Muay Chaiya's Yok Khao guard (raised knee)
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| Muay Chaiya's Yok Khao guard (raised knee) |
| Technique |
| Further Explanation |
| Extra Practice |
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There are two Mae Mai positions in Muay Chaiya, the Tha Kru and the Yok Khao guards. Once the Tha Kru is mastered, then it is good to concentrate on making the Yok Khao guard strong, and understand all of the variations and moves that lead in and out of it.
Primarily used as a defense to the infamous Muay Thai turning kick, Muay Chaiya has developed and enhaced this basic guard into not only an effective defense, but a formidable attack. Good balance is neccessary, gained by constant practice of the basic exercises and the Yang Sam Khum.
Note: Normally this guard is performed from the Tha Kru and you need to learn the Yang Sam Khum first.This article will cover the details of the raised knee guard position only.
The following describes for the right guard, where the right knee is raised.
Technique
Hands
- Your hands should be the same as for the right guard in the Tha Kru.
Leg
The Yok Khao guard in Muay Chaiya is designed to recieve strong attacks (usually turning kicks) primarily witht he knee. When we practice, we lift the knee as high as possible, closing the gap between the elbow to make the defense tight. So if someone throws a mid or high level kick the will hit either the knee or the elbow. For lower attacks it may be necessary to lower the knee to intercept the attack, this takes more practice but with time, will be automatic. By lifting the heel back, the shin forms a 45 degree angle, so if a kick does strike the knee, the potential damage will be reduced.
- Right knee should be lifted at least to waist level. The higher the better, ideally meeting the right elbow.
- The knee should be stright in front (not centered)
- Lift the heel as high/far back as possible (as close to you butt as possible!)
The standing leg should be bent, the foot at a 45 degree angle to form a solid, balanced stance. Remember, practice, practice practice!
Foot
Whilst we aim to block using the knee, sometimes this isn't possible so protecting the foot, shin bone and muscles is important. By lifting the foot and the toes, the tendons on top of the foot become tense and protect the vulnerable top part of the foot and shin. The muscles on the shin become tense, decreasing the chance of damage.
- Lift the foot and toes up straight.
Lifting the toes also prepares you for delivering quick 'chat' front kicks, that can be used in attack or defense.
Further explanation
Whilst looking very simple, the Yok Khao guard has many uses and in both attack and defense. Learning how to use it properly is important, and once you've practiced the basics of the technique, you should start playing with it in sparring so that it becomes a natural part of your defense.
Using in defense
Whilst we practice this guard with the knee straight foward, you will need to angle the knee out to receive the attack head on. So if raising the right knee and blocking the opponents left kick, you will need to angle it more out to the right, to intercept the kick directly. If blocking a kick from the other side, then you will have to angle the kick and turn to the left (across the body) again, to block the attack directly.
Learn to stand in the Yok Khao guard and turn the knee to intercept attacks from different angles and heights.
Using in attack
Once you get comfortable with the guard, and your balance is good, you can start employing it in your attack strrategy. It can be a quite intimidating position to be faced against.
Practice standing in the Yok Khao position and waiting for your opponent to attack. Use fast and quick 'chat' kicks to stop your opponents attacks and advances. Kick the atack legs above the knee to stop kicks, and kick the body to stop punches. This can be very frustrating to the opponent when done correctly. From the guard, you can hop in close with kicks and punches in between the opponents attacks. Block, attack. Block attack.
Weakness
As with everything there are weaknesses if you know how to exploit them. The most common and obvious is attacking the standing leg with a sweeping turning kick (Ten Gwat Lan). There are two simple counters to this attack.
Use a chat kick to intercept and stop the attacking leg.
Use the Gra-yot Salap Kaa to the jump over the kicking leg. This can also be combined with a chat kick or a turning kick, to turn it into a true counter attack. This takes a lot of practice, as great timing and reactions are needed to pull this off in practice!
Extra practice
Check out the basic exercises (specifically moves 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10) for good ways to improve this technique, and try out the following additional exercise.
Phan Mut Yok Khao Gra-yot Salap Kaa
- Start in the right Yok Khao guard.
- Jump forward to the right into the left Yok Khao gaurd.
- Jump to the left into the right Yok Khao guard.
- Jump backward to the right into the left Yok Khao guard.
- Jump to the left into the right Yok Khao guard.
- Repeat from step 2.
Tips
- When changing make sure you jump into a good, tight Yok Khao guard.
- Jump high! (imagine you're jumping over an attacking low kick).
- Occasionally throw in a chat kick whilst jumping.
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