Kickboxing
Partner Elbow Feed Drill
The partner elbow feed drill uses slow, padded elbow strikes to focus mitts to practice recognizing elbow attacks, coordinating defensive responses, and controlling close-range movement.
- Intermediate
- Compound
- Moderate injury risk
- Rest 45 sec
How to do it
- Face your partner in a staggered stance at close range.
- Raise your hands beside your cheeks.
- Have your partner present a focus mitt within comfortable elbow reach, clear of their head and torso.
- Guide your bent arm slowly along the agreed elbow path toward the mitt.
- Have your partner practice the agreed defensive response with the mitt remaining in the strike path.
- Stop your padded elbow at light contact with the mitt.
- Return to your starting guard before the next repetition.
Form cues
- Keep your free hand up.
- Turn through your hips, not just your shoulder.
- Stay balanced between your feet.
Common mistakes
- Reaching for the targetAdjust your starting distance so you can reach the mitt without leaning forward.
- Chasing a moving mittAbandon the repetition if the target leaves the planned path rather than redirecting your elbow.
- Adding surprise attacksRepeat only the named elbow and defensive response until both partners agree to change the sequence.
Safety
A missed mitt can send an elbow into your partner's face or ribs, causing serious injury even with padding. Excess force can also strain the mitt holder's wrist or shoulder.
- Agree on the elbow path, target, speed, defensive response, and stop signal before starting.
- Both partners should wear securely fitted elbow pads; the receiver should hold focus mitts firmly.
- Keep this a technical, non-sparring drill: never aim an elbow at your partner's head or body.
- Stop immediately for shifting pads, accidental contact, fatigue, or loss of control.
If either partner has shoulder, elbow, or wrist pain, use a no-contact rehearsal and seek advice from a physiotherapist before adding contact.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Combat Elbow Pads
- Focus Mitts
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 6–10 reps per side
- Rest
- 45 sec
Count one completed feed as one rep, and switch feeder and receiver roles after each set.