5 Things That Make Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson So Good w/ Tips To Improve

Here is the twelfth episode of my new series where we focus on the best fighter's unique skills and what training drills can be used to improve attributes they have and everyone else wants.
Please share, like and/or subscribe if you enjoyed the video 🙏 🙏
Episode 12 is focusing on Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson
Chapters:
0:00​ Introduction
1:52 Footwork
5:03 Side Kick
7:16 Step Through Cross
9:31 Counters
12:31 Karate Springing Attack
The previous episodes:
Episode 1 McGregor: • 5 Things That Make Con...
Episode 2 Canelo: • 5 Things That Make Can...
Episode 3 Buakaw: • 5 Things That Make Bua...
Episode 4 Rodtang: • 5 Things That Make Rod...
Episode 5 Petrosyan: • 5 Things That Make Gio...
Episode 6 Adesanya: • 5 Things That Make Isr...
Episode 7 Holzken: • 5 Things That Make Nie...
Episode 8 Dekkers: • 5 Things That Made Ram...
Episode 9 Namajunas: • 5 Things That Make Ros...
Episode 10 Doumbé: • 5 Things That Make Céd...
Episode 11 Diaz: • 5 Things That Make Nat...
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[@firstnamelastname3473]

Wonderboy's the type of guy to rupture your liver with a spinning back kick, and then drive you to the hospital afterwards

[@theboltthrower8661]

Wonderboy type of guy jokes are funnier than Tony Ferguson`s type of guy... ones

[@buckets3628]

and pay for the medical bill

[@firstnamelastname3473]

@@theboltthrower8661 " Hold on I'm dyin' brotha." - tony jokes 2021

[@theboltthrower8661]

@WIKIPEDIA 😂👍

[@Ninjacob00]

@WIKIPEDIA Tony the type of guy to rupture your liver and ask you “what happened?”

[@dmanzawsome]

I hope this "boy" gets a chance at usman. Hes getting old but he is still on fire so lets give him a chance to become champion.

[@Devilmanlover]

One of the best strikers in UFC

[@oliverwatson311]

THE

[@krypticzisback]

Gilbert Starches him!

[@oliverwatson311]

@@krypticzisback he’s never seen iq like wonderboy

[@Jan7th]

The*

[@LuCa8_]

@I made this to leave comments I mean he’s not that chinny he’s not known for his chin but all the guys that have ko’ed him never rlly knocked him out clean and they were elite strikers

[@Theone.fitness]

Vouching for him against Burns.

[@zMxsh]

thought you was gonna start with a what's up everybody since its a wonderboy ep lol

[@JRF1004]

What makes Max Holloway so good?

[@isaacmendes1926]

Cardio volume and punching techniques adapted to fulfill his style, that and he's decent in everything else, the guy's all rounded

[@buckets3628]

needed

[@borat1191]

Clean straight punches, many of them. It isn't that unique, the volume is what is insane about him. Also surprisingly good chin.

[@Hempujonsito]

His noggin is made of actual concrete Try to implement his style without having a granite chin and you'll get stopped in the 2nd

[@ives3572]

Stephen Wonderboy Thompson's ability to fluidly switch stances to set up his attacks, his smooth footwork wherein he cuts angles to also set up his attacks, his distance management, his striking fluidity and accuracy, his speed, and how well he throws his side kick are what I love about his fight style. I really hope he beats Gilbert Durinho Burns to earn another title shot.

[@karateka2079]

He unfortunately fell victim to the lay and pray

[@dmanzawsome]

tbh thompson is so skilled I dont feel confident attempting his strategies.

[@justsomebird4285]

Try them anyway in sparring and see how you fair. You could surprise yourself. Probably won’t be able to fight exactly like him but maybe if you can randomly turn on the wonderboy switch to switch up your style it could confuse some people.

[@gickygackers]

Before you can try his strategies, see what it takes to get to his physical level. Check out his warmups, very important to perform

[@lalchungnungaralte9104]

REPETITION Just think abut it, he was probably sloppy at first. Almost everyone is. He's been doing it for a long time. And he wasn't always like this. Just look at his videos of him reacting to old fights, he's not the same guy as he said so himself.

[@bryanwcksn]

This style works better in the octagon. There's a lot more room to move. Smaller gloves also make single punches more devastating and able slid thru guards.

[@jotapedonoso4696]

Ironically, karate is so popular, yet wonderboy is such a unique fighter.

[@joshuabrant3487]

Because lots of people who do karate can't fight. Nothing wrong with doing it for fun or fitness, tradition etc but its the truth.

[@RonioFOX]

​@@joshuabrant3487funny thing is that great karate fighters tested skills in illegal street fights or against other martial artists, today they exist in a vacuum. Same with taekwondo and other so called traditional martial arts.

[@lobohez7222]

My fav fighter, watching his channel, 2nd to none

[@indigotheindieghost7214]

I think a comparison between Wonderboy, Machida, and optionally Felder's karate styles would be cool

[@henrikalm3497]

Love it!!! Pls do Max Holloway next also

[@LuisJimenez-pb3ge]

This^^^

[@bigpp4250]

do tenshin nasukawa

[@cyder534]

These are my favourite combat sport series. Kyshenko and Masato pleaseeeeeeee.

[@thepolticalone961]

He needs the ridge hand

[@chrispoggi1726]

Been waiting for this one! Thanks Gabe.

[@blakerunyon8523]

Thank you so much champ! Appreciate all you do for us!

[@kristijanapostolovski7271]

mad respect for this man

[@river4837]

Affective Karate that's why I loved watching Lyoto Machida fights. I loved how he would frustrate the brawlers.

[@jhgfjjghjf4297]

Great vid as always Gabe

[@AntonAdelson]

Goddamnit this is a FREE masterclass!! Thank you!!

[@balarammma1598]

Amazing how you’re pumping out such quality content. I’d like to see a video about how to time low kicks. Timing for when they won’t check and beat timing for trying to sweep/off balance them.

[@fn3205]

I've just found this series. FANTASTIC!!!

[@alexandergustavsson9076]

Loved this video, really enjoy all of your content Gabriel! Would love to hear your thoughts on UFC´s Cory Sandhagen.

[@ChankoFitness]

you are such a true technician and excellent teacher. you are revolutionizing combat sports with your videos. so glad i found your channel!

[@zenthegeneral]

Lyoto Machida and GSP are also great examples of karate beginning MMA fighters, but Wonderboy really is the poster boy for karate adapted for MMA Part of it is the inherent usefulness of the art, but another is just his body and how it is capable of performing those specific karate moves. That leg and hip flexibility is nuts

[@wergar_the_warwolf6834]

WB took karate to the extreme whereas Lyoto and GSP used Karate principles for MMA IS probly the best way to put it

[@codycushman2738]

Awesome content

[@antoniovirgillito4126]

Can’t stress this enough. Best martial arts channel on KZbin.

[@xxxag1768]

Your channel is one of the best

[@siberiantiger1975]

Big thx Coach 🙏🙂

[@ryozakisan2898]

Great episode

[@buckets3628]

great video

[@ashercubid9848]

I think Wonderboy has a video with icy mike where he talks about using that step through cross to set up his side kick. You can see the position in the clip you use.

[@victoriasecret101ful]

This series is great man

[@dragostoma9033]

This and the Isreal Adesanya video are one of my favorite, i love trying to learn from those styles

[@JadonHan]

lets go, the man is so talented

[@stephanecharv889]

Very inreresting, I'm a former Karate Champ and I do MMA now and you are abslutly right !

[@indexlibrotorium1217]

Good video.

[@whitewh1]

Very useful and balanced. Thank you! Also, the step-through cross is used in any number of karate forms.

[@brsmulyan]

You both have great channels...would be great to see you two do some collab work and spar!

[@khuraym2511]

Top video easily one of the best strikers in MMA

[@jordhanrobinson422]

Great videos! I would like your take on some of Muay Thai's best kickers, Samkor Kiatmontep, Yodsanklai etc Also my favourite kickboxer of all time Gokhan Saki would be awesome. Keep up the good work 👊

[@bencemesaros5665]

Great video! Could you do this type of video about Superbon Banchamek?

[@xlsekolyx1435]

Hey Gabriel, really big fan of your videos here! I have trouble relaxing in sparring, especially when my partner is pressuring me I always start to panic and end up eating a lot of shots. I'm not even talking about hard sparring but I always just shell up when my partner comes with a combo, even more so if he counters me with a combination.Could you make a video on how to improve that sort of performance under pressure or how to learn to counter or escape in those situations? It would be much appreciated!

[@kasramma4875]

Love your videos champ, ur a real one. Can you make a Justin Gaethje one, I feel like hes a completely different fighter since eye surgery. I recently rewatched his fights with cerrone and tferg and they were masterpieces in terms of footwork and headmovement.

[@ChocolateMilkCultLeader]

This is a good crossover

[@kylejeffers4761]

1.) cutting angles 2.) side kick 3.) step through cross 4.) counter speed 5.) explosive movements in and out of range

[@lettucetomatoonion]

Geeked out when I saw this ty, Gabriel. Can you a video on Chuck Liddell? Maybe expose some old school tactics that might get exposed with today's level of MMA

[@95DOIDO]

nice video as always gabriel, you should do one about dany bill, an oldschool muay thai fighter from cameroon, he was outstanding.

[@danielsales4902]

LETS GOOOO

[@ElDrHouse2010]

speed, skills, switching of stances, his side kick, his boxing & side movement. basically years of experience.

[@Brucelee-pv6uf]

Wonderboy is my life 😫 he is my hero as a black belt and having the same dream like him to be Ufc champion 💔

[@AroundElvesWatchUrselves96]

His sidekicks

[@PAPALAMRecordings]

Thanks for your video. I have some ideas to share. I really think that the potential of side stance is tremendously underutilized in full contact striking these days. The first reason is sidekicks. If executed correctly, they are really destructive in a wide range of distances compared to front kicks. Also, long range side kicks are fight finishing force, They are also much harder to catch than front or roundhouse kicks ( I'm a Sanda practitioner, so catching kicks is our bread and butter). The second reason is defense. Standing sideways you are staying away, basically, outside of boxing or roundhouse kick techniques. Also you leave much smaller targets to hit. The only concern are those leg kicks, but again, side kicks are way longer weapon. Also, consider boxing, the best defensive stance is arguably Philly shell, which is again a sideway stance. It works well either at long distance or in really close quarters. Also it works as a counter attack style stance really great. Third, spinning techniques. The spinning shit is pretty ridiculous sometimes in terms of damage it can inflict and also in terms of sneakiness of the techniques themselves. Standing sideways hides those spinning shit moves crazy effectively. In and out movement. Much easier to perform in that stance. Wrestling defense. You should really learn single leg take down defense. Those moves can be countered. So yeah, that's about it. We just have to work on all of that stuff combined into some sort of system of moves, that are destructive, well hidden, and elusive. that's all what left. Thanks for reading😊

[@VGEmblem]

Good post. Thank you

[@markmessi9020]

Bet. You sanda guys are incredible fighters

[@jstorey6226]

One of things I teach in tkd sparring stepping to a 45 degree angle and striking

[@nedyalkopetkov777]

Thank you for sharing your experience.Have you heard of Franky "Flash" Pawlak(champion from Poland), what do you think of him? Greetings from Bulgaria!

[@ruiigrit]

Also that step through cross looks like a good position to throw a sidekick if necessary

[@leveentefe]

Can you make a video about that how we can contact with promotions like Glory or etc and sign with them.

[@temetyly]

He also has a great KZbin channel where he's gone over some technique and drills, for anyone interested 🙌🏿 Yet another great vid Gabriel 😤

[@blakedove2263]

I’m really interested in you breaking down Max Holloway

[@sulaiman4111]

Can you do a guide for southpaws, please?

[@jacopodainotto4084]

Hello Gabriel! I truly love the series. I would suggest you cover Ricardo "finito" Lopez's techniques. Do you think Ricardo's style could be adapted to kickboxing?

[@blackhoodie4170]

yes definetily, his boxing is simply perfected fundamentals.

[@johnbrennan8611]

WB's tendency to throw a cross then a jab has caught out quite a few of him opponents as well. He also has talked about using that cross to jab to then setup the lead leg roundhouse & we all remember what that did to Stittgen lol.

[@tin1131]

I think what makes fighters like Wonderboy, Robert Whittaker, and Lyoto Machida (And maybe MVP and Uriah Hall) different from other traditional martial artists is that they use their Karate movement and footwork to box effectively, counter, and land accurate punches from advantageous angles. Fighters like Raymond Daniels and Anthony Pettis, who by all means are great fighters and world champions, focus on their kick variety when it comes to utilizing their backgrounds.

[@AliHassan-hv1jp]

Please do a video about how to transfer weight to punch harder

[@xxxag1768]

You got a video for making angles as you strike?

[@grylaholt8532]

Tenshin Nasukawa

[@ShortAndFormal]

Also do Raymond Daniels!!!!

[@alexandrobravo8724]

How about doing tawachai from one fc

[@treadstoned9915]

Yo champ can you do one of these on Valentina Schevchenko?

[@sebastianquintana5412]

Things i learned from this vid: A bunch of cool techniques Wonderboy fought bobby knuckles

[@thejapanarchocommunist]

Collaboration with Wonderboy on his KZbin channel when?

[@goronsaki2174]

Do one on Takeru

[@Andrew-um6zv]

The next is possible Tawanchai??? Thank you Awesome channel

[@blankomega6487]

I hope y'all collab

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Name someone else you'd like me to cover in this series. If I get over 10 people naming the same fighter I add them to my list 🙏

[@fighteronly2957]

Do tenshin nasukawa

[@theoliboliboyetv8052]

Yes! Do tenshin pls

[@theolcanoshow8387]

Tenshin

[@firstnamelastname3473]

Bob Sapp

[@bigsucc2929]

Evander Holyfield

[@terabhaiseedhemaut]

Hey Gabriel, Could You Do Khabib Next!?

[@danielthefreeman8150]

watch shane from figth tips he teaches pretty good side kick

[@humzermuneer6030]

Damn u fight like baki in you intro

[@nemesis8764]

at the time of me watching this 708 likes and 0 dislikes! strong :)

[@joaoboechat7637]

What about the distance?

[@WAHB50YY]

My first martial art was karate, but when I use side kicks, it comes from my Savate background, and in Savate we don’t need to be in a side stance to throw a snappy lead leg side kick at all levels, we mainly use the side leg kick, but I do like to throw snappy lead side kicks to the face!! They are sneaky, fast and effective to stop someone when they attack. Here’s a video where I train on it in my yard instagram.com/reel/COlz9K0ntio/?

[@Kibira87]

TENSHINNNNN NASUKAWAAAAA

[@bigpp4250]

do tenshin nasukawado tenshin nasukawa

[@brandonasuncion]

Imagine Varga and Thompson in a technical sparring match. 🤯

[@sankalpX10]

Do KZbin Collab love both of your channels ❤️

[@bigpp4250]

Tenshin

[@aidanobrien6753]

U should do Robert Whittaker next

[@damithjay1222]

Gilbert burns might be watching this

[@lordnutman]

sean omalley next?

[@TheRandomizedHuman]

That paper thing is in a Michael jai white movie 😂👍

[@letsgojake.4078]

NMF

[@ShortAndFormal]

COLLAAAAB VIDEOOOOO

[@shankshernandez2348]

ok alright gabriel varga i give up no i do i have my two options of combat sports i want to learn which you know option 1 sanda,kyokushin karate,taekwondo itf,muay thai,combat sambo,bjj,boxing, option 2 sanda,muay thai,savate,dutch kickboxing,american kickboxing,combat sambo,bjj,boxing and i assure you these combat sports are the best of all time and used and practiced more in ufc/mma so please tell which do you agree

[@vittocrazi]

those are more than 2 options. and very redundant, i think

[@shankshernandez2348]

@@vittocrazi but which do you think i should chose im 21 and i still got time but which option should i go for i mean these are the best combat sports of all time used and practiced more in ufc/mma

[@shankshernandez2348]

@@vittocrazi so tell me which one do you think i should chose

[@shankshernandez2348]

@Vlad Flutur so option 1 sanda,kyokushin karate,taekwondo itf,muay thai,combat sambo,bjj,boxing also im 21 and i know i don't need black belt in bjj in order to compete in ufc/mma just good knowledge in grappling right because karate and taekwondo take 5 years to eran a black belt will as bjj 10 you get me right vlad

[@shankshernandez2348]

@Vlad Flutur i know so look im fiest gonna start as a boxer then when i get the hang of it then kickboxer and last mma will come to me easy also on last thing difference between mma fighter and martial artist are they the same yes or no and ps thanks for agreeing with on option 1 sanda,kyokushin karate,taekwondo itf,muay thai,combat sambo,bjj,boxing..

[@Kidthunder135]

Can we do, why Floyd mayweather is so good?

[@zainzaroon6360]

Max holloway

[@ertizakazi7633]

Imo the 2nd best striker in the ufc only beaten by izzy

[@cletusgadsden2969]

Does his style conserve energy?

[@chefxhyrule242]

Yes but only when he’s hands down waiting for a counter his bouncy constantly moving part of his style no unless you have the cardio to keep up with it

[@stephanecharv889]

and its footwork avoid him to go too quickly on the ground for JJB fights too