Foundations / Kicks / Shadow

Rear teep / replace

The push kick off the rear leg, replaced behind where it came from.

The push kick off the rear leg, slower and longer than the lead one, put back where it came from. The rear teep is longer and slower than the lead one and it hits harder, because the hips have further to travel. The weight has to go onto the lead leg first, and the foot has to be put back behind you or the stance is gone. This loop is the same push as the lead teep from the other leg.

The actions, phase by phase

Muay Thai guard

1. Base. Keep a stance from which either leg can lift.
2. Hands ready. Bring the hands into your coach-taught guard.
3. Balance. Keep the torso upright enough to manage kicks and checks.
4. Reset. Re-establish the base after every action.

Watch for. This illustration does not show clinch posture or an opponent.

Rear teep / push kick

1. Stance. Weight goes onto the lead leg first; the hands stay at the head.
2. Chamber. The rear knee lifts and folds before anything extends.
3. Push. The hips travel forward and the ball of the foot arrives with the toes pulled back.
4. Replace. Draw the knee back, then put the foot down behind you where it came from.

Watch for. The rear teep is the longer, slower cousin of the lead one. How far the hips should commit depends on range and on what comes back at you, and that is a coaching call this loop cannot make.

Replace behind

1. Weight onto the lead leg before the rear knee lifts.
2. Toes back, ball of the foot forward, hips through.
3. Replace the foot behind you, not in front.

Three faults a pad holder sees

1. Knee not lifted first. the rear knee folds and lifts before anything extends.
2. Foot dropped in front. the foot is replaced behind, in the rear position, not forward.
3. Support heel flat. the lead heel lifts as the hips travel forward.

A starting prescription

3 rounds of 45 seconds with 45 seconds between them. Eight rear teeps per round, each one replaced behind. Load the study into the session builder with these numbers and change them to suit the round you are preparing for.

What this loop is, and is not

Solo rehearsal of a shape you have already been taught. No partner, no contact, no pad impact, and no coach has reviewed this loop. It shows where the joints go, not whether they should go there for you. This study draws a second figure, an opponent held at one moment of the strike the study answers. It is an illustration of position, not a partner technique to copy without a coach.

Where it sits

Stage: Foundations. Before it: Long guard / frame. Sessions that use it: Teep and distance. See also the glossary, the warm-up and the method and its limits.