Defence and recovery / Defence / Shadow

Rear-leg check / replace

The weight onto the lead leg, then the rear shin up and turned out.

The weight goes onto the lead leg and the rear shin turns out to meet a kick on the other side. The rear check is slower than the lead one because the weight has further to travel: it has to get onto the lead leg before the rear foot can leave the mat. Kicks aimed at the rear leg are common precisely because the check is slow, so the shift is worth practising on its own.

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-leg check

1. Stance. Hands stay up; identify the rear leg and the side the kick is coming from.
2. Load lead. Shift the weight onto the lead leg before the rear foot leaves the mat.
3. Lift shin. The rear knee comes up and the shin turns out to present its edge.
4. Replace. Set the foot down where it was, weight back between the feet.

Watch for. The rear check is slower than the lead one because the weight has further to go. The study shows the lift and the turn of the shin; the timing and the angle against a real kick are coaching work.

Weight first, then the lift

1. Shift the weight before the foot leaves the mat.
2. Turn the shin out; a straight knee lift is not a check.
3. Set the foot back down where it was.

Three faults a pad holder sees

1. Lifting before the weight moves. the hips are over the lead leg before the rear foot leaves.
2. Knee straight up. the shin turns out to present its edge.
3. Rear hand comes down. the rear hand covers the side the kick would come from.

A starting prescription

3 rounds of 45 seconds with 30 seconds between them. Ten rear checks per round, replaced with control. 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: Defence and recovery. Before it: Teep / step back. After it: Lean back / counter teep. Sessions that use it: Check, catch, lean. See also the glossary, the warm-up and the method and its limits.