Muay Thai Elbow

The single most dominant technique in Muay Thai Boxing and the most feared tactic is the elbow strike. Muay Thai Boxers have a whole range of elbow techniques such as forward elbows, back elbows and guards. Through history it has been depicted that Muay Thai boxers of old were said to be able to use their elbows as clubs, resulting from the hard bone at the tip of the elbow and the size of the appendage make it a fearsome weapon. One of the elbow techniques, the spinning elbow is amongst the most elusive and beautiful techniques of Muay Thai Boxing as it involves power speed and precision combined with athletic flare.

The use of elbow strikes requires flexibility, because you have to move or swing elbow in any direction to attack your opponent. One can strike both vertically and horizontally but different method will give different impact to the attack. Here is outline of the main elbow strikes used in Muay Thai competitions:

Slashing Elbow:  The Slashing Elbow is generally be implemented when the Muay Thai Boxer wants to attack the facial area of the opponent such as the eyes and nose. The technique is executed by swing the elbow diagonally downward, usually at a 45 degree angle. The Slashing Elbow strike is used effectively when the fighter wants to respond to opponent's knee-kick.

The Uppercut Elbow: The uppercut elbow can be executed by swinging the elbow diagonally upwards towards the target that you want to attack. This technique is usually aimed at the chin area. In the use of this technique there is a pre-requisite that it is executed with speed.

The spinning elbow: The spinning elbow technique is one of the more extravagant techniques of Muay Thai Boxing. This is because you have to turn the entire body around to execute the elbow strike effectively. To do the spinning elbow, the Muay Thai Boxer generally uses the posterior elbow to attack this is to ensure that they are facing the opponent for a period of time.

One can argue that Elbow Strikes in Muay are very unique and symbolic of the art. Elbow strikes in Muay Thai can cause severe damage to the recipient and as such are some of the deadliest hand to hand combatative techniques.