Dutchess County Martial Arts: Precision MMA Throws Opponents Off-Guard with Numerous Striking Attacks
By Jamey Bazes
Dutchess County, New York has a multitude of Martial Arts’ schools. However, for the most part they are fairly “cookie-cutter” in their approach and do not teach a wide variety of striking techniques. “Striking” is a general term for attacks such as punches, kicks, knees and elbows which forcefully impact an opponent. Precision MMA in Dutchess County teaches a wide array of strikes which often catch our opponent’s off-guard in competition, leaving our students victorious.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County New York teaches both Boxing and Muay Thai Kickboxing as its core striking arts. However, the assortment of strikes which our opponents see coming at them would probably lead them to assume that we teach many other styles such as Karate, Taekwondo and even Capoeira. The reality is that they would be correct, because our Muay Thai classes in particular, taught by 7-0 AKBF Muay Thai Champion Karl Nemeth, include strikes from so many different styles that it is very hard to pin down our method of striking to any one specific approach. For a striker to be successful in competition he must never be predictable, otherwise his opponent will see his attacks coming and avoid them. Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County is quite unorthodox in its arsenal, much to the frustration of anyone who decides to get into the ring with our fighters. When it comes to kicking, many styles of kickboxing and other martial arts teach mainly front kicks and roundhouse kicks. Fighters from these schools are usually unprepared to defend themselves against kicks coming from more unusual angles and many of these are taught by our head Muay Thai instructor Karl Nemeth in his classes.
One type of kick we teach which would throw many more conventional martial artists off guard is the spinning hook kick. This kick has recently been used very successfully in the Ultimate Fighting Championship by both former Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos in knocking out veteran Mark Hunt and Vitor Belfort in knocking out former Strikeforce MW champion Luke Rockhold. It was also used effectively on the last season of “The Ultimate Fighter” by Uriah Hall. Even despite this kick’s recent success, due to its nature as a high velocity spinning strike and the numerous set ups we show for it, it is still rarely seen coming by our competition. To perform this kick properly the practitioner must step his front foot out so that it is positioned at about a fifteen degree angle from the back foot. This is quite a misleading stance because it momentarily exposes the student’s back to attack, as well as the back of his front leg for a leg kick. However, this deception is exactly what makes this kick so deadly. Done quickly and without hesitation, the back leg is then spun behind the kicker and as he turns around to face his opponent he lands the heel of his back foot directly on the jaw of the opponent. The amount of force which can be generated by this kick is tremendous, as can be seen from the fact that all the aforementioned examples in the UFC have led to devastating knockouts. And yet, most martial arts schools neglect this kick entirely. Another unorthodox kick that we teach is the “question-mark kick”. This kick is often used in styles of Karate and Taekwondo but throws many conventional Muay Thai fighters off guard. It can be done with either the lead or back leg and consists of a starting motion where the kickers’ leg comes forward as if to throw a low front kick. However, the kick changes direction at the last moment and lands at slightly downward angles across the opponents’ face. This misdirection leads the opponent to drop his hands, expecting a kick to the body or legs, which results in his leaving himself open for the head kick. We have had success with this kick in many Dutchess County Kickboxing fights and our opponents rarely see it coming.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County also teaches many other sorts of strikes such elbows, knees and many different types of punches. We show how knees can be used while in the clinch for great effect, as well as from a further distance, and we even show flying knee attacks which most opponents do not see coming. We show a variety of elbow techniques coming from sideways, diagonal and other angles, and finally, even the punching techniques taught in our boxing classes are often not seen in your typical boxing match. One of these is a “side fist” taught by one of our boxing coaches and experienced AKBF competitors John Joy. It is thrown instead of a jab with the fist held with the thumb pointed towards the ceiling in a sideways’ fashion. This provides the attack with a more narrow surface area which allows it to slip between the opponent’s guard most easily to connect with his head. We also focus a good deal on lead hand upper cuts and “long hooks” which have less of an arc than the conventional boxing hook. These techniques have also helped our boxers and kickboxers to have significant success in the ring because they are not usually taught by schools in the Dutchess County area and catch our opponents by surprise.
It’s the strike that you don’t see coming which hurts you. This adage rings true in Mixed Martial Arts, Kickboxing and Boxing, and it is just one of many reasons why Precision MMA in Dutchess County produces effective strikers. Our students always have a full toolbox and our instructors are always adding more weapons to their arsenal to teach in our classes. Come strike with us for a free 30 days trial and feel empowered.
Get your Dutchess County Martial Arts at Precision MMA call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com to get started