The muay thai push kick or teep is one of the most basic yet important strikes to master and all also to become procficient in defending against.
It is also one of at least 10 types of kicks in muay thai.
The best muay thai fighters and those who have had great success in the ring are also known for having a very effective push kick.
Muay thai legends such as Samart Payakaroon, Somluck Khamsing, Saenchai and even Buakaw each have used the push kick to great effect.
And in a variety of ways to gain an upper hand over their opponents.
So let’s look at how to execute the teep effectively, how to defend the teep and effective combos that can present themselves through the execution of a good teep and importantly the threat that it poses to an opponent and the reaction from them.
When to Use the Teep
The single most important factor in performing the push kick is distance.
The teep is a ‘long’ technique and is commonly used in a similar fashion to the boxing jab.
It is a very effective long weapon that can be used to control distance and stop your opponent from moving in on you.
There needs to be sufficient space between you and your opponent and the teep is used to bridge the gap.
In fact the lead leg teep is the longest weapon available to you and used effectively the muay thai push kick can definitely hurt your opponent and take the wind out of them also.
Teeping your opponent across the ring will also allow you a chance to recover and reassess as well as catch your breathe and regain focus.
How to Execute the Teep
The push kick or teep in principle is relatively simple to execute.
What makes the teep effective is the timing of the technique.
The teep requires adjusting your feet and stance in order to maintain balance and to have the power and thrust to execute an effective teep.
Lead Leg Teep
From your fighting stance in order to teep with your lead leg you need to shift your stance and move your rear foot forward a little and square it (see second diagram below).
i) Your back foot should step forward a little and pivot out into almost a 'triangle stance'
With your rear foot stepped forward and more parallel to your target you have more balance to pick up your lead leg for the teep.
ii)Pick up your knee toward your torso and thrust your lead leg forward at your target. Engage your hip and butt muscle on the lead leg to push your leg forward.
iii)Rear hand guards the face and the lead hand swings down at the same time as pushing the kick out to get power and for balance.
iv)Just at before impact on your target extend your foot forward and hit the target with the ball of your foot.
v)Reverse the motion by retracting your foot and lead leg and brining your knee back to your torso
vi)Place the lead foot straight back down into your stance.
Rear Leg Teep
The rear leg teep is not as quick but coming from the rear it can be more powerful.
Again your stance and footwork can shift a little in order to teep with good balance with your rear leg.
Start from your fighting stance again as below:
i)Step your lead foot forward a little pivot to the outside to get that 'triangle' effect which will give you better balance for the rear teep. (Compare the diagram below with the normal fighting stance above to see how your lead leg should move).
ii)Bring your rear knee to your torso area and as with the lead teep engage the hip and butt to thrust the rear leg toward the target.
iii)Lead hand guards the face up by your chin. Rear arm swings down to generate thrust.
iv)Just at the point of impact extend your foot so you strike with the ball of your foot.
v)Reverse the motion by retracting your foot and lead leg. Bring your rear knee back to your torso.
vi)Place the rear foot back straight down into your stance.
Drawing a Reaction From your Opponent
An effective teep will pose a threat to your opponent and their attempt to defend or catch the teep will open up other attacks.
But first you have to effectively land the teep on your opponent so that they are wary of your teep.
This will allow you to fake the teep by raising your knee, drawing a reaction from your opponent and striking with another technique.
An effective combo I like to use after landing the teep a couple of times is the fake teep to the hook to the head.
But there are any number of different attacks you can use off the fake teep including the rear knee, rear roundhouse, elbows or the rear straight or cross.
But in order to get the fake teep to work you first have to land the teep effectively and pose a threat to your opponent with the teep so that they react and you can throw a different strike.
Muay Thai Teep Masters
Some of the best at the teep are also some of the best ever muay thai fighters.
Samart Payakaroon who is widely regarded as the best ever used his teep to great effect to control distance. His teep was a formidable weapon that he used to also knock his opponents down and slow their forward progress.
Have a look at Samart teaching the teep in the video below.
Muay femur fighters such as Somluck and Saenchai are also known for having highly effective push kicks that allowed them to control distance in a fight which then also opened up other attacks.
Variations of the Teep
Target Areas
You will notice from the video above that the teep can be used to hit a variety of targets including:
- teep to the chest/torso area (the most common target)
- teep to the leg (used like a jab and also when your opponent kicks to throw them off balance)
- teep to the face (generally frowned upon as being disrespectful as the feet are the lowest and most ‘dirty’ areas in Thai culture)
Different Teep Techniques
The teep is a versatile weapon and a well developed teep will allow you to strike your opponent in a variety of ways and at different targets.
With good timing and power this can be very off putting for your opponent and throw them off their normal game and frustrate them when they cant reach you.
Here are a few variations of the teep that are used in muay thai:
- Side teep – (used effectively by fighters such as Samart as a long weapon to hurt your opponent and control distance)
- Leg teep – (think of Jon Jones in the UFC) effective in off balancing your opponent and keeping distance. But Jones also used it to cause damage and hurt his opponents in the UFC
- Jumping switch teep – faking the lead teep and jumping to switch to the powerful rear teep is a beautiful and effective variation
Defending Against the Teep
It is said in muay thai that ‘the teep beats every other weapon’ and this is true in that if your opponent cant reach you in good balance then their weapons are ineffective.
The teep can be used to counter all other muay thai strikes including punches, knees, elbows and roundhouse kicks.
So it is essential that you also develop good defense against the teep.
There are three common ways to defend the teep.
- Parry
- Catch
- Avoid
1. An easy way to defend the teep is to parry the teep or sweep it away with the your arms. This motion looks like a Karate low block with your arm moving down in a circular motion to parry the teep away from your body.
Its to parry the teep to your outside so your opponent lands off centre line and you are side on and can counter with a variety of attacks.
2.Catching the teep and securing the foot with both hands or one hand allows a wide variety of counters but requires expert timing.
It is better to step back or shift your hips back to take the sting out of the teep also and catch it with your lead hand.
From the catch there are so many counters you can now perform with your opponent stuck on one leg including sweeping them and dumping them on the floor.
Have a look at Saenchai’s counters in the video below.
3.Avoiding the teep altogether requires good timing and reading your opponents movement.
You can step back and draw your hips back with your hands high for balance to completely avoid the teep and then throw your counter.
You can also move to the side or retreat in a hurry to avoid the teep altogether.
However in muay thai excessive backward movement is not favored by judges and so is not preferred.
Former Glory Kickboxing Champion Joseph Valtellini shows all three variations of teep defense in the video below:
