A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head, or to any bodypart of a downed opponent. Styles such as Muay Thai and several mixed martial arts organizations allow kneeing depending on the positioning of the fighters.

Straight knee strike

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The straight knee (also known as a front knee) is a typical knee strike, and involves thrusting the front of the knee into the head or body of an opponent. The straight knee can be applied from a stand-up position both when the combatants are separated, or when they are clinching. A particularly effective clinching position for throwing front knee is the double collar tie, where the head of the opponent is controlled. On the ground, front knees can be effective from a few top positions such as the sidemount and north-south position. Typical targets for the front knee include the head, hips, ribs, solar plexus, stomach and thighs.

Curved Knee Strike

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The curve knee (also sometimes called a side knee) is similar to the front knee except that it does not use a forward thrusting motion, but is instead rotated from the outside. Whereas the front knee needs some space inbetween the combatants to be performed, the curved knee can be executed from a minimal distance, such as in a close clinch. Typical targets include floating ribs, hips, and the side of the abdomen.

Flying Knee Strike

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A flying knee (known as hanuman thayarn in Muay Thai, and sometimes called a jumping knee) is a knee strike very similar to a front knee, except that it is performed in stand-up fighting by jumping, and often by rushing towards the opponent. It can be effectively applied when the opponent is off-balanced, recovering from previous strikes, or as a counter to a strike by the opponent.

Use In Combat Sports

Upon impact with the head, a flying knee provides considerable full-body momentum, and hence has substantial knockout power. In a notable UFC bout, James Irvin knocked out Terry Martin with a spectacular flying knee; Martin was unresponsive for three minutes and left on a stretcher.Gross, Josh. UFC 54 Dark Bouts: Irvin KO’s Martin, Sends him out of Octagon on Stretcher. sherdog.com. URL last accessed May 14 2006.

This spectacular and inherently dangerous strike is a definite crowd-pleaser in stand-up fighting sports such as K-1 and Ultimate Fighting. A famous martial artist known for his flying knees is Remy Bonjasky.Dao, Vincent. Schilt Unstoppable at K-1 World GP '05 Final. www.muaythaitv.com. URL last accessed May 14 2006. Japanese professional wrestler Jumbo Tsuruta also used a jumping knee as one of his finishing moves.

See also

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• Kick

References

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Main references

Other references

Strikes