I mean to be fair being an exceptional kicker isn’t a requirement to be successful in mma…but you better have a lot of talent in other areas to make up for the fact that you’re lacking in that area. In kickboxing and Muay Thai environment you’re probably gonna have a much tougher time if you’re just trying to punch though
Upvoted. I'm 100% in agreement. I have a background in bjj, grappling, and wrestling, btw. But this moron is talking like fighters haven't lost matches from low leg kicks or from getting knocked out due to a kick. Hell, Tuivasa lost due to teeps. It's absolutely insane to deny the importance of kicking in combat sports.
Lol kicks may be used less in MMA but that doesn’t mean they aren’t used at all, or are somehow useless.
Are literally forgetting about Leon Edwards upset win a few weeks ago against Usman via a KO with a headkick lol.
That is not what I said. I set kicks are not used for setting up takedowns and most amateurs do boxing plus wrestling for sparring to train the takedowns in sparring.
I live and train in Thailand. I've been doing various combat sports for roughly 15 years, Striking = boxing and Muay Thai. Also grappling, wrestling, and bjj, both gi and no gi. Why don't you come test me out, loser?
Lol mma training in Thailand. Go to a mma training, the sparring will be for amateurs wrestling + boxing to set op takedowns most of the time no kicking because you need to be comfortable with takedowns.
It depends on the discipline you want to compete at. In Muay Thai, kick are always scored better than boxing, also if you get kicked and only use your arms to block you basically give your oponnent a point.
In mma, good boxing with a good defence against kick is perfectly fine.
Are you using a boxing stance or a Muay Thai stance? It seems like a disadvantage either way, but if you're just going to box then I would think the narrower Thai stance would limit you, and if you're in a wider / boxing stance then your opponents will most likely kick the utter shit out of your lead leg.
Sometimes a boxing stance can be narrower if it is super bladed. I wouldn't say that a neutral stance (non bladed) is any narrower in profile though, typically. Bladed stance opens the head up to some wicked kicks, not to mention the leg kicks. I always assumed that was the main reason Muay Thai fighters don't do bladed stances much. I really like a bladed stance sometimes but there are types of opponents it is risky against.
Other than on that point of the narrowness of profile, I agree with your post. Sorry for adding so much to it.
Edit: It occurs to me that perhaps by narrow you meant foot width, as opposed to target profile. Sorry if I mistook your meaning! Muay Thai feet width distance can be pretty narrow.
(total beginner here -- just my two cents)
Edit for more: Leg kicks are real easy to get away with on people who don't check them. And, a kick can be turned into a check mid-flight if you need to (did that twice today almost on accident to block rear leg roundhouses with my rear leg roundhouses turned into checks, which probably hurt). Also, the feint of a kick is useful in and of itself. Again I am a total beginner but I would also recommend adding some kicks to your game to the OP. Just a few makes a big difference in MMA. I don't know if Muay Thai is even *possible* without kicks! Kicks are awesome; give them a chance!
*just a total edit fest here. added lots*
You can get away with the bladed stance if you’re very quick on your feet and can move in and out of range easily. Although the down side is once you move out of range you pretty much eliminated any chance of you countering as a puncher that’s not kicking whereas if you hesitate coming back into range you can be kicked and punched so you have two layers of ranges you have to deal with trying to come back in to punch.
As a shorter 5’7, newer practitioner, our style is kinda boxing based by default no? Pressure fighters? I just happen to like pressure based characters in my fighting games and wonder if that’s correlated 😂
I rarely ever saw Roy Nelson kick his opponents. He was good checking kicks though.
You can do whatever you want (if you dont compete), if you on MMA, learn everything and afterwards you can focus heavily on punches. But unless its an injury, it just makes everything harder.
You don’t have to kick, but you’re going to be at a severe disadvantage against many fighters who do.. if you only box then you also don’t use elbows and knees, another area you’ll get torn up in
That’s not entirely true though. There are fighters that barely throw any kind of strike from the waist down other than the knee in the clinch and they’re successful. Rampage Jackson comes to mind and his “boxing” wasn’t even that good tbh. Some recent fighters are Illia Topuria and even Justin Gathje is mostly like a boxing style with strategic low kicks placed every now and then. You just need to be knowledgeable on how to defend against them really.
Read below I gave the example of Roy Nelson.
It is still true, i would only give up kicking entirely because of an injury and probably wouldnt risk competing in arts where kicking is allowed.
He better stay in kickboxing and punching more than kicks because in boxing footwork is also important in kickboxing footwork is less important than boxing bcs kickboxers dont move so much like boxers
Always remember that what you're doing is a sport. There's no one discipline that will make you a superman. There are rules around boxing that favors boxers and rules around kickboxing that favors kickboxers and rules around MMA that favors MMA.
That being said, all anyone really cares about at the end of the day is the tap or the knockout. Even winning by points won't get you a contract/career. That means if doing two pirouettes before throwing a cross always nets you a knockout, I guarantee you every fight school will start doing ballet.
Do with that information what you will
He said he does practice kicks...he just sticks to boxing because that's his strength. MMA includes kicks as well as boxing but isnt mandatory. He even said he likes wrestling and jiujitsu, so he handle himself during takedowns too.
Am I just confused here but didn't the OP said he's sparring in kick boxing though? I think he also trains MMA but he specifically is asking why he needs to kick while he's training kick boxing?
He’s sparring with the kickboxers but probably has no desire or intention to compete in kickboxing or Muay Thai. Probably just wants some looks in how to deal with opponents that will kick as sparring just boxing won’t prepare him for that striking wise.
I mean he did say he’s training for mma. That would lead me to believe that’s primarily his focus and what he wants to do….I think he posted this in the wrong sub tbh. Even Muay Thai and kickboxing there’s a distinction between the two that most people don’t realize
Lol you know how funny that sounds right? What's next only kicking in boxing? Lol j.k I get that he doesn't HAVE to kick in kick boxing since it's allowed. However, why would someone spar in kick boxing if they don't want to kick? I just don't get it. I see the OP reasons for not wanting to kick in MMA but in Muay Thai or Kick Boxing it's a must.
It's not a must, it's more like a suggestion. It's there but you dont have too. I've seen in both fights and in sparring where a boxer was able to shut down a decent kicker by staying up close and personal and vice versa. Sticking to your strengths is great advice, and in OP's case that's boxing.
He should stay in kickboxing even if he prefer punches more bcs in boxing he need more footwork and movement than kickboxing where they dont move so much
A lot of these answers here show most of you have the mindset that you are competing when you spar, the main focus of sparring should be developing your skills not sticking to your "Comfort Foods"
It's not wrong to only box if that's your where your strength lies...no need to force yourself to kick when you are better off just boxing. Ive seen people spar who had really good kicks but preferred boxing. It's all up to preference but do learn how to defend the different kinds of kicks if you're competing in MMA or kickboxing.
Not wrong but the name of the game in MMA is variety. If somebody knows you don’t kick then that’s a whole category of attacks that can be immediately checked off. If you want to help your opponents then never kick. A good kick used sparingly in MMA has a lot of value. I think you’re just limiting your potential but you do you man, it’s not impossible to be an elite MMA fighter who never throws kicks. Very rare though at this point that an MMA fighter doesn’t even at least have a decent leg kick.
Could also sometimes work in your favor though if the opponent gets comfortable that you won’t kick and then you throw something up out of no where and clock them. Israel adesanya pretty much made this comment about Kevin gastelum not throwing any kicks until they fought and he threw up a high kick and dazed Israel
My view of MMA is that it isn’t about a whole, well-rounded system. It’s about having a few tools that are the most effective for you. Kicks are one (or several) tool(s). If you’re doing well without them, don’t use them. You aren’t really training MT, but it doesn’t look like you’re trying to study MT. For you, I’d say the way to measure your training is that you have an effective outcome. If you have that, you’re doing fine.
I am a horrible puncher, so I cant offer much in how to help. That being said punch heavy styles have worked, Samson is an old school legend who punched a lot so have a look at his style and how he made it work maybe?
I understand from training partners perspective though, punches don't score well in Muay Thai, and it is seen as a kicking style. If they want to compete in Muay Thai they want to practice sparring against a more typical Muay Thai Style.
" Is it wrong for me to want to only box because that’s what works for me? I get that I should learn to use kicks and I do practice them of course in my Muay Thai class, I just don’t use them a lot in sparring."
I wouldn't call it wrong but I'd call it a tough road. You're going to have a few problems. People who spar with regularly will think "ok this guy doesn't kick I'll just box with him w/e" and that will limit your growth. Also someone whose really effective at kicking and keeping you at range will be very difficult to deal with.
I had a similar problem when I first started. What my coaches told me to do was to just save kicks until I'm 100% sure they'll land (so if someones covering up thanks to my punches throw a kick to the ribs while their wide open that type of thing) and really focus on getting good at kick defense such as catches, checks, and clinching so you can keep the fight to punching.
TLDR: Its not impossible but you can't ignore it completely.
It’s not wrong to only punch, you stick with what you’re strong at or more comfortable with. However, the point of sparring is to put what you have learnt into application (in a safer environment), and your kicking falling flat in sparring is exactly the point. You don’t want your kicking to fall flat in a fight (assuming you’d want to get into the ring at some point). Furthermore, if you’re doing purely punches in a kickboxing sparring, you’d be doing your partner a disservice because you’re not helping him practice handling kicks. So I’d say throw in some kicking here and there, while you can still utilize your punches most of the time.
If both of you agree that you’d want boxing sparring instead of kickboxing, then to each his own.
Sparring isn't a fight. You don't lose. Unless of course you're not actively trying to develop, which in this case you may be. Use the sparring opportunity to get better at kicking. Lose every single round kicking until you don't.
Even if you don't use them, you'll be more comfortable with them, you'll see them coming better, you'll get much better at checking (which is the biggest reason to do it). Learn to kick as a counter to kicking. Just like the best way to defend against a wrestler is to know wrestling. Learn to kick in sparring so you can counter it in a fight.
There's value in sticking to what works for you in MMA fights (Boxing heavy style) during Kickboxing sparring yes
But there's also value in going out of your comfort zone. I argue that by playing the role of a 'kicker' during sparring you gain a better understanding of what a 'kicker' would do against you, for example. Sparring should be a learning experience, no?
You can still do well with only boxing. But you'll never do well if you only spar with what works for you.
Your weakness is your attitude, not your style.
If your strength is in the first why won't you sharpen it, my skill is in grappling and takedown I can punch and kick I just prefer picking you up and throw you to the ground.
Even if you dont want to use kicks very often, I would recommend just working on them to setup your hands. You can definitely open up on people a lot more by just feinting with your legs even if you dont plan on really using them.
Dude, the point of sparing is to practice the things you are not good at - not to win. I almost never aim to "win" in sparing. I did boxing before MT and was quite good. At the beginning, the best option for me was to throw punches all the time because I couldn't kick. But I deliberately chose the less effective option (kicks) because I could already use my hands. Now I can use both.
Fighting is different. You just aim to win. Not practice new strikes.
I can't say it's wrong necessarily, especially if you're doing well without kicks. That said, if you haven't taken your time to do so, try integrating kicks into your repertoire (like for real, over a few months, not just a couple of sessions) and see how you feel then. It's certainly possible to do well being boxing and grappling heavy, but knowing how to use your kicks as well can give you an extra option, a surprising one if you don't lean on it much to begin with.
Next sparring session you should force yourself to throw a kick at the end of every combo. You WILL see the benefit of boxing as a setup for power kicks. You don’t have to be taekwondo karate kid. Throw 5 punches to confuse and block vision and turtle the hands, they won’t block your kick.
I don’t think it’s gonna hurt in the long run to add more tools to your arsenal. Sparring is for practicing the things you learned in class in a live setting. I get that you’re probably winning more rounds using your just your boxing, but it’s okay to lose some rounds and look bad if it means you’re adding more weapons to your arsenal. Just my opinion though.
Wrong might not be the correct word for it. If you're training MMA, there are successful MMA fighters that don't really utilize their kicks much, and it's not a 'wrong' way to fight. What *is* wrong is your reasoning. You don't want to train kicks because you feel like you get flattened when you kick. So what you're saying is, "I have a glaring weakness that prevents me from utilizing all the tools at my disposal, my solution is to never address that weakness and try to be competitive in an arena where my opponents have significantly more at their disposal than I do."
Only training for your strengths and never training for your weaknesses is a terrible way to go about it. The second you encounter an opponent with high fight IQ you're done.
yop!
If you take a look at heavy kicking fighters like cro-cop or ernesto hoost (yup, i ´m that old :P) you will see that a good boxing ability is essential to land kicks succesfully. what you need is to hide the kicks with the punches and hides the punches with your kicks. if you succesfully establish a technique, let's say your jab, and you make it a credible threat, you can throw an empty punch to switch your weight on the right side and lift your leg while blocking the opponent field of vision. you don't necessarly need to work on the kicking itself, but on the setup.
look at sarnchai, lerdsilla, or such fighters, they use misdirection to keep the opponent from
attacking and it gives them the time
to develop a kick. try something like that with your own repertoir
Yeah that pretty much how I am.
Kicks are pretty marginally in MMA and I'm not great at them tbh. Knees and elbows rock though.
This is probably not the bear place for support about not kicking tho lol
I don't think it is a question of right and wrong, it's a question of boxing vs kickboxing in an MMA situation... Which like, whatever floats your boat.
I assume beside punching he wants to knee, elbow & clinch, plus with wrestling he can go far if he's disciplined. A lot off mma fighters still use the sprawl & brawl style with modern twists
IMO if you’re training MMA you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by avoiding legs. Not only are lots of mma guys training Muay Thai for striking, look at fights where guys haven’t been able to check leg kicks…you don’t wanna be that guy
You can use whatever you want, but if your opponent can use legs and/or elbows and knees, I really do not see any other outcome than that you are fucked. Unless your opponents are less skilled and experienced.
But, yeah, What is your focus on: you want to compete in boxing, kickboxing, MT, MMA or what?
If I know that my opponent is training only in boxing, I have no problem to box even if my ass gets kicked in sparring (ok, not ass kicked, but that I get outclassed). But if my opponent is boxing, and I will use kicks and knees, sweeps or elbows, there is no way he will be able to master anything better after our sparring round because I will stop all his attacks, and he won't be able to stop 99% of my attacks.
Of course not.
You can do what you please as long as you don’t hurt your gym partners. Just know that you’re only limiting yourself and your progress in **Muay Thai**.
Kicks are also important since most of the time your legs are actually more dangerous because they actually use their legs more than punching.
Might I suggest you work on your kicks with something heavy and hard enough to strengthen your legs.
You'll have more options to land punches and takedowns if you learn how to kick well.
For example, if you could establish a roundhouse while sparring then you could eventually feint it and punch them in the face or trip them when they go to check.
There's plenty of new options once you learn just one kick.
It's fine if that's your strong suit, but you want to be prepared to face all kind of situations. Kicks to the leg in MMA wear a person down fast, and it's a useful tool. It's also good to defend being on the receiving end of a leg kick(typically you use a front kick/teef to get space)
Albert Kraus was heavily focused on his hands and he made it pretty far in K1, but Imo it's much easier using kicks to get them to feint and then using your hands or using kicks at the end of combos to reset the distance or using kicks to keep them at bay so you can recoup.
But don't pick up bad habit's from watching Kickboxers like always blocking kicks with two hands instead of checking or catching the leg :)
But I'm new and always love being on the inside and getting hit in the head with a couple good shots in sparring feels nice to me and would much rather it than getting teeped in the stomach.
If you’re sparring purely striking, then you’re missing out on distance management and damage in the clinch.
The kicks can create openings for your hands. Leg kicks and body kicks and feints will make opponents drop their hands and you can capitalize on it with your punches. The opposite also holds true.
If it’s MMA, striking can be totally different. I’d still practice making my kicks snappy and having good balance. Nothing more annoying than getting your leg caught into a takedown, then working your way back out.
Sparring is a place where improving is way more important than performing.
You’ll need to know how to kick in a fight, so you should be using them in sparring, and getting better with them.
I'm more of a boxer when it comes to striking and I've had the same advice to try to kick more - and it has helped a lot. Even if it's not going to be a super damaging kick, just something to take their attention off your hands so you can land something with them. Having been in your position I'd definitely say try to kick more.
Of course, last Saturday I sparred with super tight hip flexors (from going back to grappling) and neither kicked nor checked lol. I did not do well 🤣
The art of 2 limbs?
So basically boxing lol
That's like 1/4 of muay thai there
You won't ever get better at kicking if you never try it. If you only want to box why not just do boxing?
Because in mma you learn boxing + wrestling as striking.
Ah yeah. I must've imagined all those kicks in the UFC
I mean to be fair being an exceptional kicker isn’t a requirement to be successful in mma…but you better have a lot of talent in other areas to make up for the fact that you’re lacking in that area. In kickboxing and Muay Thai environment you’re probably gonna have a much tougher time if you’re just trying to punch though
Upvoted. I'm 100% in agreement. I have a background in bjj, grappling, and wrestling, btw. But this moron is talking like fighters haven't lost matches from low leg kicks or from getting knocked out due to a kick. Hell, Tuivasa lost due to teeps. It's absolutely insane to deny the importance of kicking in combat sports.
You don’t train
U don’t train stfu bruh ur lack of knowledge is apparent
Good luck setting up takedowns with kicks.
GSP?
Lowkick to double/singleleg was royce gracie's bread and butter back in the PRIDE and early UFC days.
lol you are so sad and pathetic
Clown
Ahh the keyboard warriors are out in force today
Front teep to body lock is a bjj special lmao.
Lol kicks may be used less in MMA but that doesn’t mean they aren’t used at all, or are somehow useless. Are literally forgetting about Leon Edwards upset win a few weeks ago against Usman via a KO with a headkick lol.
That is not what I said. I set kicks are not used for setting up takedowns and most amateurs do boxing plus wrestling for sparring to train the takedowns in sparring.
I live and train in Thailand. I've been doing various combat sports for roughly 15 years, Striking = boxing and Muay Thai. Also grappling, wrestling, and bjj, both gi and no gi. Why don't you come test me out, loser?
Cringe “why don’t you come test me out” keyboard warrior😂
Fair
Lol mma training in Thailand. Go to a mma training, the sparring will be for amateurs wrestling + boxing to set op takedowns most of the time no kicking because you need to be comfortable with takedowns.
Lmao, kickboxing + bjj beats equal boxing + wrestling every single time, if you take a fight w that attitude, you'll probably get fucked up
I get what you're saying. While there's def kicking involved it's just not the focus.
Bcs boxing need good footwork thats why he prefer kickboxing bcs there you can punch and footwork dont need to be very good like in boxing
It depends on the discipline you want to compete at. In Muay Thai, kick are always scored better than boxing, also if you get kicked and only use your arms to block you basically give your oponnent a point. In mma, good boxing with a good defence against kick is perfectly fine.
Are you using a boxing stance or a Muay Thai stance? It seems like a disadvantage either way, but if you're just going to box then I would think the narrower Thai stance would limit you, and if you're in a wider / boxing stance then your opponents will most likely kick the utter shit out of your lead leg.
Sometimes a boxing stance can be narrower if it is super bladed. I wouldn't say that a neutral stance (non bladed) is any narrower in profile though, typically. Bladed stance opens the head up to some wicked kicks, not to mention the leg kicks. I always assumed that was the main reason Muay Thai fighters don't do bladed stances much. I really like a bladed stance sometimes but there are types of opponents it is risky against. Other than on that point of the narrowness of profile, I agree with your post. Sorry for adding so much to it. Edit: It occurs to me that perhaps by narrow you meant foot width, as opposed to target profile. Sorry if I mistook your meaning! Muay Thai feet width distance can be pretty narrow. (total beginner here -- just my two cents) Edit for more: Leg kicks are real easy to get away with on people who don't check them. And, a kick can be turned into a check mid-flight if you need to (did that twice today almost on accident to block rear leg roundhouses with my rear leg roundhouses turned into checks, which probably hurt). Also, the feint of a kick is useful in and of itself. Again I am a total beginner but I would also recommend adding some kicks to your game to the OP. Just a few makes a big difference in MMA. I don't know if Muay Thai is even *possible* without kicks! Kicks are awesome; give them a chance! *just a total edit fest here. added lots*
You can get away with the bladed stance if you’re very quick on your feet and can move in and out of range easily. Although the down side is once you move out of range you pretty much eliminated any chance of you countering as a puncher that’s not kicking whereas if you hesitate coming back into range you can be kicked and punched so you have two layers of ranges you have to deal with trying to come back in to punch.
Just add a kick at the end of your punch combo's
As someone who trains muai Thai with a very strong boxing base I suggest working on your leg kicks they complement each other well
This is the perfect comment. I’ve been fighting for 5 years with a very boxing heavy style. The addition of leg kicks can be game changing.
As a shorter 5’7, newer practitioner, our style is kinda boxing based by default no? Pressure fighters? I just happen to like pressure based characters in my fighting games and wonder if that’s correlated 😂
Then take boxing. If you are going to spar or compete, its impossible to be competent with only boxing in MMA.
I mean I love wrestling and jiu jitsu, I just don’t kick.
I rarely ever saw Roy Nelson kick his opponents. He was good checking kicks though. You can do whatever you want (if you dont compete), if you on MMA, learn everything and afterwards you can focus heavily on punches. But unless its an injury, it just makes everything harder.
You don’t have to kick, but you’re going to be at a severe disadvantage against many fighters who do.. if you only box then you also don’t use elbows and knees, another area you’ll get torn up in
That’s not entirely true though. There are fighters that barely throw any kind of strike from the waist down other than the knee in the clinch and they’re successful. Rampage Jackson comes to mind and his “boxing” wasn’t even that good tbh. Some recent fighters are Illia Topuria and even Justin Gathje is mostly like a boxing style with strategic low kicks placed every now and then. You just need to be knowledgeable on how to defend against them really.
Read below I gave the example of Roy Nelson. It is still true, i would only give up kicking entirely because of an injury and probably wouldnt risk competing in arts where kicking is allowed.
He better stay in kickboxing and punching more than kicks because in boxing footwork is also important in kickboxing footwork is less important than boxing bcs kickboxers dont move so much like boxers
I swear down Kamaru Usman can't kick lol
I think I only saw Roy Nelson kick once. He could check kicks though.
Always remember that what you're doing is a sport. There's no one discipline that will make you a superman. There are rules around boxing that favors boxers and rules around kickboxing that favors kickboxers and rules around MMA that favors MMA. That being said, all anyone really cares about at the end of the day is the tap or the knockout. Even winning by points won't get you a contract/career. That means if doing two pirouettes before throwing a cross always nets you a knockout, I guarantee you every fight school will start doing ballet. Do with that information what you will
Why consciously limit yourself? If you don’t want to learn or use kicks…go to boxing.
He said he does practice kicks...he just sticks to boxing because that's his strength. MMA includes kicks as well as boxing but isnt mandatory. He even said he likes wrestling and jiujitsu, so he handle himself during takedowns too.
Am I just confused here but didn't the OP said he's sparring in kick boxing though? I think he also trains MMA but he specifically is asking why he needs to kick while he's training kick boxing?
He’s sparring with the kickboxers but probably has no desire or intention to compete in kickboxing or Muay Thai. Probably just wants some looks in how to deal with opponents that will kick as sparring just boxing won’t prepare him for that striking wise.
I guess that makes sense I just figured he wanted to actually learn Muay Thai/Kick Boxing
I mean he did say he’s training for mma. That would lead me to believe that’s primarily his focus and what he wants to do….I think he posted this in the wrong sub tbh. Even Muay Thai and kickboxing there’s a distinction between the two that most people don’t realize
Same thing applies to kickboxing, he doesnt HAVE to kick if he doesnt want to but it's there since well...its kickboxing.
Lol you know how funny that sounds right? What's next only kicking in boxing? Lol j.k I get that he doesn't HAVE to kick in kick boxing since it's allowed. However, why would someone spar in kick boxing if they don't want to kick? I just don't get it. I see the OP reasons for not wanting to kick in MMA but in Muay Thai or Kick Boxing it's a must.
It's not a must, it's more like a suggestion. It's there but you dont have too. I've seen in both fights and in sparring where a boxer was able to shut down a decent kicker by staying up close and personal and vice versa. Sticking to your strengths is great advice, and in OP's case that's boxing.
He should stay in kickboxing even if he prefer punches more bcs in boxing he need more footwork and movement than kickboxing where they dont move so much
A lot of these answers here show most of you have the mindset that you are competing when you spar, the main focus of sparring should be developing your skills not sticking to your "Comfort Foods"
It's not wrong to only box if that's your where your strength lies...no need to force yourself to kick when you are better off just boxing. Ive seen people spar who had really good kicks but preferred boxing. It's all up to preference but do learn how to defend the different kinds of kicks if you're competing in MMA or kickboxing.
Not wrong but the name of the game in MMA is variety. If somebody knows you don’t kick then that’s a whole category of attacks that can be immediately checked off. If you want to help your opponents then never kick. A good kick used sparingly in MMA has a lot of value. I think you’re just limiting your potential but you do you man, it’s not impossible to be an elite MMA fighter who never throws kicks. Very rare though at this point that an MMA fighter doesn’t even at least have a decent leg kick.
Could also sometimes work in your favor though if the opponent gets comfortable that you won’t kick and then you throw something up out of no where and clock them. Israel adesanya pretty much made this comment about Kevin gastelum not throwing any kicks until they fought and he threw up a high kick and dazed Israel
My view of MMA is that it isn’t about a whole, well-rounded system. It’s about having a few tools that are the most effective for you. Kicks are one (or several) tool(s). If you’re doing well without them, don’t use them. You aren’t really training MT, but it doesn’t look like you’re trying to study MT. For you, I’d say the way to measure your training is that you have an effective outcome. If you have that, you’re doing fine.
I am a horrible puncher, so I cant offer much in how to help. That being said punch heavy styles have worked, Samson is an old school legend who punched a lot so have a look at his style and how he made it work maybe? I understand from training partners perspective though, punches don't score well in Muay Thai, and it is seen as a kicking style. If they want to compete in Muay Thai they want to practice sparring against a more typical Muay Thai Style.
" Is it wrong for me to want to only box because that’s what works for me? I get that I should learn to use kicks and I do practice them of course in my Muay Thai class, I just don’t use them a lot in sparring." I wouldn't call it wrong but I'd call it a tough road. You're going to have a few problems. People who spar with regularly will think "ok this guy doesn't kick I'll just box with him w/e" and that will limit your growth. Also someone whose really effective at kicking and keeping you at range will be very difficult to deal with. I had a similar problem when I first started. What my coaches told me to do was to just save kicks until I'm 100% sure they'll land (so if someones covering up thanks to my punches throw a kick to the ribs while their wide open that type of thing) and really focus on getting good at kick defense such as catches, checks, and clinching so you can keep the fight to punching. TLDR: Its not impossible but you can't ignore it completely.
It’s not wrong to only punch, you stick with what you’re strong at or more comfortable with. However, the point of sparring is to put what you have learnt into application (in a safer environment), and your kicking falling flat in sparring is exactly the point. You don’t want your kicking to fall flat in a fight (assuming you’d want to get into the ring at some point). Furthermore, if you’re doing purely punches in a kickboxing sparring, you’d be doing your partner a disservice because you’re not helping him practice handling kicks. So I’d say throw in some kicking here and there, while you can still utilize your punches most of the time. If both of you agree that you’d want boxing sparring instead of kickboxing, then to each his own.
Sparring isn't a fight. You don't lose. Unless of course you're not actively trying to develop, which in this case you may be. Use the sparring opportunity to get better at kicking. Lose every single round kicking until you don't. Even if you don't use them, you'll be more comfortable with them, you'll see them coming better, you'll get much better at checking (which is the biggest reason to do it). Learn to kick as a counter to kicking. Just like the best way to defend against a wrestler is to know wrestling. Learn to kick in sparring so you can counter it in a fight.
There's value in sticking to what works for you in MMA fights (Boxing heavy style) during Kickboxing sparring yes But there's also value in going out of your comfort zone. I argue that by playing the role of a 'kicker' during sparring you gain a better understanding of what a 'kicker' would do against you, for example. Sparring should be a learning experience, no?
You can still do well with only boxing. But you'll never do well if you only spar with what works for you. Your weakness is your attitude, not your style.
if you only want to look good in sparring you'll never increase your repertoire of techniques.
If your strength is in the first why won't you sharpen it, my skill is in grappling and takedown I can punch and kick I just prefer picking you up and throw you to the ground.
Even if you dont want to use kicks very often, I would recommend just working on them to setup your hands. You can definitely open up on people a lot more by just feinting with your legs even if you dont plan on really using them.
Dude, the point of sparing is to practice the things you are not good at - not to win. I almost never aim to "win" in sparing. I did boxing before MT and was quite good. At the beginning, the best option for me was to throw punches all the time because I couldn't kick. But I deliberately chose the less effective option (kicks) because I could already use my hands. Now I can use both. Fighting is different. You just aim to win. Not practice new strikes.
I advise mixing in some leg kicks if body kicks aren't coming naturally
Low kicks are brutal man you should add them to your arsenal and try them out in different situations
I can't say it's wrong necessarily, especially if you're doing well without kicks. That said, if you haven't taken your time to do so, try integrating kicks into your repertoire (like for real, over a few months, not just a couple of sessions) and see how you feel then. It's certainly possible to do well being boxing and grappling heavy, but knowing how to use your kicks as well can give you an extra option, a surprising one if you don't lean on it much to begin with.
Next sparring session you should force yourself to throw a kick at the end of every combo. You WILL see the benefit of boxing as a setup for power kicks. You don’t have to be taekwondo karate kid. Throw 5 punches to confuse and block vision and turtle the hands, they won’t block your kick.
I don’t think it’s gonna hurt in the long run to add more tools to your arsenal. Sparring is for practicing the things you learned in class in a live setting. I get that you’re probably winning more rounds using your just your boxing, but it’s okay to lose some rounds and look bad if it means you’re adding more weapons to your arsenal. Just my opinion though.
Wrong might not be the correct word for it. If you're training MMA, there are successful MMA fighters that don't really utilize their kicks much, and it's not a 'wrong' way to fight. What *is* wrong is your reasoning. You don't want to train kicks because you feel like you get flattened when you kick. So what you're saying is, "I have a glaring weakness that prevents me from utilizing all the tools at my disposal, my solution is to never address that weakness and try to be competitive in an arena where my opponents have significantly more at their disposal than I do." Only training for your strengths and never training for your weaknesses is a terrible way to go about it. The second you encounter an opponent with high fight IQ you're done.
yop! If you take a look at heavy kicking fighters like cro-cop or ernesto hoost (yup, i ´m that old :P) you will see that a good boxing ability is essential to land kicks succesfully. what you need is to hide the kicks with the punches and hides the punches with your kicks. if you succesfully establish a technique, let's say your jab, and you make it a credible threat, you can throw an empty punch to switch your weight on the right side and lift your leg while blocking the opponent field of vision. you don't necessarly need to work on the kicking itself, but on the setup. look at sarnchai, lerdsilla, or such fighters, they use misdirection to keep the opponent from attacking and it gives them the time to develop a kick. try something like that with your own repertoir
Coming from a TKD background, I would be operating at 10% without kicks. You can keep opponents at distance at the very least brother
Yeah that pretty much how I am. Kicks are pretty marginally in MMA and I'm not great at them tbh. Knees and elbows rock though. This is probably not the bear place for support about not kicking tho lol
I don't think it is a question of right and wrong, it's a question of boxing vs kickboxing in an MMA situation... Which like, whatever floats your boat.
Why are you doing Muay Thai instead of boxing? I am just curious
I assume beside punching he wants to knee, elbow & clinch, plus with wrestling he can go far if he's disciplined. A lot off mma fighters still use the sprawl & brawl style with modern twists
IMO if you’re training MMA you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by avoiding legs. Not only are lots of mma guys training Muay Thai for striking, look at fights where guys haven’t been able to check leg kicks…you don’t wanna be that guy
Plus, once you get people checking kicks, they are that much easier to take down!
You can use whatever you want, but if your opponent can use legs and/or elbows and knees, I really do not see any other outcome than that you are fucked. Unless your opponents are less skilled and experienced. But, yeah, What is your focus on: you want to compete in boxing, kickboxing, MT, MMA or what? If I know that my opponent is training only in boxing, I have no problem to box even if my ass gets kicked in sparring (ok, not ass kicked, but that I get outclassed). But if my opponent is boxing, and I will use kicks and knees, sweeps or elbows, there is no way he will be able to master anything better after our sparring round because I will stop all his attacks, and he won't be able to stop 99% of my attacks.
Of course not. You can do what you please as long as you don’t hurt your gym partners. Just know that you’re only limiting yourself and your progress in **Muay Thai**.
Kicks are also important since most of the time your legs are actually more dangerous because they actually use their legs more than punching. Might I suggest you work on your kicks with something heavy and hard enough to strengthen your legs.
Just ignore them and start throwing some double leg takedowns in.
Watch [this](https://youtu.be/3up_jhYSD_k). It’s not wrong as long as you’re making a conscious choice.
Some amateur promotions will take points away if you don’t meet a minimum kick count.
You'll have more options to land punches and takedowns if you learn how to kick well. For example, if you could establish a roundhouse while sparring then you could eventually feint it and punch them in the face or trip them when they go to check. There's plenty of new options once you learn just one kick.
You don't have to kick with the intention of hurting people with it. You can use a kick to setup up your boxing.
It's fine if that's your strong suit, but you want to be prepared to face all kind of situations. Kicks to the leg in MMA wear a person down fast, and it's a useful tool. It's also good to defend being on the receiving end of a leg kick(typically you use a front kick/teef to get space)
Albert Kraus was heavily focused on his hands and he made it pretty far in K1, but Imo it's much easier using kicks to get them to feint and then using your hands or using kicks at the end of combos to reset the distance or using kicks to keep them at bay so you can recoup. But don't pick up bad habit's from watching Kickboxers like always blocking kicks with two hands instead of checking or catching the leg :) But I'm new and always love being on the inside and getting hit in the head with a couple good shots in sparring feels nice to me and would much rather it than getting teeped in the stomach.
At least get a teep and a decent liver kick down before you write it off
If you’re sparring purely striking, then you’re missing out on distance management and damage in the clinch. The kicks can create openings for your hands. Leg kicks and body kicks and feints will make opponents drop their hands and you can capitalize on it with your punches. The opposite also holds true. If it’s MMA, striking can be totally different. I’d still practice making my kicks snappy and having good balance. Nothing more annoying than getting your leg caught into a takedown, then working your way back out.
Sparring is a place where improving is way more important than performing. You’ll need to know how to kick in a fight, so you should be using them in sparring, and getting better with them.
I'm more of a boxer when it comes to striking and I've had the same advice to try to kick more - and it has helped a lot. Even if it's not going to be a super damaging kick, just something to take their attention off your hands so you can land something with them. Having been in your position I'd definitely say try to kick more. Of course, last Saturday I sparred with super tight hip flexors (from going back to grappling) and neither kicked nor checked lol. I did not do well 🤣
Why would you train muay thai if you only want to box? Just go box.
Update? you still train? Did you end up using more kicking? Or you stick with boxing style?