This is a clip of a flying punch, more commonly known as the Superman punch, in an mixed martial arts match between Savant Young (a.k.a. Black Superman) and Ed West. I originally wanted to find a clip of George St. Pierre smacking down Matt Hughes with it in their rematch, but I couldn't find it online.
The Superman punch is called a cobra punch in Muay Thai, due to the setup movement of the attacking fighter. To set up the strike, the fighter will rear back as if he is about to throw a high round kick or, as in this case, a high or flying knee with the rear leg. Then, instead of throwing the rear leg strike, he shoots his rear leg backwards while throwing his upper body forward, in a pendulum-type movement. He follows this momentum by jumping forward on his left leg, going into a diagonal Superman-type position, and then throws the rear straight or overhand punch with a shoulder twist.
The Superman punch, as with all flying attacks, is a relatively low-percentage technique, but it is extremely entertaining to watch, and when it lands, it feels like you've been hit with a ton of bricks. Also, like all flying attacks, it has the advantage of being an overwhelming and surprising attack, and is a good trick to have in one's striking arsenal.
5 Comments
budzossays...In addition to the perfectly executed flying strike, you gotta admire Savant as a sportsman for declining to attack a helpless opponent. I love MMA but I'm sick of seeing some gorilla wail on the head of a clearly unconscious person when there's a delay in the ref's ability to separate the fighters.
rembarsays...Amen, Budzos. I mean, granted that often fighters are trained to keep attacking until a ref pulls them off due to the possibility of the opponent recovering in time before the stoppage, and the heat of the moment is pretty intense, but there are many times when an idiot will keep going even though his opponent is clearly KTFOed.
I'm looking at YOU, Takanori Gomi.
JAPRsays...the vid you linked to in your edit is gone.
kulpimssays...*length=00:06:19 *actionpack
siftbotsays...The duration of this video has been updated from unknown to 6:19 - length declared by kulpims.
Adding video to channels (Actionpack) - requested by kulpims.
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