Equipment techniques

Cross

The cross is a punch from the rear arm when standing in a split leg stance. Both arms should start and end with elbows tucked into the side of the body and the hands up by the head. This technique starts with a small pivoting action at the rear foot through to the hip, trunk, shoulder, elbow and wrist.

The breakdown of this technique begins at the rear leg: With the heel slightly lifted from the floor the rear leg will pivot medially at the hip. Secondly, the trunk or core of the body rotates. At the end of the trunk rotation the shoulder begins to flex and the elbow begins to extend. The elbow must travel in a straight line, not moving out to the side of the body. As the elbow begins to fully extend the forearm should rotate so that the palm of the hand will face the floor. At this point there should be no forwards lean at the hips as this will compromise balance and technique. The striking point of the fist should always be the knuckles of the index and middle fingers. As the cross lands at the target the arm should have a slight bend at the elbow, as this indicates the correct distance from the target. Too much bend at the elbow indicates too great a proximity to the target, locking the elbow and leaning forward indicates too great a distance from the target. The head must always face the front, with the chin down towards the chest. Once the cross has landed at the target the arm should return to the starting position.

Padwork for Personal Trainers | Manual | Version0821 © YMCAfit 2021 Page | 5

Hook

The hook is a technique that can be used with either the leading or rear arm and is best performed within a close range of the target. The teaching points for the footwork when using the hook are the same as for the jab and cross, with the differences in techniques being at the arm, broken down as follows: At the end of the trunk rotation the shoulder begins to flex and the elbow should move away from the side of the body, keeping the elbow bent at an angle of about 90 degrees. The shoulder should now horizontally flex bringing the fist towards the mid-line of the body, and at the point of impact the forearm should rotate so that the palm of the hand is facing the floor. Once the pad has been struck the arm should return to the start position as soon as possible.

Upper cut

The upper cut can be performed with either the lead hand or the rear hand. As with any of the punching techniques, a split leg stance should be adopted. This should be in conjunction with the elbows being tucked into the side of the body, with the hands held at head height (the striking stance). The technique for the lead hand upper cut is initiated with a pivoting action from the hips. The lead shoulder is slightly lowered to the side as it is pulled back. The lead hand is also slightly lowered to the side (at about chest level). Meanwhile, the lead leg is bent in order to start the ascending stage of the strike.

At this point the majority of the weight should be transferred onto the leading leg. The striker should now push through the leg and rotate the hips, trunk and shoulder towards the target. The hand should rotate so that the palm turns towards the face of the striker, and the arm is brought up to strike the target. The index and middle finger areas of the knuckles should make contact. There is an additional risk when using this strike, of causing excessive stress on the bicep, particularly when the elbow is in extension. For this reason it is important to:

Padwork for Personal Trainers | Manual | Version0821 © YMCAfit 2021 Page | 6

 consider whether this is an appropriate strike for the skill level of your participant  keep the elbow flexed throughout, in order to reduce the potential leverage on the bicep, and the risk of injury. The technique for the upper cut from the rear hand is exactly the same as with the lead hand. However it is initiated with a push from the rear leg.

Knee strike

The knee strike can be performed from both the front and rear leg. It can be done in one of two ways:

1) The striker can hold on to the pad holder’s shoulders for balance, whilst the knee is impacted into the pads. 2) The striker does not hold on to the pad holder, instead they jump towards them whilst driving the knee into the pads.

Both techniques from either leg should be performed from a striking stance. As the knee is brought up towards the pads, the hips should be thrust forwards to help generate power for the knee strike.

Padwork for Personal Trainers | Manual | Version0821 © YMCAfit 2021 Page | 7

Equipment and padwork techniques

Equipment

There are many different types of pads, bags and balls used for Padwork sessions.

The spot mitt or focus pad

The spot mitt/focus pad is used to develop accuracy and speed for basic to advanced combinations of punches and kicks. Footwork can also be developed whilst using these as the instructor can dictate directional changes for the client to follow and deliver strikes to the pads as they achieve the appropriate position. The spot mitt/focus pad can be used in almost any environment and can be easily carried in a rucksack which makes it an ideal piece of equipment for the personal trainer.

Muay Thai Boxing pads

Muay Thai Boxing (MTB) pads are used to develop accuracy, speed and power for a variety of striking techniques including punches, kicks and elbow and knee strikes. As with spot mitt/ focus pads the MTB pads are also used for developing the footwork needed by the striker.

All of the striking techniques can be performed on spot mitt/ focus pads or MTB pads. However, MTB pads are more resilient and offer more of a striking area. Furthermore there is an allowance for the pad holder to reduce any risk of injury to the wrist, as the pads cover the whole of the forearm, not just the hand. Examples of technique later in this chapter will show both types of equipment being used.

Padwork for Personal Trainers | Manual | Version0821 © YMCAfit 2021 Page | 8