Suggest

Checking kicks

Muay Thai

Check low kicks with the shin and the other low-kick defences.

What coaches agree on

  • Angle your shin (or knee) outward toward the kick as you lift your leg, rather than straight up the middle, so the shin bone takes the impact instead of the softer calf muscle.
  • A check is meant to hurt your opponent's shin as much as it protects yours - landed well and often enough, it makes them think twice before throwing that kick again.
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  • Keep your standing leg planted and your core braced through the impact, since losing your balance on a check costs you the exchange even when your shin makes contact.

Common mistakes

  • The instinct to block an incoming kick with your arms, or to just lean in and absorb it with your body, leaves your head exposed or gives up the point - the shin is supposed to take the hit, not the arms.
  • Dropping the hands down to meet the rising knee, instead of keeping the guard up and bringing the knee to the hands, is a common error that opens up the head while mid-check.
STOP Checking Roundhouse Kicks WRONG
Intermediate

STOP Checking Roundhouse Kicks WRONG

Coach's take: Explains the physics of why distance matters, flags a real injury risk, and gives you a strategy for switching which leg checks. Excellent, dense lesson.

3.8
Checking Leg Kicks
Beginner

Checking Leg Kicks

Coach's take: Explains exactly what most people get wrong with the leg check and why it matters - short, sharp, and right.

3.6