Bruce Lee’s Muay Thai Kick, Bruce Lee blended many techniques from a assortment of martial art syles in Jeet Kune Do, one that is not talked about much was his Muay Thai kick. It is used now everyday by mixed martial artists and has been referred to as the MMA kick.

If you remember the scene in Enter the Dragon when Bruce Lee’s character is fighting Han in his personal weapons of pain museum, Lee unleashes a blistering fast kick to Hans head. It is so fast that even in slow motion is hard to see.

Check out the video below, pay close attention at the 22 second mark.

Now here is a couple of still shots of that kick, look at Han’s  head, do you notice anything unusual? Bruce really let it rip because that kick was done in a millisecond.

The key to generate the speed and the power is in the hips and waist. They both generate the torque needed to supply the power and speed. A strong abdomen and core are also required to really get the power. Positioning your pivot leg is critical and will be discussed further below.

We all have read about Bruce Lee’s incredible speed and the power he was able to create at 135 pounds. A great story that I will never forget was from my late Sensei Ken Knudson who was a great tournament fighter in the Midwest and owner of Olympic Karate studios a chain of schools in the Chicago suburbs. He had the opportunity to meet Bruce Lee at I believe a Karate tournament and one thing led to another and as usual Bruce had his large air filled kicking shield with him and preceded to demonstrate his kicks.

Sensei Knudson had heard of Lee’s speed and power but was unimpressed when he met Bruce since Bruce was not a large imposing man. Bruce like he normally did, started with a few gentle kicks and asked Sensei Knudson if he was ready to receive some kicks with some power behind it, he said yeah and shrugged his shoulders like no big deal, he had felt hard kicks before.

I will never forget what he said, when Bruce kicked him with full power he said he thought his eyes were going to come out of his eye sockets. People watching this said his eyes were literally bulging out of his head, and it all happened in a split second. This happened with the side kicks and the Muay Thai kicks.

To get a good idea of the power that can be generated and how the waist and hips are used, watch this clip from Fight Masters as Bas Rutten is put to the test to see how much power he can create with his kick.

Bas generates tremendous  power from the hips and uses the placement of his feet to aid in this.If you watch closely at the direction of his left knee while he kicks it is turned about 90 degrees from the target. Bas was a incredible fighter and shows why with the power he creates and perfect technique. I would not like to be the recipient of his favorite kick to the liver, that kick took you out instantly.

It would have been great if we had that technology back in the late 60’s so we could have tested Bruce’s power and speed. I am sure it would be close to some of the heavyweight fighters we have today. I believe everybody can improve the speed and power in their kicks by developing a strong midsection, learning how to use the waist and hips for greater speed and power by using proper positioning of their pivot leg. Of course once you have discovered how to do these things then practicing over and over until it is second nature is of utmost importance.

Bruce Lee once said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”.

Great words of wisdom, sometimes we practice our kicks but hold back on giving 100% because of the pain it creates or we are afraid of getting hurt. These are legitimate concerns but can be eliminated if you properly condition your body and use liniments like Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm to heal injuries fast and also prevent future injuries. By using these liniments you are strengthening and conditioning your blood vessels, bones, ligaments, soft tissue and sinew against future injuries.

In order to get 100% back from your training you need to give 100%, holding back because of pain will hurt your training and slow your progress, investing in liniments like Iron Palm and Dit Da Jow will put you on the fast track to reaching your training goals and also help prevent future injury and pain issues.

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Bruce Lee blasting Han with a ferocious Muay Thai Kick

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