the semi-long guard (Dracula guard) better.
i perform very well with the hands low! :D
I'm comfortable with the wider stance because I box like roy jones a bit using leaning and head movement to draw out shots for counter punches. But I wish I was a bit better at cleanly switching between that and the thai style for quick counter kicks.
I would love it if you made a video about transitioning guards to avoid being cornered, like how adesanya circles out against the cage with his long guard.
@@siegfriedo aAgood understanding of how to frame with the lead hand and work with the rear is the key. You shouldn't see the rear to be stationarily crossed nor the lead to be fully and only stretched out. The rear can still work to parry and block, you can even switch it to a high guard while letting you lead hand stop punches from ever leaving their body by framing or stopping it midway by blocking their elbows for full extension, pushing their shoulder so the punch never reaches you, so on and so forth.
🙄
I'm an Okinawan/traditional karate guy that transitioned to MMA and I teach both.
What frustrates me about traditional karate stances is that so many are transitional, yet karate people insist on trying to stay in those stances and fight from there instead of the stance that Gabriel highlights above (Which are awesome)
I trained some Kung Fu and there was a half-acknowledgement that those fancy stances were mostly for conditioning the legs, not actually fighting.
A note about the Philly Shell and the long guard.
Philly: as you mentioned with the long stance you have the option to lift the front leg. Which is exactly what Bill superfoot Wallace did during his undefeated reign in PKA. The way you deal with kicks is by counter kicking. Jabs combo to lead kick attacks and vice versa.
The long guard can be used with an arrow stance, but what you do is not try to deflect strikes directly but to smother them by pressing on the inside of the elbow. Great example of this is George Foreman's return to boxing and his later career.
I remember watching a video about a young woman who competed in Muay Thai, who specialized in a thrusting knee. She would get close, combining a narrow stance with a long guard to jam the opponent's shoulders from the inside and would just blast the strange knees. Their opponents seemed to have no answer. It looked so unique.
This is awesome Gabriel, I've been brainstorming a lot on how to incorporate different stances into my own unique fight style depending on type of opponent, distance, etc... so thank you!
This the only video im missing in defensive course. This video is just that good on explaining stances and guards.
This is definitely one of the best instructive videos about martial arts and fighting in general (be it for sports combat or real fighting). I knew about most of the stances, but I have learned a few more things with this video. Thank you for the video (and also all other videos in general).
Tuank you for explaining the methodology behind it!
Ah dude, as a TKD practitioner I felt that burn. To be fair one is instructed in keeping the arms up but a lot of people in competitions keep their hands down because of the fighting rules. In TKD you are not allowed to punch the face so they only need to worry about kicks. For self defense it’s different. We train hitting the whole body and we train elbow and knee strikes as well as takedowns.
But I have to agree that the way KB and MT way of training and competing is much better to train for a real fight. I’m thinking about training either of the two and some MMA/JJ. And your passion for KB has inspired me. Great videos!
TKD is actually a great foundation for MMA, as long as you are willing to discard virtually everything except the kicks because when it comes to striking kicks are by far the most technical and complicated components and a high level of these first also gives you amazing balance and good footwork etc Then learn to how to jab, cross and left hook like a boxer and after your technique is good enough start studying and mimicking Dutch style kickboxing combos (ernesto hoost is a great one to copy, also you will get the hang of leg kicks extremely fast) then once your a scary full package striker you can start worrying about grappling (its not as intimidating and doesn't require as much training as you might think to be proficient enough to survive on the ground and get up/stuff a take down against most mixed martial artists) if you are serious, committed and somewhat talented and you shadow box everyday, this can be done to a high standard within 1 year.
This is absolutly one of the best videos you made! Awsome work!
Varga is love, Varga is life
I spread my cheeks for Varga. It's all over now.
P4p greatest TH-cam kickboxing instructor 👊 keep it up this channel needs to blow up!
Extended lead hand for me. Also known as the intelligent left. Works well for me especially if you’re into using quick footwork for evasion. Great vid champ as always!
Thank you for breaking them down, plus pros n cons
Gabriel i was sparring this guy at my muay thai class that was fighting me like a point karate fighter i found it super frustrating and akward
He would just explode w single shots and had akward timing. I normally leg kick karate guys cause they stand bladed but this guy was in a square stance. I feel like i should have pressured him with boxing, but he had fast reaction time . Another annoying thing he was doing was when id leg kick hed just pull his leg back about 6 inches and i was hyper extending my foot on his leg😂😂😂
I am going to use this , it was actually very effective
Feints are your friend, my friend! 👌
If ure talking about that quick leg pullback/pullup thing (forget its proper name, sorry 🤷♂️), that’s a legitimate defensive (and potentially offensive) tactic. You can effortlessly evade an incoming low kick or oblique whilst simultaneously leaving a kinda brief standing knee for them to bang their shins on. 🙏
...requires excellent timing though...and I’m not good enough for it yet. 🙃
if he is a karate point fighter.. they just explode and do all the stuff inside your pocket so you can clinge them to death....i encountered a karate girl who is very fast but they get used to getting into clinch range to punch you because the ref will separate them in a karate fight but if they do this in a thai boxing gym. haha good luck to them
This is an incredibly important video. Great job. Favorited. People, esp people who just got started, who train Muay Thai or something similar(or even boxing) should watch this video.
I also built my fighting style around my guard, protecting my head, like you. In fact you could say I modelled my fighting style somewhat on yours; though our kicking style is somewhat different. I fight with a priority on protecting my head and thus I use a high guard normally. I'll deflect punches and counter, or attack, and my guard deflects their counter(s), and I can continue my combo. Assuming all goes well of course. I like low kicks and body kicks, and body knees(provided Im clinching: I can only rarely land standing knees, flying knees slightly more success).
do you fight or compete?
Yeah, that Ramon Dekkers guard that u showed in another vid, I’m gonna start trying that style in my sparring, but definitely need to alternate guards depending on opponent, circumstances, and distance. 🙏
I like to use a hybrid stance of the karate and long kickboxing... Shortening it sometimes for power kicks going long for lead leg attacks and power punches n knees
I think the lengthened stances are better for kicking styles of Karate or Taekwondo. I did train in both of them for a total of 7 years so I'm using around 60%-70% of different kicks(round kicks, horse kicks, frontkicks, headkicks, etc...) and for kick like horse kicks I must to turn my front leg around to turn the whole body and fire the kick, and with Muay Thai stance it's almost impossible to kick like that and keep balance.
Also I'm tall guy so it's good to keep my distance and use it for my advantage.
I think that your height and kicking styles is also things to consider and can be helpful when choosing stance, and wasn't mentioned in the video.
Great breakdown
Absolute legendary video I wanted to see this and when will you make the spin kicks without losing balance video ?Thanks
Basic stuff that you gave so many advanced details for
Thanks coach 👊🏼
Excellent info, thank you sir
Great video, probably the most underrated and least covered topic in fighting sports. Do you think that a personal fighting style should be built from the defense up or from the offense down? I've always looked at stance/guard as a foundation to a house, solid foundation makes for a solid building platform. Cheers!
It comes down to your strengths an weakness I prefer to fight defense an counter so I have a wider stance and a open guard so I bait people to throw thier power shots an counter them
As primarily an Outside Boxer/Catch Wrestler, I prefer to blade my body and use defense at kicking range, and shorten/square up my stance for explosive takedown attempts/weaving in the pocket while at the edge of punching range. I guess it depends on what your best assets are. Mine are:
· Head movement
· Fairly non-telegraphed straight kicks [Body/High]
· Versatile grappler
So, I use my Head Movement to get in past punches, gain double-unders or get a single/double-leg, take them down, and drown them in top pressure, or attack with submission attempts or sweeps after I inevitably get reversed and get put on my back.
What are your strengths as a fighter, @SelfRighteousBasterd?
@@smokeyjoe6059 I'd say strong striker for one, I always used my size/weight for extra impact, long limbs which means good reach, generally reactionary in style, trying to keep good guard etiquette and counter heavy. About what you would expect from a big fighter.
I combine multiple of these to creat a custom stance that works best for me
Appreciate this breakdown, thanks heaps champ! 💥👍
Thank you so much for all of your videos! Really great material!
By chance, could you make a video elaborating on the Philly Shell and expanding on its uses in kickboxing and may thai?
Very cool and clear explanations, thank you for all this gem of information :)
Thanks, sir!
This is an awesome video 💯
The comment about "traditional Karate" being low is actually Japanese style Karate (ex Shotokan) which is actually a modern sport version. Okinawan Karate has shorter and higher stances.
I use a lwo guard i know people dont use it but rarely there are people who feel more comfortable with it so it couldve been a good guard to introduce in this video
One quick note about traditional Karate Stances is one in the Okinawan styles they are never that long and two these aren't supposed to be fighting stances. Like if you look at a kizami tsuki in a Zenkutsu Dachi Stance it's not much different than a jab you find in boxing or Kickboxing.
If you want to see a funky guard that surprisingly worked, look at Gene Fullmer's reverse cross guard
Gabriel, love your videos. They're a great help since my muay thai instructor doesn't speak English. Do you have any tips for someone who has flexibilty issues with kicks? A video on flexibility would you great.
I was told that an old-style Muay Thai guard was long guard with narrow MT stance. The idea was that the fighter was looking to clinch and throw knees.
because if you fight with bare hands, dutch style doesn't help you to protect yourself except hook.... but long guard mostly do...
Based on my own personal experience, it's all just a matter of mixing and matching it up well.
5:50 reminds me of tenshin
I am a Mantis Kung fu practitoner but I don't necessarily like the stance I was taught. (dont tell my Sifu lol) Anyways I was hoping if Gabriel or anyone wants to give a little input or give suggestions on which stance i should acquire based on the styles characteristics. Trying to evolve and make the style more effective.
So first off despite what you see in Kung Fu movies we don't stand holding Mantis claws. It's either fist or an open hand. Our guard is the extended lead(Dominate hand)+tight rear or the long guard. We dont throw many power shots with our hands prefering to use tight trap/parries and combinations. The style is very aggressively short and fast when it comes to the striking so we don't like to load up shots.
Strikes are (Jabs, straight, hooks, uppercuts, elbows, vertical back hand, horizontal back hand, forearm slice). We don't retract our strikes prefering to stick but we like to clinch like Muay Thai fighters. Which is where the "mantis claws" come into play.
Although we can kick high for head shots we rarely do prefering to strike at the torso and legs. (Roundhouse, Oblique kick, Front kick, Side kick, Low side kick to the leg, Push kick/teap, Low kick or Coup de pied bas in Savate, Spinning back kick or mule kick, and lastly Knees.
The style quickly mixes up punches and kicks into combos at short range while rushing down someone and after we are done. We prefer to fight from mid to inside range. Invading people space and putting on pressure.
We utilize throws particularly sweeps like you would see Muay Thai fighters employ but also sweeps similar to the ones you see in Judo. I might have missed a few things but this generally what Mantis boxing or Mantis Kung Fu is actually supposed to look like. So what stance and guard would maximize this fighting style?
Can you do a video on the technical difference between kickboxing and boxing
I’ve always had more of a kickboxing stance but recently tried adopting a Muay Thai stance and feel like I’m just stuck in the mud and can’t evade shots as much as I use to
Gabriel, how do you stay confident in a fight when someone hits very hard? Any recommendations?
Lots of sparring
I got more of a bas rutten stance personally, i know my liver get more exposed than if i was a bit more sideways but i get great power in both arms that Way, my hand are up most of the time. there a video on my account can i send it to you? I was drunk so maybe it's better i do another one 😂. We can't film in my gym only if its outdoor training
Great vid! Gabriel, how does a fighter choose their weight class?
Great video, what about mixing stance and guards relative to your distance from the other fighter?
It can be a good idea, as long as you don't make any big mistake. I personally transition from a stance to another, without even thinking about it. I have adaptability, it all depends on the situation.
Nice video. Make video about rhythm pls 🙏🙏🥺
Great video!
Can you make a video about southpaw tactics? How to fight if we are southpaw and how to fight against them.
is it normal to switchh stanced everytime?
michael venum paige fighting stance
Can you do an addendum that addresses takedown defense?
Another consideration is takedown defense. There's a reason you don't see a lot of Thai stance in MMA.
I switch to 3 stands depending on my guys height and there speed base on the first 30 to 60sec.
In your opinion how does a Muay Thai stance fare against a pure boxer. Seems the squared up stance leave you open to body shots and uppercuts
Body shot vs knee
Uppercut vs elbow
Not as open as a boxing stance leaves you to leg kicks and headkicks
You have to be more defensive and chop the legs and arms of the boxer with strong kicks
@@ogloc6308 right from the outside but mid range to close range wouldn’t the boxer have the upper hand?
I wanna build off a stance I'm familiar with from other training, to make the move more natural. I've been shooting for a number of years and prefer a balanced stance for shooting on the move (right-handed.) A shoulder-width stance, left-foot slightly forward at 11-12 o'clock, right foot aligned around my left heel and pointing at 1-2 o'clock.
My shoulders though, tend to be almost squared to target (isosceles) rather than the Chapman Weaver stance I first started with. I'm 5'11"@ 180, with some long arms, plan to punch vs. kick 75%, and keep my guard up in a more traditional if not closer stance. What do you recommend?
Make more video about head movement please
Stance depends on the sport and the rules: Thai boxing stance can be taken down easier in MMA.
My coach teaches us the dutch guard in muay thai
7:00
Hey gabriel what brand are those gloves ?
So, as a Kick boxing muay thai beginner quite tall and slim who love low/midle and high kick, the best stance for me could be Muay thai with Muay thai guard/ or long guard right? Or am i wrong ahah
Would it make sense to use 2 stances when fighting?
Hey Gabriel what do you think about karate combat and would you participate in it
It's very interesting. With the right contract it's definitely something I'd try.
I do wish that low kicks were allowed. But other than that I like the rules.
The concept of that organisation is very interesting, and ANYTHING that mercurial legend Bas Rutten is involved with has gotta be worth a look. 👏
However, I find the idea of ‘karate combat’ a tad oxymoronic. I’ve loved karate most my life, but honestly? After trying several styles throughout my life (leaving at 3rd kyu 2 years ago), it doesn’t interest me in a ‘combat’ sense.
I’m obviously not remotely close to Gabriel as a karateka, but I nonetheless don’t view karate as a ‘combat sport’ tbh...kokutsu dachi DEFINITELY helped prepare me for the painful squats and weighted wall-sits we regularly do at Touchgloves though! 😀
@@paulpelle3046 well i’m a karateka myself and if you feel that way it’s ok but karate was created with a purpose of being a martial art that is supposed to protect yourself and there are full contact styles such as kyokushin and even in other styles such as shotokan all the techniques taught to you are supposed to be used in a self defence situation and even thought that competitions are only contact based they’re supposed to represent a safer battle even katas were made in order to pass down the fighting techniques. So in my opinion karate combat is a great sport that represents what karate is today. If you train karate for the sake of fun it’s totally ok, but saying that karate is not a combat sport is wrong.
No offence, but did u read what I said? 🙄
I’ve trained (and competed at tournaments) in several karate styles since the age of 8 (I’m now 44), and whilst I adore it in so many ways...it simply does not compare to what I now do (Muay Thai). So, no disrespect, but there’s not really much u can tell me about karate. 🙏
PS. Kyokushin is super unrealistic dude. Hello? Head strikes anyone. 🤦♂️
@@paulpelle3046 well it’s your opinion and I respect it but you still can’t deny that there are so many great karate fighters out there
Non expert question but wouldn’t logic tell you to not stick to any one stance and base it on what your opponent is doing, space, etc?
please tell us why taekwondo and karate stances are bad. we could learn a lot by knowing why something is bad
Coach I got a question? Do muay thai fighters rotate their hips when they punch. Like boxers and kickboxers. Because I'm confused whenever I rotate my hips to punch. My feet are rotated in the opposite direction to throw a kick. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I can't find any videos breaking this down. Maybe someday you can. Thanks love your videos
Hip rotation is used in every style to utilize more bodyweight in their strikes. Since a Muay Thai stance is more square, there is a bit less hip rotation than other styles but is still important to use.
Yes. You can’t get much power into a punch unless you rotate your hips and transfer your weight
In my observation it's more about the shifting of weight that you should focus on. For every strike you shift your weight to the opposite leg. For a right punch your weight should always come to the left leg, for a right kick your weight should always come to the left leg, vice versa, and so on. You could throw 2 rights with one weight shift like a right punch that is directly followed up by a right kick. Or you could just use small shifts to gain a little more even distribution of power since with the first option either the punch or the kick has to be thrown half heartedly. You would achieve this by punching without full extension, rotation, or more simply weight shift, then drawing back to let your kick off. Otherwise you just have to let the left side do the work, since shifting from right to left is easy, but maybe a right punch followed by a left kick is not the most effective.
Strange how the actual expert was asked this, and several non-professionals answer it. Lol! “ It’s all a flick of the wrist” 😆
@@paulpelle3046 good point Everyone's an expert on TH-cam
Isnt the muay thai stance a square stance?
Man, my Muay Thai teacher is disgusted at my bouncy stance😔Forgive me Kru🙏
Conor McGregor is doing the karate style stance
Gabe why is BOB the beat me up guy so expensive?? $700 is a bit ridiculous,,,,,, I have a heavy bag but would love the stand up Bob I've shopped around and thays the going price but this guy ain't paying that for plastic and rubber. Any good places with reasonable prices for BOB like sparring partners
Everything seems so expensive this year. That does seem like far too much and I'm honestly not a big fan of them.
Sorry I don't have any great suggestions for better prices. I would change up and go for a proper bag. Cheaper and better.
Gabriel, I've been learning Mauy Thai, for self-defense purposes. As you said, I like doing the round kicks & other kicks, as well. I like punching, & being able to work angles & utilize my footwork. Which stance would you recommend me to utilize in a street fight, where I could guard myself, & work my strikes/ style? And, good video. Also, thanks for taking time out of your day to share your knowledge.
You’re coming to the wrong channel if u think ure gonna get tips on how to street fight better. Probably the first step to training Muay Thai is to learn how it’s spelled. 🤦♂️
@@paulpelle3046 Well, learn how to spell the word, "you are". And, my spelling of Muay Thai was a typo-error. Was in a rush. Don't worry about the spelling, you should focus on minding your own business & try learning how to defend yourself, in the streets. And, you need to find you something better else to do with your day. And, if you was watching the video, you would know that Gabriel said those stances, were good for inside and outside the ring. So, get a life. You just miserable, that's all.
"not much use for karate stances in modern fight sports"
(Wonderboy has entered the chat)
For most athletes. There are always exceptions.
In his usual respectful and gentlemanly way Gabriel says “Don’t insult my beloved karate.” 😆
I like karate stance in the street fight. Bcz if I use muay thai stance my balls are exposed.
You should consider wearing clothing when u street fight in that case.
If youre using a muay thai stance youre supposed to be able to keep aggressors at bay with teeps, lift the leg inward to defend against groin kicks and be able to close the distance to clinch
You never stay in one stance 🤦♂️
That doesn't mean you don't have a main one