If you want to see our in-depth courses including Front Kick Focus, check out hard2hurt.teachable.com

All I heard was “do these five moves more often. “LOL

Tl;dr: Training is for improving your skills, not using things that stroke your ego.

What I learned from this video: Don't take shortcuts in life. You should spend your time improving fundamentals like footwork and punch mechanics, and not go spam some cool move that kinda works better now. Someone who truly built up his fundamentals would counter you effectively. *OR* just shoot for a double and hope he doesn't sprawl

1:57 "He might make a professional career in overhand rights" Dan Henderson is watching this somewhere nodding in approval.

1:02 right hook 2:32 pull 4:00 lead front kick 6:16 spinning back fist 8:22 Superman punch

When you said he might even win a world championship with that winging right hand all I could picture was Deontay Wilder.

This translates to that one friend that always press the same button and wins in Mortal Kombat

1:40 - 2:03 I’m guessing thats a Jab at Deontay Wilder, eh?

I was guilty of this for a long time with the "lockdown" from half guard. Really easy to prevent people passing my half guard but I wasn't learning any good offense from there because I was too busy "succeeding" at preventing the pass.

1:53 *cough Wilder *cough

1:55 wilder

"If you're a filthy dirty south paw" I feel personally attacked LoL

New mma students like "Ill try spinning! Thats a good trick!"

I hear you. My old Taekwondo instructor used to tell us to avoid using stepping side kicks in sparring as he said it was a "crutch for someone who doesn't want to work". I get where you're coming from.

Bruh he is actually doing an analysis of my style

This man just did a list of "5 moves which are so OP I implore you to not use it" lmao

I appreciate this video, it’s insightful for beginners and more advanced kickboxers. I like the idea of having a few moves that have a high success rate without a lot of experience while also knowing the risks and ideal uses for those moves. Really great stuff, actually! Thanks man!

Thanks for the video. I've definitely seen the Rear Hook and Front Kick problems before, but I haven't kept track of it like your video. The Spinning Backfist is weirdly the go-to for overly aggressive newbies who've never been seriously hit in the back of the head before.

Tutorial videos weren't supposed to hurt me

Hey Mike! Awesome job covering these 5 techniques that beginners will favor. I definitely agree a lot of times they will use certain moves because they don't have the head movement or foot work to close the distance.

I'm so glad that you've shown these techniques because I don't train striking. Now I can do something that is "highly effective" and get "false positives" if I ever have to strike without ever training striking. Excellent tutorial!

Glad I watched this video. I was spamming the lead kick the other day in a sparring session to keep an aggressive opponent at bay. Rather than work on my technique I kept spamming the kick to create distance. I put some serious thought into it at the end of the session but now it just makes so much more sense. Great video once again Mike!

Beautiful explanation, I'm going to keep this in mind while sparring thank you very much!!!!!!

13 years training, kind of falling into a coach/instructor role at my local gym. see a lot of young kids throwing some of these strikes at each other and they do work even though the skill and drilling isnt there. Been a fan of the channel for about a year or so now. would like to come down to MB and check your gym out. located in Gaffney sc at the Eng school of self defense. keep dropping knowledge bombs of these folks.

Amazing!! Love this channel & content brother 🙏🏼

That video was awesome 😎 I’ve been doing martial arts for ever now and never has it been explained better then that in my opinion.

Very insightful. Thank you for having this video

Great video

Man great channel. I did martial arts for about 14 years growing up and ... now I just live vicariously through this channel, haha. Maybe one day I’ll get back into it

Your delivery of your points is amazing.

I remember when I was doing all those second opinions at the end of the vid and now I’m doing all the first. It’s good to remember we’re you came from. Also love the vids

Excellent tips! Liked. Subscribed.

That was an interesting discussion. Thanks !

I stumbled on this. I'm an experienced fighter and I already know all this, but I watched this anyway because you are such an excellent teacher and have a way of getting the information across in a very realistic way.

Keep this up! You're are great influence Mike! I implement alot of your and and Liam Harrisons techniques while coaching, en everything is suck a great flow tocit, and good explanations. Dont. Ever. Stop!

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thanks Mike!

Love ur vids very helpful to a beginner boxer👌💫

7:44 - Anyone else wanting to make bad Kung Fu joke when they saw this?

Very good instruction. Keep it up.

"He might even make an amateur or professional career" *cough* deontay wilder *cough*

Good advice 👍

Amazing explanation👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Can you do a video about stress training? I want to train out of my freeze response. I don't freeze up from sparring/tournaments but I do in real world chaotic situations

Totally on point. This highlights the difference between training and competition. The purpose of training is to do things which can allow you to improve and get better. The purpose of competition is to do things will get you results. It's very easy to get stuck in the trap of just doing things which get you results during training but then that also gets you stuck not improving which wastes the training session. Oftentimes if you have a move that's working too much then you should probably stop using it as much during training in general unless you're getting ready for a competition where you'll rely on it because your time would be better served working on things that are more difficult for you so that you again can actually improve.

I did a pre-vid prediction based on the title and was right on both spinning backfist and superman punch. As a short intermediate-beginner I abused the hell out of those things when I first started lol. I would also add jumping kicks to the list. They have a lot of the same benefits of the superman punch but in kicking form. I learned a lot of them early on and really favored them over learning how to throw a decent roundkick.

I find that my pull counters are more effective when I do a slight slide back because I can load up the back leg to help me spring forward with a strike after

Love your voice when you say “never turn your back on your opponent” 😂👍 Good video by the way!

ive been a begginner in MMA but I've trained in Taekwondo since i was 4 so when i first joined the class as the new person, i wasn't actually that bad and surprised a lot of people with my kicking speed and precision and now after a year of it I've gained the ability to use the taekwondo kicks with the MMA style kicking so during sparring im able to trick a lot of people because the are expecting a kick to the body and then i do a fake and flick to their head and then do a nice left kick to the body when they are a bit stunned. i of course don't do it hard and i only do that to experienced friends of mine that have been doing it for a long time and have fought in fights but still its great that im still relatively new and yet im already caught up with them and i have more tricks that they do

Love this

Hey Mike, what are the pros and cons of having the heavy bag touch the floor? What would you recommend for a home gym with just the one heavy bag

Anakin Skywalker "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick!" Icy Mike "Stop spinning! Please stop spinning!"

I get the feeling no one is going to stop throwing these moves from this video but everyone’s going to set them up and improve their technique. The details on hip placement were 💯 great vid

try sparring with jeet kune do teachers i want to see more of the icy mike vs other martial arts those are good videos

Good video, even better conclusion.

I always get great results from my sidekicks

You guys are such good coaches, I wish I live close to your gym and train by you

After you have the basics down, what do you think you should try to learn? I'm looking for some stuff to learn to keep training fresh and fun.

That superman punch explanation was an eye-opener

The closer to correct term for the "overhand rear" (overhand right is a limiting term) is, actually, a cross. The cross is NOT simply any "rear straight" but is a punch that, when the head slips under, the opponent's punch is between your head and your punch, which arcs over the opponent's arm to the jaw. A great defensive counterpunch but takes great timing, as well. (info courtesy of the great Jack Dempsey)

It takes practice but you can use the combination of a pullback and a lead snap kick can sometimes be quite effective

I learned the pull from my boxing coach. Still only just getting used to practicing the spinning back fist. A gym I was training at 3 yrs ago taught and kinda drilled the superman punch, but I was never into using that move. Idk why. Lol. Also, kinda not used to throwing right hooks. Though I often practice them. However, I will throw a right lead hook, separate from a left lead hook.

Beautiful summation.

What do you think about tactical gloves in terms of self defense? Mainly speaking of the ones with metal knuckles. Are they actually effective or no?

In wrestling back in school we would just keep learning the basics until we got really good at them and that's all we really needed

it's a very useful video👍🏻🙏🏻

I love this video a lot.

When I first Knew About Your Channel I Immidiatly left my BJJ Gym (im a purple belt) I Moved To Muay Thai anf i can safly say hand to hand combat is the real deal Mike!

A short guard that's practically in place /someone with a close and high fence will catch that spinning backfist in tight as it impacts the hook/side guard and have rear to side control no problem

This makes me want to become a human beblade "let it rip"

I find that the teep is a good way to end a combo to create distance after finishing an exchange,it doesn’t have to do damage,it just has to create distance.Same kinda concept with finishing your combos with a jab in boxing to make space after.

I like this video. We should always understand the decisions we make and not make in the ring. If we don’t understand why we hit or not get hit, we’re wasting training time...

I already know how to punch a cross and I'm used to it. I transitioned from kyokushin to muay thai/Kickboxing... In kyokushin we only had straights and short body hooks so should I start using my rear hook? I already know the lead one and I'm confident with it

As a beginner boxer , thank you my friend , i figured what iam doing wrong everytime because of this vid .

Great.

So.. we're not throwing spinning shit now? I know somebody that will be happy to hear that. Great videos, I don't know how I found this channel but you've been an awesome help during lockdown training.

When I was kickboxing long time ago I would throw lead leg front jab solar plexus kick plus 4 straight punches Left Hook head then Straight right left hook to ribs. But now I am using knees, elbows, grappling.

Bro I love your videos. I love how there is no bull shit in your videos

Instructions Unclear Spinning and punching as I speak

You make some really great points and you are definitely right when it comes to choosing your strikes smart and not just winging makers or flashy spin/jumping strikes however… Yes there is a however becoming basic with just powerful basic moves can also be a bad thing. While yes you will destroy the average Joe with powerful legs kicks but when you start fighting more experienced fighters they are going to know how to counter those strong basic strikes easily. Having a more free flowing style and mixing it up a bit will always keep your opponent guessing what you are going to do next. Especially me being more lanky sitting at 61 but a decent wingspan I can use a spinning back fist or even elbow has almost a counter attack attack if that makes sense lol. Bait with a couple jabs then when they think jab you back fist to the face or spin kick to the ribs. I look at someone like John Jones who can literally throw any punch or kick and uses all of those weapons to be effective to the max.

finally i’ve found someone who finds UFC sloppy front kicks annoying to watch

Nice to hear you echo what my instructor teaches.

I think the right hook is less of a gimmick or “false positive.” Superman punch and spinning back fist are definitely more gimmicks than useful tools. I use the right hook and set it up as a tool and it works just as good as my rear roundhouse for its purpose

good vid.

Luv it

Subscribed

Have you got any kickboxing fight footage Mike? Not streetbeefs or point fighting stuff

Switched to southpaw recently (left hander coming from wrestling) and been spamming my left hook ever since thanks to this video. At least I also started using my superman punch more technically.

For my prospective, you forgot to mention the spinning back kick. I've "won" a good number of sparring sessions sitting clueless at safe range, faking a lowkick then finally spinning into a back kick... Pretty vicious and it can land in every direction too ;)

Comment on the super man punch, can often be countered with a side kick to the stomach or liver. only mentioning it because there’s hella beginners flying and spinning through the air at my gym and that’s what I’ve been using to stop em.

Totally get not using it lazily or without reason, especially as far as beginners needing to form good habits, but the front kick as an entry is absolutely an "honest" way to close distance/begin exchanges. For one if you're getting leg kicked or calf kicked when you try to close, it takes that target away, unlike entering in a boxing stance which often leaves the lead leg exposed to kicks (a la Max v Volko II). Again I get that's a niche technical adjustment with serious reasoning behind it's use, but just thought it was worth throwing out there as to when it can be good to do.

I have a really good turning back kick but it was after learning boxing that kick became nastier. Otherwise I really don’t like spinning around much besides the occasional spinning back fist.

What do you think the outcome will be with Kuntry Hoodlum vs Turrman at R&R?

How long before learning the frozen beam?? cut off the head and spine is legal? How many get the jocke??

I barely do spinning attacks without setups because somebody can throw an overhand to your head while moving to the direction of the spin where the attack ends. I mean look at martin nguyen vs eduard folayang. That was enough to show me not to overuse spinning attacks or to throw them without setups.

You are so an instructor, I mean that with fu5ll positivity. I would come to you and let you pull me apart. Respect!

"Here's might even win a World Championship..." Igor Vovchanchyn flashed before my eyes. 🤣🤣🤣

The superman punch can even be used as a safe way for leading an opponent into a grapple, just like GSP did with his jab(lead kick->superman jab->grappling and throwing on the ground). It's just to good for your own good if you are learning how to fight, cause it makes you want to use just that.

make a video on corkskrew punch

Is there something like self defence for people with a bad back, who had lower back surgery that went haywire and left them with an pretty unstable chassis (e.g. half of my left calf is pretty much gone due to nerve damage). I’m a pretty strong guy from the waist up, but I wonder if it’s still of any use in a real fight. Defending yourself while being unstable on your feet..I wonder if this is possible at all. Great videos by the way.