Cracking the Shell
February 23, 2009 by nopstar
This fight is a roughly a year old, but I thought it was a great example of “Cracking the Shell”. Big thanks to Lawrence Ripsher for the use of his Contender Asia pic. If you haven’t been on his blog and checked out his Contender Pic, then do so immediately! Also as always many thanks to Stack for posting and sharing this clip.
My old trainer Neungsiam was always stressing the point that when kicking it’s critical that you’re always consistently kicking the same spot. It sounds like a no brainer/ Muay Thai 101 right? He isn’t big guy and he of his 100+ fights he’s got very few wins by KO. He knows that his effectiveness comes from repeatedly bashing his opponent in the same spot round after round.
If your not already doing it, next time your working with Thai pads or working the bag focus on landing your kicks at the same point. (Especially on double kicks)
Skip to the vid, I was always taught that if a person isn’t going to attempt to block your kicks and is eating them with their arms, then you should continue to crack the shell. Enough kicks placed to the forearms and you’re opponents hands will be rendered ineffective.
When I was training with Sak, one the weekends we would often start warming up our kicks with some “arm conditioning”. Basically, you stand opposite your partner and trade kicks to the upper arms. (When being kicked your chin should be securely tucked behind your guard). Word of caution, if you’ve never done this before, take it easy, build up gradually… your arms will be sore.
That being said, no amount of arm conditioning will prepare you for Yod cracking you consistently over and over in the same part of your arm, ouch.
[...] Cracking the Shell : My Muay Thai [...]
Wow… Did you hear the announcers?
‘”I can feel his kicks from here” Best line of the fight
Exactly, TigerKing.
Never saw this fight.
The opponent showed some heart when exchanging shots.
But Yod is awesome with his counter strikes, that short right hand simply put the guy into a horizontal position. It was just a matter of time.
Anyone count how many kicks his arm took? brutal..
How would “Ninja Bob” defend those leg kicks? hahaha
What the fuck was that? Did you see the mismatch in fight experience? Horrible!!
Oh, and Samkor is pretty good at “cracking the shell” too!
samkor has a stronger left kick then yod and cracks the shell better thers not doubting it.
Yod has great kicks, but his hands have become his bread and butter.
Too bad some European judges seem to consider kicks to the arms as “blocked” and don’t give enough points for this (Yod vs Andy Sower). I say as requirement for certification as judges, they need allow Yod or Samkor kick their arm one time.
Bad mismatch. You put someone out there just to get their arm broken, and it becomes a bloodsport.
But yes, the video is useful as a demonstration of what cracking the shell should look like in an ideal world.
Wow what a KO, and really Nice Respect by Yod!!! Nice post Nopstar, I like it when you incorperate a Yod fight with a common Thai knowlegde about Muay Thai “Cracking the Shell” Which is a No Brainer, even though I never thought of it till now, and nobody at my gym has taught me that! And I second that Samkor is The Master at cracking the shell!! Im going to the Gym in a couple of hours, and I will try cracking the Shell on a choosen one, who in all fun, provoked me!
This is exactly the reason it always makes me cringe when MMA, kickboxers, and inexperienced Nak Muay block kicks with their arms. I saw an MMA fight (don’t remember who) where the guy tried to block a head kick with his forearm out from his body (instead of putting it against his head in a ‘sleeping on your arm like a pillow’ fashion) and got it broken badly. When your opponent put the force behind his kick that Yod does, you’d better be putting more than an arm out there to stop it! lol
Oh and great heads up on Lawrence Rispsher’s blog and photos. Wow! Great photos from the Contender Asia and some really sweet stuff otherwise.
omg this dude was dominated. after eating all those kicks i kan see why he was running away the whole fight. he was klearly out matched. good video bro.
Speaking of cracking the shell- check out Changpeuk’s HL. One of the hardest kickers eva!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoK1bUck_no&feature=related
1. OOOWWW!
2. Total mismatch (I actually felt bad for the other guy)
Tong po-
I’m feelin the music in that clip!
To somewhat play devil’s advocate I do see what Europeans are getting at but arm block like anything else needs to qualified – either it was an effective block or an ineffective one. In this scenario it hardly matters because no amount of arm blocking would have spared Dimitri.
Poor match, yes, but I gota give the chap credit for stepping in the ring and giving heart. We do practice that at our gym. does hurt forearm and even shoulder but it is conditioning.
Yod is such an inspiration, such respect and kindness..even if it is a ko he still repects you for honouring him with a fight.
This culture is why I love MT..violence is countered and controlled by culture and spirituality.
Oh holy crap. Absolute brutality.
Anyone suggest a decent defence to that kind of assault?
changpeuk hardest kicker? umm no.
the andy hug vs changpeuk karate fight is good times.
Samkor has to be the hardest shell cracker I have ever seen. Yod is definitely a close second….I dunno 2 many people who stilluse dat technique though
sorry for the offtopic guys but i’ve got a fight on the 28th of march and i just fractured my foot (2nd metatarsal) last thursday from sparring at F&F. i couldn’t take the sharp pain on friday and went to the doctors. wierd thing, no swelling but pinpoint pain! they wanted to put a full cast bc the fracture happened on middle of the bone but said that i could wear this moon boot i decided to have. they suggested around two months on this cast but do you think i can push it and try it out at two weeks? i never got an injury like this and it’s driving me insane not doing anything for four days. sorry tong po but i don’t know your number so i couldn’t call you on friday to tell you. do we have a forum on here that i can offline this to?
GrChChinaman-
If you’re on Facebook, I’ve just start a FB group for MMT.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=58087537314
if this doesn’t work just look for Mymuaythai in groups.
Hey i have a question,
I’ve been training my right roundhouse kick in speed and power in general,
and now to me it seems like everytime i train on a heavy bag i always get a bruise where i kick on my shin. And whenever i let it heal, it’ll just bruise up again.
Is that okay or should i just take it easy with the kick???
I NEED YOUR EXPERT OPINION=]
Hey guys. I’ve been on the site for about a year just never made any comments. Nop, your site is amazing! Cant wait for the new season of Contender asia to kick off. Anyways just wanted to second nopstars plug at the begining for Lawrence Ripsher’s site. His photography is amazing and it documents the fights and the last season really well.
Hi,
I’m new here so this is my first comment. I stumbled on your blog and really enjoyed it. Great stuff.
As for this fight, I didn’t know about it either, great find. Thanks for sharing.
Wim
Pinoy Muay thai,
provided you are kicking correctly, welcome the bruise.
We have all been there. Endure the pain, eventually your skin and shin will toughen up. Of course if it hurts give it a rest, but once pain dies down a bit and it heals, it will get tougher..go back at it again
new yoddy fight link guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZuoH7oqAk
enjoy!
dL