A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike with the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the human leg, leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest join ...

, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a

downed opponent A downed opponent (also called a grounded opponent) is a combatant that is on the ground, as compared to a combatant that is in a standing position. This commonly implies that the downed combatant is lying on the ground, but can technically refer ...

. Styles such as

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

and several

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

organizations allow kneeing depending on the

positioning Positioning may refer to: * Positioning (marketing), creating an identity in the minds of a target market * Positioning theory, a theory in social psychology * Positioning (critical literacy), reader context * Positioning (telecommunications), a t ...

of the fighters. Knee strikes are native to the traditional

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

n martial arts and traditional Okinawan martial arts.

Straight

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 Collar tie is a grappling clinch hold that is used to control the opponent. It is performed from the front of the opponent by grabbing the opponent by the collar, behind the neck, or behind the trapezius muscle. A collar tie using one hand is cal ...

, where the head of the opponent is controlled. On the ground, front knees can be effective from a few top positions such as the Side control and north-south position. Typical targets for the front knee include the head, hips, ribs, solar plexus, stomach and thighs. In Muay Thai, a double collar tie with a front knee to the face was traditionally called ''Hak Kor Aiyara''. The groin is widely considered the key target for knee strikes and clinch knee attacks in a street fight according to karate, tae kwon do, muay thai, and many other martial arts. Knee5

Curved

The curved knee (also sometimes called a side knee or roundhouse 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 in between the combatants to be performed, the curved knee can be executed from a minimal distance, such as in a close clinch. This technique is often employed when an opponent is attempting to protect from a straight knee. Typical targets include floating ribs, hips, and the side of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

Flying

A flying knee (known as ''hanuman thayarn'' in

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

, 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. A more reckless application of the flying knee strike can be applied by rotating the body so that the side of the knee strikes the opponent, used more as an offensive pushing attack rather than a concussive KO attack. Generally, flying knee strikes can be effectively applied when the opponent is off-balanced, recovering from previous strikes, or as a counter to a strike by the opponent. It can also be used as a follow-up maneuver after delivering a particularly incapacitating strike. One example took place at a UFC event, where Jorge Masvidal knocked

Ben Askren Benjamin Michael Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. Askren was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade before competing in ...

unconscious in 5 seconds with a flying knee when Askren shot in for a takedown. A famous flying knee strike in pop culture is the "Knee of Justice" used by Captain Falcon in the

Super Smash Bros. ''Super Smash Bros.'' is a Crossover (fiction), crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objectiv ...

series.

Use in combat sports

Provided that it makes impact with the head, a flying knee offers substantial momentum and knockout power. This spectacular strike is a crowd-pleaser in fighting sports such as

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

(

) and MMA. In one UFC bout, James Irvin knocked out Terry Martin with a flying knee; Martin was unresponsive for three minutes and left on a stretcher. At K-1 Hero's 5, Norifumi Yamamoto knocked out Kazuyuki Miyata with a flying knee at four seconds into the first round. 3 time K-1 champion Remy Bonjasky is known for his flying knees. Japanese professional wrestling, in keeping with its martial arts roots, has many wrestlers utilizing knees in matches.

Tomomi Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyw ...

used a jumping knee as one of his signature moves, inspired by kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura. Takashi Sugiura and Jun Akiyama are known for their effective knee strikes.

José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fig ...

landed a double flying knee at WEC 41 against Cub Swanson, in one of his first international MMA fights, scoring a knockout win just eight seconds into the first round of the fight.

References

* Løvstad, Jakob
The Mixed Martial Arts Primer
''www.idi.ntnu.no''. URL last accessed January 31, 2006. (DOC format) * Vaitayanon, Kumron
Knee Strikes of Muay Thai
''www.blackbeltmag.com''. URL last accessed February 1, 2006. * World Muaythai Council

''www.wmtc.nu''. URL last accessed February 1, 2006. {{martial arts Strikes (martial arts) Kickboxing terminology Knee

Straight

Curved

Flying

Use in combat sports

See also

References