Checking and Defense Drill Book
Mat Manual companion guide to "Checking Kicks Without Eating Them." Print it and keep it with your wraps. Every stage below has a pass mark. You do not move up on hope.
| Art | Muay Thai |
|---|---|
| Family | Muay Thai & Ring Sports |
| Level | beginner |
| Format | playbook |
| Topics | strikes, sparring, safety |
Mat Manual companion guide to "Checking Kicks Without Eating Them." Print it and keep it with your wraps. Every stage below has a pass mark. You do not move up on hope.
Name: ______________________________ Gym: ______________________________ Kru: ______________________________
SAFETY, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE ☐ Shin guards on for every partner drill in this book, every stage, no exceptions. The check is trained on protected shins. ☐ Power is called before every drill. The kicker states the power out loud (30, 50, 70 percent) and throws that power. A drill that heats up gets called down by either partner, at any time, without argument. ☐ Nobody conditions a shin by checking hard kicks. Conditioning is bag and pad work at progressive load. Sparring and checking drills spend the shin, they do not build it. ☐ A check that lands on the foot, ankle, or knee joint ends the set. Reset, name the fault from the error table, and go again at lower power. ☐ Sharp pain, pain at one exact spot, pain that is worse this week than last, or pain at rest means stop and read the shin health reference. Checking through a stress injury turns a rest week into a fracture.
The Check on One Page
Run this card against a mirror before any stage work. Every line is a pass or a fix.
| Checkpoint | What right looks like | The tell that it is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Stance weight | Weight near even, biased a touch to the rear leg, lead foot light on the ball | Weight parked on the lead leg. The check starts with an unload and arrives late |
| Lift signal | You lift as their hip turns, not when the foot moves | You lift at steps and feints, or start when the shin is already traveling |
| Knee height | Knee finishes a little above the kick's line | Knee at kick height or below. The kick rides over it into the thigh |
| Knee angle | Knee turned out, front face of the upper shin pointing at the kick | Leg straight up, shin facing forward. The calf takes the kick |
| Contact point | Upper shin, just below the knee | Calf, ankle, foot, or the thin lower shin |
| Foot | Toes pulled up, front of the shin tight | Foot loose and pointed. The whole leg folds on impact |
| Hands | Gloves at the temples. On a body kick, the checking-side elbow drops to meet the knee | A hand reaching down toward the kick. That is a head kick invitation |
| Landing | Foot returns to its own spot, stance rebuilt, guard up | Hopping, crossing the feet, or landing facing sideways |
| The answer | A strike of yours leaves in the same breath as the landing | Check, pause, admire. The second kick thanks you |
Checking and Defense Drill Book
Mat Manual companion guide to "Checking Kicks Without Eating Them." Print it and keep it with your wraps. Every stage below has a pass mark. You do not move up on hope.
What's Inside
- The Check on One Page
- The Five Stages
- The Reading Drills
- Counters Off the Check
- When the Check Is Beaten: The Fallback Drills
- The Error Table
- …and 14 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: Checking Kicks Without Eating Them — the full article, free in full.
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