Khao Trong
เข่าตรง
Literally: straight knee
Straight knee strike from Thai boxing, thrown most often in the clinch to the opponent's body or head.
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Khao trong (เข่าตรง), literally straight knee, is a straight knee strike from Thai boxing. Lion Heart Academy lists it among the knee strikes (khao) under the English name straight knee. It is thrown in the clinch to the opponent's body or head. Muay thai distinguishes eight basic knee strikes: straight, diagonal, curving, horizontal, slapping, the "bomb", flying, and chopping; they are used most often in the clinch. Khao trong is their straight form and differs, for instance, from khao loi, a flying knee strike with a forward jump. According to a source, in historical muay boran knee strikes were used less often than today, because they risked cutting injuries from the opponent's bound hands. In competition, a general rule applies that a strike does not score if the opponent blocks it with a glove, forearm, shin, or leg. We have not been able to document who named the straight knee as a technique in its own right.