The Hidden Power Of Body Shots: Why They Win Fights

Head shots lead to some of the most amazing finishes in combat sports such as Boxing, Muay Thai, or Mixed Martial Arts, but body shots accomplish the same goal in a subtler way. A well-executed strike to the body can humble anyone, regardless of how tough they are.

Body shots often don’t lead to memorable finishing techniques like how a spinning heel kick to the head brings, but that doesn’t diminish their effectiveness. Think of body shots like the quiet coworker who does all the groundwork before the big project gets the spotlight. What many spectators fail to realize is that it’s often strikes to the body that create openings for finishes with head strikes.

This article will explore why targeting the ribs, liver, and midsection is an intelligent approach to fighting.

The Science Of Ouch: Why Body Shots Work

While many fighters love to go head hunting during fights, the human body is packed with nerve endings, organs, and muscles that scream “abort mission!” when hit. Unlike the skull (which is basically a biological helmet), the torso is a soft, making it more vulnerable.

A strike to the body doesn’t just deliver surface-level damage, it disrupts breathing and exhausts muscles. It can even trigger a visceral shutdown of major body functions if you land on a sweet spot like the liver or sternum.

The best part is that body shots are effective on everyone, regardless of how tough they think they are. Most fighters don’t throw enough body shots, but that works in your favor since most fighters aren’t as experienced defending against body shots either.

1) Liver Shots: The Silent Fight-Ender

A hard strike to the liver is one of the surest ways to bring anyone to their knees. Your liver is that squishy organ on the right side of your rib cage that filters your blood and removes toxins. Hit it hard and you’ll turn anyone into a whimpering pretzel.

That’s because the liver is loaded with sensory nerves that are connected to the vagus nerve, which regulates heart rate and blood pressure. Attack the liver, and your opponent’s body becomes temporarily paralyzed.

To land a liver strike:

• Target: Aim at the right side of your opponent’s torso, just below the ribcage. Orthodox fighters should consider switching to a southpaw stance so they can target the liver with their rear (more powerful) side. Southpaw fighters are naturally in a position to land liver strikes, which is why lefties are responsible for a large chunk of the most amazing body shot finishes in combat sports history.
• Setup: Throw jabs and other strikes to the head to get opponents to raise their guard so you can drive a hook, roundhouse kick, or uppercut into their liver.

Muay Thai fighters often dig their toes into their opponent’s body when targeting the liver, making the strike more devastating.

2) Rib Shots: Breaking Down The Armor

Your ribs serve as a biological armor that protects your sensitive internal organs like your heart, kidneys, and liver. Any impact to the rib and your opponent will have difficulty breathing. Repeatedly targeting the body can cause fatigue to the intercostal muscles—the muscles between your rib bones.

How to land rib strikes:

• Target: The floating ribs (the lower, less dense rib bones) and the solar plexus are the most vulnerable parts of the rib cage.
• Weapon Of Choice: Body kicks, shovel hooks, hooks, uppercuts, and knees are some of the best weapons for targeting the ribs.

Angle your strikes while aiming upward so your strikes can slip under your opponent’s elbows. Muay Thai fighters do this to land powerful kicks to the body.

3) Solar Plexus: The Breath-Stealer

The solar plexus is home to a cluster of nerves located right behind your stomach. Target it and you’ll knock the wind out of your opponent as this area regulates the diaphragm, the muscle that controls breathing. It’s virtually impossible to fight well when you can’t even breathe.

To land strikes on the solar plexus:

• Target: Aim for the center of the torso where the rib cage starts.
• Setup: Throw feints or strikes to the head to draw your opponent’s guard high, then blast a straight punch or kick like a front kick.

Making Body Shots Part Of Your Game

Some of the ways to drill body shots until they become part of your muscle memory include:

• Heavy Bag Work: Avoid the trap of only landing strikes at head level when working on heavy bags. Add body strikes to your combinations so you’re constantly working on improving your ability to land them.
• Shadowboxing: Don’t forget to target your imaginary opponent’s body when shadowboxing. Practice blocking their attacks to the body while you’re at it.
• Partner Drills: Find a training partner and alternate one partner targeting the body and the other defending for two-minute rounds.
• Sparring: Sparring is the closest thing you get to competition when training, so don’t forget to practice attacks to the body.

Why Body Shots Win Wars

Body shots soften opponents up while sapping away at their stamina. Targeting the body also opens up end strikes as you force opponents to focus on defending their bodies. Fighting is a high-stakes game of chess, and mixing things up creates openings.

Body shots require you to enter the danger zone where strikes like elbows, knees, and uppercuts live, but the payoff includes potentially ending the fight with one strike or chipping away at opponents’ gas tanks until they have nothing else.

Conclusion

Body shots aren’t glamorous. They won’t make you an overnight TikTok sensation or earn you a cool nickname like “The Headhunter,” but they win fights, break wills, and leave cocky strikers gasping for air on the ground.

Think of body shots as the broccoli of combat sports—nobody’s excited about them, but they’re undeniably good for you. Master them, and you’ll have a weapon that works long after the flashy stuff fizzles out.

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