The Round Kick.
This is the technique that I believe requires the most practice and will be a technique that will always need to be worked on, but this is the essence of Muay Thai, and this is where art meets fitness.
What do I mean by that? Imagine this:
I ask you to go punch the bag 50 times, then I go ask you to kick the bag 50 times.
Which is more taxing?
The difference in the amount of energy that is exerted performing the two different tasks, as well as the amount of mass that needs to be moved to execute the techniques is so different.
Furthermore, this is where a lot of fight conditioning comes from, the constant repetition of kicking technique on the pads, on the bags, ETC.
There is a great deal of stamina required to kick, but the exchange being there is a great deal of stamina to be GAINED from kicking.
Furthermore, there is a great deal of body conditioning gained from round kicking, imperative if one is considering competition.
And how to achieve these goals in an efficient manner?
By developing good technique. That is the art.
So far, all the techniques covered in the ‘Muay Thai 101’ Series involve movements that we are innately familiar with. The round kick now being the outlier.
The round kick is a really unorthodox movement that involves a few moving parts, so a great deal attention should be paid when learning and practicing it.
And when done properly, it should feel weightless and effortless but delivering a power impact on the target.
This is the way.