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Head movement

Muay Thai

When head movement works in Muay Thai and when it walks you into a knee.

What coaches agree on

  • Head movement starts in your feet: pivot your stance to move your head off-line and keep about an arm's length of distance so you have time to see strikes coming.
  • Pair your head movement with your own counter-punch — the goal of a slip or roll is to create an opening you immediately hit back into, not just to survive the exchange.
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Common mistakes

  • Rolling or slipping as deep as in boxing — bending at the waist instead of staying upright and dipping from the knees — drops the head straight into the path of a knee.
  • Dropping the guard hand or staying planted right after a slip leaves the exposed side open to the kick — round kick or head kick — that often follows the punch just evaded.
  • Going still the instant a combination ends, treating head movement as purely defensive, is when fighters most often get caught by a counter.