Tae Tua

This movement is primarily used in the movements:

• Ngut Kaeng
• Yat Kao
• Chat

It can also be found it variations of Wiang Kaeng, and other techniques.

Principles

The main point of this movement is to move weight and power from your upper body, out through your legs - shins, knees and feet - depending on the technique. Although the way that you project the transferred power for each usage (Ngut Kaeng, Yat Kao, Chat) is different, the underlying movement remains the same.

Execution

You should practice this movement without your arms, so either bring your hands in front of you in the Thai Wai position (arms close to your body), or hold your hands behind your back.

1. Start by moving the head and torso backwards.
2. Raise one on your legs at the same angle and speed as your upper body, pivoting at the hips.
3. Stop when your leg reaches a comfortable height.
4. Return both you torso and leg to the starting position.

The whole point of this is to get a feel for how the weight and power is projected from the upper body to the bottom. Working slowly first is always best, and once you start getting the feel for the motion and weight, then you can start doing the movement more quickly, trying to increase the amount of power generated from the upper body.

Practice

There are a number of ways to practice this movement, including Ngut Kaeng, which is one of the easiest applications of the movement, especially with limited space. Another nice form of practice is doing a small Yat Khao, walking forward, keeping the body rock small and tight, and only raising the knee a little bit. This is a good way of practicing in your spare moments, when you are waiting for some one, or have some time on your hands (although you may draw some curious looks!).