×

Recent News

  • A Beginners Guide to MMA/Muay Thai Nutrition

    Today we’re going to talk about nutrition. Look...
  • Top 5 Muay Thai Myths

    Muay Thai in the West is an interesting beast. ...
  • Manga, Karate, MMA: An Interview with Tarec Saffiedine

    Editor’s note: This was an interview that I con...

Calendar

April 2021
M T W T F S S
« Mar    
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • April 2013

DIESEL NEWS

  • A Beginners Guide to MMA/Muay Thai Nutrition

    Today we’re going to talk about nutrition. Look...
  • Top 5 Muay Thai Myths

    Muay Thai in the West is an interesting beast. ...
QUESTIONS? CALL: 07765 243012
  • SUPPORT

Diesel Gym

  • CLASSES
    • Muay Thai
    • 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu
    • MMA
    • Wrestling
    • Personal 1-2-1 Training
    • Under 16’s Class
    • Strength & Conditioning
  • GYM LIFE
    • The Diesel Team
    • Testimonials
    • FAQ’s
  • TIMETABLES & PRICES
  • LOCATION
  • MEDIA
  • ARTICLES
  • CONTACT
JOIN NOW
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Diesel Breakdown
  • Should I be orthodox or southpaw?
 

Should I be orthodox or southpaw?

Andrew | Diesel News
Sunday, 04 April 2021 / Published in Diesel Breakdown

Should I be orthodox or southpaw?

Orthodox or Southpaw?

Ah, the age-old question. When I first started training, I fought orthodox. My reasoning was because I’m left-handed I could make better use of a hard jab and left hook. It wasn’t the worst idea, after all Bruce Lee himself advocated for your strongest hand being closer to the target, and he might actually be the most famous southpaw in history, certainly the most famous martial artist.

Imagine Bruce Lee being interviewed by Johnny Carson and doing kung fu with  Elvis | by Jeremy Roberts | Medium

Then about six months into training I changed to a southpaw stance, which has been my main stance ever since. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a lot of Diesel peeps have had that same experience. Most beginners tend to be under the impression that they should lead with their dominant hand.  

So, should we be orthodox or southpaw?

Well for a start, if you’re experienced you should remain in the stance you currently use, rather than starting from the beginning again and re-learning a new stance. What if you’re starting out though?

The raw truth of the matter is that it doesn’t actually make much difference whether you stand orthodox or southpaw, at least not when it comes to power. We often make a big deal about the power hand going in the back, but in practise most knockouts come from lead hooks in boxing, and for most fighters that lead hook is coming from their non-dominant hand.

What makes a strike powerful is not which hand it comes from, as your hands dexterity has nothing to do with punching power. Punching power comes from the strength of the core, legs and the leverage of a punch. If you are strong in these areas, you’ll have power regardless of which hand you’re punching with.

What matters a little more is your accuracy when starting out.

Your lead jab is the closest strike to the target, and it doesn’t take much accuracy to land when compared to the rear straight. Equally if you throw a cross counter, that punch will have to come from a further difference than a lead hook counter. When travelling that extra distance, the superior hand eye co-ordination actually will matter.

So, for a beginner, though it’s annoying, you really do want your dominant hand in the back.

Frequently I hear people claim that they are ambidextrous, or equally good with their left and right hand. What this usually means is that they are equally bad with their left and right hands. True ambidextrous people are rare, and popular switch hitters like Max Holloway (who we have more on here) typically stay in one stance for most of a fight and switch for moments where they can have an advantage.

Even if you feel equally competent with both hands, it’s still best to choose a stance and stick with it for a few years of training before taking up any switch hitting. One of the major flaws with having your power hand in front is that all to often it results in a one-handed fighter who is only ever throwing their lead hand and nothing else. A good example of this would be Georges St. Pierre, who while a great fighter was so reluctant to throw his right hand that most of his fights ended up being non-stop jab affairs. Similarly, Miguel Cotto lived and died by his left hand and rarely threw the right. Both fantastic fighters no doubt, but not ideal.

Miguel Cotto - In His Prime - YouTube

But can I train to be a Southpaw even if I’m right-handed or vice versa?

Absolutely! After a few solid months of training in the ‘wrong’ stance, you should feel completely fine. Boxers like Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya are left-handed orthodox fighters, and in Muay Thai is it very common to have right-handed southpaws. However, you will need to specifically work on your accuracy with your ‘weaker’ hand.

With good quality training and hard work, a lot of this becomes extra fluff that you don’t need to worry about, however there are a few things to consider when choosing between orthodox and southpaw. While southpaws generally have the advantage over orthodox fighters, there are some things that orthodox fighters are able to do much easier, when against an orthodox opponent (IE most opponents):

Orthodox fighters have an easier time punching the liver. The closed stance match up brings the orthodox fighters left side close to their opponents right side, where the liver sits. Not only does this make hooks to the liver easier, it also makes it a lot easier for an orthodox fighter to fight on the inside. While they do exist, it’s not common to see a southpaw who excels at fighting inside, they usually perform better at mix and long ranges.

On the other hand, the southpaw left kick to the liver is more powerful and reliable than the orthodox switch kick. It comes from further away making it lower risk, and it lands with more power than switch kicks do. Southpaws also benefit from southpaw double of the left hand and left body kick (which we wrote about here).

A good southpaw only needs to do a few things well in order to succeed, but it is also harder to find a coach who knows how to train a southpaw correctly, and there are fewer resources online to teach southpaw techniques (thankfully if you’re training at Diesel London this isn’t a problem).

What if I’m a grappler?

Tony Ferguson performs consecutive spinning elbows on Rafael dos Anjos;  each from alternate stances - GIF on Imgur

Typically grappling martial arts encourage a fighter to lead with their dominant hand. This is in part why there are a lot of southpaws in MMA compared to other sports, though still a minority. If you’re coming from a grappling background, then it may be best to stick with the stance you’re comfortable with and learn striking from that stance.

However, don’t overthink it – as grappling within an MMA context is completely different, set ups are entirely different. Wrestling lessons in MMA should give you the technique to finish a takedown, but the conventional ways of getting a takedown in wrestling are practically useless in MMA, due to the difference in distance, presence of strikes and in how different hand fighting is.

Regardless of which stance you choose, the most important thing is that you commit to learning that way. This is why for most people I recommend them having their weak hand in front, simply because for most people that will be the easiest in the long run, to prevent you from becoming a one-handed fighter.

That being said, being a converted southpaw is perfectly legitimate, plenty of Thai coaches are happy to not only teach a right hander southpaw, but flat out change a fighters stance and say ‘you’re southpaw now’ and re-train them to have those southpaw advantages. You just need to know that it’s going to be hard work, and you have to commit.

  • Tweet
Tagged under: Bruce Lee, Conor McGregor, Diesel Gym London, Floyd Mayweather, Francis Ngannou, Karate, Kung Fu, London MMA, London Muay Thai, Miguel Cotto, Mirko Cro Cop, Oscar De La Hoya, Southpaw, Southpaw vs Orthodox, Stipe Miocic

What you can read next

Fighting Southpaw vs Orthodox: Footwork and Angles
How to Defend Low Kicks | Diesel Technique of the Week
The secrets to power punching, hitting hard and getting wins!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SEARCH

RECENT POSTS

  • A Beginners Guide to MMA/Muay Thai Nutrition

    Today we’re going to talk about nutrition. Look...
  • Top 5 Muay Thai Myths

    Muay Thai in the West is an interesting beast. ...
  • Manga, Karate, MMA: An Interview with Tarec Saffiedine

    Editor’s note: This was an interview that I con...
  • Kickboxing Legend Talks: A Conversation with Lucien Carbin

    Editors note: This was an interview that I cond...
  • Fantastic Oblique Kicks, and How to Stop Them

    When people refer to ‘oblique kicks’ they are r...

ARCHIVES

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • April 2013

CATEGORIES

  • Diesel Breakdown
  • News

TODAYS CLASSES

No upcoming events for today

LATEST NEWS

  • A Beginners Guide to MMA/Muay Thai Nutrition

    Today we’re going to talk about nutrition. Look...
  • Top 5 Muay Thai Myths

    Muay Thai in the West is an interesting beast. ...
  • Manga, Karate, MMA: An Interview with Tarec Saffiedine

    Editor’s note: This was an interview that I con...

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

SEARCH

QUICK LINKS

  • Classes
  • Timetables & Prices
  • Location
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Newham Council Employees
  • GET SOCIAL
Diesel Gym

Diesel Gym London is a non-profit organisation (Community Interest Company - 11947994). All profits raised from membership subscriptions are invested back in to community programmes run within the gym. Diesel Gym CIC is also a member of the Pan London Referral Programme designed to offer holistic and integrated violence prevention services to young people. Training at Diesel not only helps you but the local community too.

TOP
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok