How to Do a Muay Thai Upward Elbow Strike

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By Donnell Peavy
eHow Contributing Writer

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Muay thai is a devastating martial art whose roots lie in southeast Asia. Due to the burning of libraries in wartime, it is unclear which southeast Asian fighting art came first: Thailand's Muay Thai, Burma's Bando or the Kmer style known as Golden Village Boxing. All of the aforementioned arts share destructive qualities, yet sport differences which make each style unique. Muay Thai is notorious for its use of elbows. The elbow is a blunt-force weapon that can cause severe damage in the form of concussions and cuts. For this reason, the use of elbows is outlawed in most North American venues. Muay Thai teaches elbows in depth from every angle--horizontal, diagonal, forward --and even incorporates jumping elbow strikes.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Assume a fighting stance. Have your body angled, your feet about shoulder-width apart, your hands up and your chin down. Your weight should be evenly distributed between both legs.
Step 2

Sink your weight. Keep the distribution even. Bring both fists to the sides of your face, so that one is touching each cheek. This is done to protect the face while you are preparing to strike, as the upward elbow is an infighting technique. Keeping the fists away from the face would leave you wide open to a counter attack.
Step 3

Strike under the chin or to the sternum. When striking the chin, the elbow can be used to raise the chin so that another technique, such as a hook punch or a cross elbow, can be employed. The upward elbow strike can also be used as a finisher to a combination, as it is a powerful strike that can produce knockouts.