Muay Thai: หมัดเหวี่ยงยาว Mat wiang yao (“long swinging punch”)
Also called Overhand right, Overhand left (southpaw), Overcut, Drop
The overhand is a looping rear-hand punch that arcs over the opponent's lead hand or jab and drops onto the head from above. Dropping your body weight into it makes it one of the heaviest punches there is, and it catches opponents who jab lazily, drop the lead hand or slip to the outside. The long arc also makes it slower and easier to see, so it needs a setup.
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How to do it
Start: At jab range or just inside, usually as the opponent jabs or right after you have drawn their lead hand low. Rear hand on your cheek, ready to move your head off the centre line as you throw.
- 1Step your lead foot slightly forward and to the outside, moving your head off the centre line.
- 2Drive off the rear foot and start turning the hips.
- 3Lift the rear elbow so it travels above the fist, and bring the fist up and over like throwing a ball.
- 4Drop your body weight forward and down into the punch as it lands on the side of the head, knuckles first.
- 5Keep the lead hand at your face the whole time.
- 6Roll out under the return punch or recover to your stance; don't stay square in front of them.
- Over the jab, not around it.
- Head moves first, then the punch.
- Elbow above the fist.
- Let your weight drop into it.
- Throwing it with no setup. Fix: hide it behind a jab, a feint or a slip.
- Overcommitting and falling forward on a miss. Fix: keep your weight over the front foot and roll out.
- Dropping the lead hand as you throw. Fix: keep the lead glove on your face; a counter hook is waiting.
- Looping it wide like a swing. Fix: keep the elbow above the fist so it comes over the top, not around the side.
- Landing behind the ear. Fix: aim for the jaw and temple; blows behind the ear or on the back of the head are fouls.
Safety: Keep partner drills slow: the looping path is hard to control and lands on the side of the head. Learn it on pads before using it in sparring.
When to use it
- As a counter over a lazy or low jab.
- When the opponent drops the lead hand or slips to the outside.
- Against a shorter opponent who ducks or bobs.
- In MMA, after a takedown feint has brought the opponent's hands low.
- Jab to occupy the eyes, then loop the overhand over the guard.
- Feint the jab, or feint a jab to the body, and throw the overhand as they react.
- Roll under their hook and come up with the overhand.
- In MMA, fake a level change as if shooting a takedown, then throw it.
- Lead hook as you come out of the roll
- Lead hook or shovel hook to the body (the overhand loads your lead side)
- Clinch or angle out
- A straight punch down the middle lands first because the overhand's arc is longer.
- Ducking under it and countering with a lead hook to the body.
- In MMA, a level change underneath it into a takedown.
- Raise the lead glove high beside your head and tuck the chin, like answering a phone.
- Duck or slip to the outside and counter with a lead hook to the body.
- Lean or step back just enough for it to miss, then counter the side it leaves open.
The physics
The overhand is a rear-hand punch that travels over the opponent's lead arm on a looping, downward arc. It borrows its power from the same leg drive and hip turn as the cross, plus a sideways bend of the trunk: as you drive off the rear foot, tip your upper body toward your lead side so the rear shoulder rolls over the top and the fist drops onto the head from above the guard.
That bend moves your head off the centre line at the same moment, which is why the overhand often lands as a counter over a jab. The long, curved path gives the fist time to build speed but takes longer to arrive and is easier to see, so it needs a set-up or a well-timed read. It fails on balance: if the bend carries your head past your lead knee, your centre of mass moves to the edge of your base and a miss sends you stumbling forward into a counter.
- Myth: the overhand is a wild haymaker. A good one keeps a tight arc from the rear shoulder, moves the head off the line as it is thrown, and keeps the base under the body.
Masters and famous moments
After battering Layne for five rounds, Marciano landed an overhand right on the chin in the sixth; after a delayed reaction Layne fell face first and was counted out.
Khan's speed won the early rounds, but in the sixth Canelo used jab feints to get Khan's hands moving and his guard low, then landed an overhand right that knocked him unconscious.
With a cut threatening a stoppage, the southpaw Hagler drove Hearns to the ropes with an overhand left, followed with a right hook and a right hand, and Hearns could not continue after beating the count.
As Bisping circled toward Henderson's right hand, Henderson landed an overhand right on the jaw and became the first man to knock Bisping out.
Across the arts
The usual version: an orthodox fighter's right hand looping over the opponent's jab or lead hand.
The mirror version: a southpaw's rear left looping over an orthodox opponent's lead hand. Marvin Hagler started his finish of Thomas Hearns in 1985 with one.
Thrown with the lead hand on a downward arc; less common, usually a surprise against an opponent who ducks.
A staple in MMA: a fake level change lowers the opponent's hands and the overhand lands over the top. Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping with an overhand right at UFC 100.
Muay Thai's "long swinging punch" covers the overhand and the haymaker.
History
The overhand, also called the overcut or drop, is built to go over the opponent's lead hand or jab, and a well-set overhand is a classic counter. Rocky Marciano, known for a right hand nicknamed the Susie Q, knocked out Rex Layne in 1951 with an overhand right to the chin. In MMA it became a signature weapon of fighters such as Dan Henderson, who used it to knock out Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009. Muay Thai calls it the long swinging punch, mat wiang yao.
In the rules
Drills
Your partner jabs slowly at your face with one mitt; slip to the outside and land an overhand on the mitt they hold high on the other hand. Three rounds, then switch stance.
Stretch a rope or towel across the ring at shoulder height. Shadowbox along it: jab, roll under the rope, come up with the overhand, roll back. Three rounds.
On the heavy bag, throw jab-overhand at half power for a round, checking that your head moves off the line and the lead hand stays up. Add speed in rounds two and three.
Legends known for it
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