The roundhouse kick is a powerful technique to damage and KO an opponent.
The MMA roundhouse kick has its origins in different martial arts including Muay Thai and Karate.
However the muay thai roundhouse kick is widely considered the most powerful style of round kick in martial arts and also one of the most influential in terms of development of the MMA roundhouse kick.
In this post we look at the key differences between the MMA roundhouse klick and the muay thai roundhouse kick and why these differences came about.
It would seem obvious that the most powerful kick in muay thai would be the best choice in MMA but this is not the case.
So let’s look at the key differences between the MMA roundhouse kick and the muay thai roundhouse kick.
Execution of the Technique
The difference in execution of the MMA roundhouse kick versus the traditional muay thai roundhouse kick is due to the influence of styles in the development of the MMA roundhouse kick
For example, the Karate influenced kicking techniques can be attributed to the influence of exceptional Karateka and MMA fighters such as Lyoto Machida and Stephen Thompson.
Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick
The signature muay thai rear round house kick is executed stepping out with the lead leg on an angle, this will open up the hip more and give the rear leg more rotational room to swing through and generate power.
By standing up on the toes of the lead foot and pivtoing on the lead foot, momentum is generated to allow the rear leg to swing through in one motion, much like the swinging of a baseball bat.
The shin of the rear leg is the striking surface aimed at the opponents body or head.
Note– the low kick or leg kick technique is executed differently and is not the focus of this post as there are more similarities than differences between the MMA leg kick and muay thai leg kick.
The MMA Roundhouse Kick
The MMA Roundhouse kick largely follows the muay thai style roundhouse in most MMA gyms and styles of teaching.
However depending on the background of the fighter, the roundhouse kick can take on more of a Karate or Taekwondo influence.
The Karate style roundhouse in MMA as displayed by fighters such as Lyoto Machida and Stephen Thompson involves more of a chambering of the kick with a snap at the end as in traditional Karate style kicks.
This style of roundhouse kick can also be done without the traditional lead foot step forward on an angle to open up the hip and generate power.
This is because power or impact comes more from the snapping action at the end of the kick.
Also with this style of roundhouse the striking surface is the instep or ball of the foot rather than the shin as in muay thai.
Rotational force is not the main focus as force comes from the snap at the end of the chambered kick.
Therefore overall in terms of pure power it is less powerful than the muay thai kick.
Frequency of Use
The muay thai roundhouse kick is the main scoring weapon in muay thai for the most part.
And roundhouse kicks are thrown in quite heavy volume in comparison to MMA fights.
Especially roundhouse kicks to the body.
In MMA the roundhouse kick to the body is much less common as it is much higher risk due to the threat of being taken down and held down in bottom position by the opponent.
A takedown is a high scoring technique in MMA and being able to scramble and come out in top position after having your roundhouse kick caught is very difficult.
Especially since you would have to defend a takedown off of one leg after throwing a roundhouse kick in MMA.
This is not to say the roundhouse kick in MMA is not effective.
And the roundhouse kick to the body in particular while being risky, can also be extremely devastating in the hands of a powerful and accurate kicker.
Anthony Pettis’ body kick KO of Donald Cerrone is a perfect example of the powerful muay thai influenced MMA roundhouse kick in action.
Scoring, Defending & Countering
In muay thai the roundhouse kick to the body or head is defended by raising the shin and blocking.
A roundhouse kick that is defended with the arms is considered a score by the kicker in most thai stadiums, especially if the kick causes the defending fighter to lose balance or impact his stance significantly.
In more kickboxing style fights, such as Dutch style and K-1, blocking with the arms is far more common and is considered more a legit blocking technique than in traditional thai stadiums.
Blocking with both arms, often called the Dutch block, is the main style of blocking and defending the roundhouse in MMA as well.
Mainly because the roundhouse kick to arms does not score as highly in MMA as in muay thai.
Also blocking with the arms is much faster and also allows for faster countering with punches.
In muay thai the main counter to a roundhouse is to return fire with a roundhouse.
However catching the roundhouse kick and sweeping or dumping the opponent is also a valid and high scoring counter to the roundhouse.
Stance Influences the Muay Thai & MMA Roundhouse Kick
In Muay Thai the stance is basically centered around throwing and defending the roundhouse kick.
The muay thai clinch is also a major factor in the influence of the traditional muay thai stance.
But the roundhouse kick is probably one of the the top factors in the development of the traditional muay thai stance.
Similarly the more lowered and grounded MMA stance which has a large focus on defending takedowns and being grounded for powerful punches also influences the technique and frequency of use of the MMA roundhouse kicks.
In muay thai the stance is generally higher and more upright than the MMA stance.
This allows for defending kicks with by raising the shins as well as throwing the roundhouse kicks from a more squared up stance with a quick angled step.
As the MMA stance is more lowered and grounded and not so upright and ‘high’, the focus is more on defending takedowns shooting for takedowns.
A lowered more grounded stance means less favourable conidtions to throw a high volume of roundhouse kicks.
Of course it all depends on the style and strengths/weaknesses of the individual MMA fighter and their background.
But due to the high scoring threat of takedowns and ending up on bottom, a more lowered and grounded stance is more MMA style and this in turn reduces the ability to throw a lot of ‘pure’ roundhouse kicks.
However the roundhouse head kick in MMA is still a major threat and a spectacular fight ending KO technique that many fighters love to use to finish opponents off.
