Elbows and knees are two important aspects of MMA and are some of the most effective strikes in Muay Thai.  Unfortunately, they are also underutilized due to the Western stigma placed on striking with the joints.  Elbows are not allowed in boxing, and the same goes for knees in many types of kickboxing.  Because of this, you can have an exceptional advantage over your opponents if you can manage to integrate Muay Thai elbows and knees into your stand up game.  Below, you'll find information on the proper stance and you'll also learn ways to improve your conditioning and striking power.

The classic Muay Thai stance isn't the best for MMA due to the fact that it exposes you to leg kicks and allows you to be taken down more easily.  The stance you'll want to use is one that is modified for MMA.  You should have a slightly turned stance, with your rear leg rotated about 30 degrees away from your lead leg.  Your chin should remain tucked with your shoulders raised, and your hands should be level with your chin and slightly wider than your face.

All striking emphasizes rotation in order to generate power, and Muay Thai is no different.  You'll need to torque your body and utilize your hips to have any serious power.  Throwing an elbow, for example, is a lot like throwing a hook.  You'll want to plant, begin rotation at your foot, and then allow it to continue throughout your body, ending with your elbow snapping forward.  Most of the power is generated from your hips, specifically your glutes and quads.

The knee, however, is a pretty unique strike.  It still requires a good amount of rotation, but it's thrown differently than a kick, and most of the power goes into driving the knee upward instead of swinging it around.  Be sure not to bend your torso forward when you're throwing knees - a lot of inexperienced people do this and it really does nothing for you except bring your face closer to your opponent.  Try to keep your gravity centered between your outstretched knee and your planted foot.  Always make sure to rotate your hips so that your knees are coming in angles because you'll sacrifice a significant amount of power otherwise and it will also be easier to take you down due to lack of balance.

Getting airborne and utilizing a flying knee can increase power, but is a gamble and not something I'd suggest you do.  This makes it very easy for an experienced greco-roman wrestler to take you down, especially if he sees it coming.  When you're learning how to integrate Muay Thai into MMA, you should avoid throwing flying knees.

Ultimate MMA Strength & Conditioning

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about improving your conditioning for MMA.  This applies to Muay Thai as well, and it will help you generate more power in your strikes, will improve your chin, and will teach you proper training techniques.

I described the proper technique to utilize when throwing Muay Thai elbows and knees, but I didn't describe the best scenarios in which to use them and how to use them in combinations, so I'll do that here.

The elbows are the easiest Muay Thai tools to use in MMA because of their ease of use and lack of risk. You don't run any more risk from using an elbow than you do from throwing a punch, other than the fact that you have to close the distance. In order to integrate elbows into your striking, you should use them at the end of combos while your opponent is stunned or you've managed to get in close. They can be used to replace the left hook (orthodox stance) or upper cuts. The 1-2-3 can be modified to include an elbow instead of a hook, for example. You can also modify the 1-2-3-6 ( 6 = right upper cut) and use an elbow instead of an upper cut.

Your elbows should also be used to block incoming strikes. In MMA, the smaller gloves make it hard to block strikes with your hands or forearms, so you can increase your defense by ducking your head down and raising your elbows to either side in order to block strikes. Be wary, however, of the upper cut if you do this.

Your knees, like I said, should only be used if you are comfortable using them. Otherwise you'll just lose your balance and end up being taken down or throwing ineffective knees. Knees should be used as a supplement to punches when you're in close or on their own to devastating effect. Your Muay Thai knees should have only slightly less range than your cross, and will be able to cause considerable damage to your opponent's core, reducing his conditioning.

Another great Muay Thai technique that you can use in MMA is the double collar tie. Some people refer to this as the Thai plumb, but the double collar tie is the correct name. When you seek to wrap your hands around someone's neck, you should intertwine your hands loosely and utilize your forearms to control your opponent's neck. The angle you make with your forearms will make it very difficult to pull the head back, especially if you continue to pressure it with your shoulders. When you have someone in the double collar tie, you should throw plenty of knees to the body and the head. It will be harder for your opponent to take you down from this position, so you can put more "jump" into your strikes in order to reach the face. If you get an inexperienced figther in this move, then there's a good chance that the fight will be over very quickly.

You can also utilize your elbows and knees on the ground (not a part of Muay Thai.)  I'm not going to get into the specifics of technique for these, but short elbows are especially useful if you're in full guard, half guard, or side control, but they lose their effectiveness in full mount or postured up half guard.  This is due to the increase distance from which you have to strike and the angle of your body, which makes it more difficult to generate good power in your elbows.

In American MMA, you are not allowed to throw knees to the head of a downed opponent.  With that in mind, you can still throw them into the body.  The knees are especially effective when in side control or when your opponent is turtled up.  If you've seen GSP-Serra II, then you know how effective knees can be.

Increasing the power in your elbows and knees is part technique and part strength and conditioning.  If you want to increase the power of your hips and core, you will want to focus on power lifts that strengthen these parts of your body.  Some of the ones that come to mind are the power clean, jump squats, and deadlifts.  All of these will increase the explosive power of your strikes and will allow you to deal the most damage.  Increased flexibility and balance will also allow you to rotate your body further, generating more power with each strike.  You should focus on building up both of these if you want to get into the cage and be taken seriously.