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Sweeps, trips and dumps

Muay Thai

Take opponents down from the clinch and off caught kicks.

What coaches agree on

  • Off-balance your opponent’s weight before you commit to the sweep — sweeps land far more easily on someone who is already leaning, stepping, or moving forward than on a flat-footed, stationary opponent.
  • Work the takedown like a scissor: control the upper body with your arm or shoulder while your knee or leg removes their base, sending the top and bottom of their body in opposite directions.
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  • Your grip sets up the sweep — a collar tie, an underhook or overhook, a whizzer, or inside bicep control each open the door to a different sweep or dump.

Common mistakes

  • Going full speed and power with sweeps and dumps in live sparring or drilling instead of controlling the force and giving your partner a soft landing — save the full-power version for a real fight or a dedicated takedown session.
  • Reaching for a leg-hook trip, a hip toss, or kicking the leg out — techniques borrowed from wrestling or MMA — instead of the knee-bump, post-leg, or catch-and-pull options that are actually legal in Muay Thai.
  • Catching a kick from too far away, too loosely, or a beat too late — instead of stepping in tight and grabbing it clean the instant it is thrown — lets it slip free or leaves you open to a counter.
Muay Thai Sweeps & Dumps
Intermediate

Muay Thai Sweeps & Dumps

Coach's take: Rough around the edges but the actual cues on foot placement and timing are legit.

2.8