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Step 1
Begin by adopting a typical Thai Boxing stance. Plant your back right foot perpendicular to your opponent, adopting a moderately wide stance of roughly two and a half to three feet. Keep your weight evenly distributed and your left foot pointed directly at your opponent. To face your opponent directly, you will have to twist a little at the waist, which is normal. Keep your fists balled and raised with your elbows out. The tops of your knuckles should be level with the sides of your forehead.
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Step 2
Allow your opponent to attempt any kind of punch with his left hand aimed at the side of your head. This is a defensive counter, after all. Raise your right arm so your wrist is level with the top of your ear to take the impact of the punch.
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Step 3
Shift your body’s weight forward, adding momentum by pushing off with your back foot. Lean forward, bending deeply at the knee. Drop your lower left arm, rotating it at the shoulder. As your fist dips, curl it inward toward your wrist. This will allow it to pass harmlessly below your chin without catching. Swing your left elbow in a straight line toward the midline of your opponent’s body, dipping your fist down toward your right armpit as you do so, to keep it from fouling the defensive positioning of your right arm. Ideally, the flat of your forearm just below the elbow, which is solid bone, will impact with the side of your opponent’s head, neck or shoulder.
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Step 4
Push backward with your front foot to redistribute your body’s weight between your two feet again. Simply rotate your arm at the shoulder to bring your lower forearm back vertically and pull it up to the side of your head as before.
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Step 5
Allow your opponent to attempt a strike with his right arm this time. Raise your left arm this time so your wrist is in line with your ear to take the punch.
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Step 6
Push off again with your back foot, this time taking a half-step forward so your right foot is slightly forward by an inch or two of your left. Lean forward, rotating your right arm inward. Let the back of your right wrist slide across your chest to rest beneath your left armpit as you lash out in an arc with your right elbow. This time twist counterclockwise at the waist just prior to impact with your opponent’s head, neck or shoulder to increase the power of your strike. This is the reverse horizontal elbow strike as it comes from the back foot rather than the leading foot.
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Step 7
Take a half step back with your right foot and raise your right arm back into your defensive position to finish the technique.
