Sok
ศอก
Literally: elbow
Also known as: Sawk
Thai word for the elbow and for the whole family of elbow strikes considered the most dangerous attack in muay thai.
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Sok (ศอก) is the general Thai word for the elbow, and in muay thai and muay boran it denotes the whole family of elbow strikes. These include the horizontal, diagonal upward and downward, upward, downward, spinning back, and flying elbow strikes. Lion Heart Academy lists the named variants sawk dtad, sawk dtee, and sawk gnad, and groups sok together with khao and teep among the striking weapons. The elbow comes into play mainly when the distance between opponents shrinks so much that there is no room left for a hook. A distinction is made between a standalone elbow strike and a follow-up strike that comes after a punch. The diagonal strikes are faster but less powerful than the other variants. In muay thai, the elbow strike is considered the most dangerous attack in the whole sport because it can cause serious injury, including bleeding. Under the general scoring rule, an elbow strike does not score if the opponent blocks it with a glove, forearm, shin, or leg.