Pong - Pud - Pid - Perd - Lo Lo - Lop Lik. The last two blocks in the Muay Thai Defence System – Lo Lo and Lop Lik are more dodges than blocks but still quite effective in helping you escape an opponent’s attacks, letting all those strikes land on nothing but air.  

Evade with the Lo Lo

This is basically about being evasive and avoiding your opponent’s attacks. While this sounds like common sense, it takes a lot of practice to get your footwork and body movement coordinated, and that too in time to evade any incoming blow. 

As with other moves in Muay Thai, practice improves the speed with which one’s reflexes respond to inbound attacks. While there is conscious thought involved in each action, executing the move itself is often left to muscle memory. 

Dodge with the Lop Lik

Now where the Lo Lo is all about evasion, the Lop Lik is about dodge. When executed flawlessly, it allows the fighter to effortlessly dodge incoming attacks from different angles against the straight line. This whole system of defence in Muay Thai involving 6 moves presents infinite possibilities, provided one knows when to use what, and that too the proper technique for each.  

These are not random blocks or evasive moves. Each defensive move gets employed in battle depending on the specific situation after analysing a dozen parameters – often all in a split second. One might even choose to use a combination of these defences depending on the series of attacks the opponent comes up with. 

There’s a second defence mechanism in ‘The Art of the Nine Limbs’ and this involves the knees. Read the next post to know all about knee blocks.