Which Strike is the Most Effective?
"Which strike is the most effective?" is one of the most common questions in the world of combat sports. As a survey of even the most experienced fighters and trainers has shown, no one knows the definitive answer. This text contains no romantic tales of grey-bearded elders living in ancient temple ruins, nor of mysterious "energy strikes." What is presented here are scientifically proven, curious facts.
For this study, video recordings of fights involving the highest-ranking Muay Thai masters were selected. These primarily include bouts from the world's leading arenas, the Lumpinee and Rajadamnern stadiums, as well as fights of multiple-time Muay Thai world champions.
In total, 83 fights were randomly selected. For the sake of convenience, these fights contained exactly 100 strikes that resulted in knockouts (KO), knockdowns (KD), or technical knockouts (TKO). To clarify, strikes leading to a TKO are those after which an opponent cannot continue the fight due to injuries sustained, such as facial cuts, a broken finger, a dislocated shoulder, and so on. In other words, the fight is stopped for "technical reasons," and the injured boxer is handed a loss by technical knockout.
All strikes were studied in the following order:
What part of the body delivered the strike? Fist, elbow, foot (shin), or knee?
Which limb was used? Left or right (taking into account the athlete's stance: orthodox or southpaw)?
How was the strike delivered? In an attack or a counter-attack?
What type of strike was it? Straight, side (hook), from below (uppercut), from above, or a spinning strike?
What was the target of the strike? The head, the torso, or the legs?
The results led to the following conclusions: if we combine strikes from the fist and the elbow, it turns out that the overwhelming majority of the most effective strikes (75%) are delivered by the hands. This is despite the fact that Muay Thai is sometimes called "the art of eight limbs" or even pejoratively, "kickboxing." Muay Thai training methodology dedicates a significant portion of practice to leg strikes. Furthermore, in a closely contested fight, judges often give preference to the boxer who demonstrates superior kicking technique. So, how can we explain the fact that most fight-ending strikes in Muay Thai are delivered by the hands?
Let's break it down in order.
Our hands are significantly more coordinated than our legs. Humans solve complex motor tasks requiring coordination and precision primarily with their hands. Consider this: is it easier to eat, wash your face, drive a car, or sew with your hands or your feet? The answer is obvious. Therefore, it is also easier to knock out an opponent with a hand than with a leg.
The leg has significantly more muscle mass than the arm. This means that leg strikes are more powerful than hand strikes. However, a knockout blow depends not only on power. Speed and accuracy are just as important. Imagine you need to press a specific button in an elevator. Obviously, you would do it faster and more accurately with your hand. The arm weighs less than the leg, meaning its strikes are weaker, but they are faster and, most importantly, significantly more precise.
The hands are closer to the opponent's head than the legs. The head is considered the most vulnerable part of the human body. Our data supports this: 85% of effective strikes were aimed at the head. Consequently, it is easier to reach the most vulnerable part of the human body—the head—with the hands.
The research also showed that strikes leading to a technical knockout constitute 10% of all decisive blows. Typically, these are cuts to the facial skin. It turns out that the majority of such injuries (60%) are caused by elbow strikes, making them the "bloodiest" of all. In professional Muay Thai, the elbow is not protected, and its sharp edge can cut an opponent's skin like a knife. Indeed, elbows in Muay Thai are a highly effective weapon. While strikes with this part of the body are delivered less frequently, every fifth knockout (exactly 20%) is the result of an elbow strike.
Fist strikes incapacitate an opponent more often than elbow strikes, and foot (shin) strikes are more effective than knee strikes. A pattern emerges: the farther the striking surface is from the torso, the more effective the strike. There is an explanation for this as well.
Strikes with the fist and foot (shin) are significantly faster than those with the knee and elbow because they have less mass and are easier to control. Furthermore, in a fighting stance, the fists and feet are closer to the target than the elbows and knees, making it much easier to reach the opponent.
A significant portion of a fight (up to 70%) takes place at medium and long range. It stands to reason that from a distance, it is easier to strike an opponent with a longer lever.
The control of the fist and foot involves more joints than the control of the elbow and knee. This means the fist and foot are more mobile and can be used to execute actions with greater precision.
Now, let's answer a very old question: is it better to strike with the left or the right? On one hand, the lead limb (left for an orthodox fighter) is closer to the opponent and thus easier to land. But the rear limb (right for an orthodox fighter) is always stronger and more dexterous. The research showed that in this contest, power and dexterity win. Knockout strikes delivered by the rear hand account for 77% of all hand knockouts. A boxer positions their dominant limb to the rear of their stance—in a position of natural wind-up. This provides an additional advantage in power when delivering a strike.
Is it easier to knock out an opponent in an attack or a counter-attack?
The studies conducted showed that 66% of knockout strikes are delivered in an attack, and 34% in a counter-attack.
The explanation for this can be found in the following:
The majority of strikes in a fight are thrown in an attack. Even a fighter who works exclusively on the defensive does not counter every single strike.
A counter-attack is executed by first defending, then launching a response. Crucially, the response must be very fast and timely. This means significantly less time can be spent on preparing and disguising the counter-actions compared to offensive ones. This affects their quality and effectiveness. Strikes in a counter-attack become more noticeable and predictable compared to those in an attack.
However, there is an exception to this established pattern. The majority of effective elbow strikes are delivered as counter-attacks. This can be explained as follows:
After missing an attacking strike, an opponent, firstly, closes the distance, and secondly, often finds themselves in an awkward position. They become vulnerable to short, powerful, and hard strikes. It is precisely these qualities that elbow strikes possess at close range. This supports the idea that elbows are weapons for close and medium-range combat.
The overwhelming majority of elbow strikes are delivered at medium and close range. There is scientific data suggesting that at close proximity, a person is much worse at defending against an opponent's strikes than at a distance. This is because in the immediate vicinity of an opponent, there is virtually no time to think.
Which strikes are more effective: straight, side (hooks), or from below (uppercuts)? The research showed that the majority (61%) of the studied strikes were side strikes. Why are they the most effective?
In 1985, V. E. Koteshev conducted research in which he identified three zones of a boxer's perception of an opponent's strikes: the first—the zone of central vision; the second—the zone of clear vision; and the third—the zone of peripheral vision. A person reacts best to strikes that fall into the first zone. It is along this path that the trajectories of straight strikes and uppercuts travel. They react worst to strikes that can only be seen with peripheral vision, i.e., those that fall into the zone of peripheral vision—side strikes. This means the probability of being hit by a side strike is higher than by a straight one or an uppercut.
Among foot and shin strikes, side strikes (kicks) are overwhelmingly dominant—up to 90%. This is explained by the fact that although side kicks have the same speed as other strikes (e.g., straight kicks (teeps)), they possess greater power and rigidity. The inertia of rotation gives them additional force. The high rigidity is achieved because the kick is delivered with the shin, meaning there are fewer links and joints in the striking lever.
Among elbow strikes, side strikes are used most often for the simple reason that the elbow is anatomically better suited for delivering such blows. Furthermore, it is the side elbow strikes that are the hardest and most effective in their impact on an opponent's body.
Spinning strikes ("spinning shit") are rarely used in fights between skilled athletes (2%). This is due to their complexity and lack of speed compared to other strikes. They lose in speed because they involve a wind-up. And think about it: you're not going to fight the whole bout using only spinning attacks. Among spinning strikes, elbow strikes proved to be the most effective. Such strikes only landed as intercepting counter-attacks. When an opponent has initiated an attack, it is quite difficult for them to react and defend against a spinning elbow strike coming towards them.
Now let's try to find an answer to the question: where should one aim?
85% of the studied strikes were delivered to the head. The fact that most people try to hit their opponent in the head, rather than the body or legs, has no scientific explanation. In ancient Chinese martial arts, it was considered more practical to strike the torso, as the main vital organs and systems are located there. In ancient Greece, it was considered unethical to strike the body; they were forbidden in pugilism. Nevertheless, at the current stage of development of contact combat sports, coaches pay more attention to the technique of striking the head rather than the torso. In some combat sports (kickboxing), this is enshrined in the competition rules: a kick to the body is awarded one point, a kick to the head—two. I will try to explain why this situation has developed.
When a boxer is in a fighting stance, their head is less protected than other parts of the body, although it is more mobile and has more degrees of freedom than the torso.
The head is more sensitive to blows than the legs.
There is a theory that the brain is more susceptible to trauma than the internal organs of the torso.
To defend against kicks to the body and legs, blocks with the elbow, knee, or shin are used, which means the boxer delivering the strike can feel pain or even get injured. In this respect, kicks to the head are significantly safer.
When attacking the body with a leg, there is a risk of that leg being caught, which puts the attacker in a dangerous position.
In Muay Thai, great importance is attached to training the abdominal muscles, as the muscular corset significantly protects the internal organs of the torso.
Which knee strikes are more effective: to the head or to the body? Or perhaps it's better to strike the legs? This is a debatable question. But research shows that knee strikes to the body are the most effective. This is explained as follows:
The head is significantly farther from the knees, and reaching it requires more effort.
The legs, compared to the torso, are less prone to injury and less sensitive to blows.
Summary of Findings
The majority of effective strikes are delivered by the fist—55%. Following in descending order are strikes by the elbow—20%, foot and shin—16%, and knee—9%.
Strikes delivered with the right hand or leg (77%) are significantly more effective than those with the left (23%).
The most effective strikes are delivered in an attack—66%, and only 34% in a counter-attack.
The most effective among the studied strikes are side strikes—61%. Among fist strikes, straight and side strikes are equally effective: 43.5% each.
Uppercuts account for 13% of the total number of fist strikes. Among elbow strikes, side strikes make up 85%, uppercuts—5%, and spinning strikes—10%. In foot and shin strikes, side strikes account for 93%, and straight strikes—7%. Side knee strikes are effective in 56% of cases, while straight and from below are effective in 22% of cases each.
Most often, strikes to the head prove to be effective—85%. Strikes to the torso and legs account for 10.5%.
It has been established that the least effective strikes in Muay Thai are spinning strikes and elbow strikes to the body.
Knee strikes are more effective when delivered to the torso—66%.