
Techniques and styles
Teep
Also written thip
What it means
The push kick. A straight kick with the ball or sole of the foot, used to stop someone coming forward and to break their rhythm rather than to hurt them.
It is the first thing most trainers give a beginner that actually works, because it needs no power and no timing beyond seeing the other person move.
Thai fighters use it constantly and foreigners underuse it, mostly because it does not feel like a real strike. It is the single most useful tool you will learn in your first week.
Related
Words that go with it
Roundhouse kick
The signature Muay Thai kick, thrown with the shin rather than the foot, turning the hips all the way through so the whole body carries the strike.
Check
Lifting the shin to block a kick so the incoming leg hits bone instead of ribs or thigh. Done properly it hurts the person kicking more than the person blocking.