The temple is the side of the head, on both sides. Hooks reach it in every style, head kicks in kickboxing and Muay Thai, and elbows in Muay Thai.
Tap any strike on this page to hear FightFlow call itSee also:
Jaw shotQuick answer
Orthodox opponent, facing you
The side of the head, on both sides
Your stance
Orthodox: left foot forward, the usual stance for right-handers. Southpaw is the mirror.
Your style
Their right temple, on your left
Their left temple, on your right
Tap a strike to hear the call exactly as FightFlow says it in a round.
The temple sits behind the glove on the same side, so the shots that reach it come round the guard or land when the glove has moved.
A high guard covers both temples with the gloves and forearms. It opens when a glove moves somewhere else.
Each exchange is shown for orthodox against orthodox. In the app the calls follow your stance, so as a southpaw you drill the mirror image, aimed at the other side. Tap Hear it and FightFlow calls it three times, at the pace it uses in a round, so you can shadowbox it.
Target
Temple shots
Their right glove guards their right temple.
You
Jab, then slip outside their right hand.
They
They answer with a right hand and bring it home low.
Opens
Their right temple.
Finish
Lead hook to the head.
If their right glove comes back low after the cross, your lead hook has a clear path to their right temple.
In the app: Jab, slip lead, lead hook
Open in FightFlowTheir left glove guards their left temple.
You
Slip outside the jab.
They
They jab and bring the left hand back low and slow.
Opens
Their left temple.
Finish
Rear hook over the top of the jab.
A lazy return of the jab leaves their left temple open to your rear hook.
In the app: Slip rear, rear hook
Open in FightFlowKick the body until the guard follows.
You
Lead roundhouse to the body.
They
They drop their right elbow to block the kick to the body.
Opens
Their right temple.
Finish
Lead head kick to the same side.
Kick the body until the elbow comes down to meet it, then send the same kick high to the temple it left.
In the app: Lead roundhouse, lead head kick
Open in FightFlowKick low until they react low.
You
Rear low kick.
They
They drop their hands and eyes to deal with the leg.
Opens
Their left temple.
Finish
Rear head kick, same leg, to the side of the head.
Once they start reacting low, the same kick comes back high to the side they stopped guarding.
In the app: Rear low kick, rear head kick
Open in FightFlowInside their reach, the elbow fits.
You
Jab to meet them.
They
They walk through the jab and close the distance, gloves in front of the face.
Opens
Their right temple.
Finish
Horizontal elbow around the guard to the side of the head.
Chest to chest there is no room for a kick or a long punch. A short elbow still fits around the glove to the side of the head.
In the app: Jab, horizontal elbow
Open in FightFlowTrain it in FightFlow
Every exchange above opens straight into FightFlow's Combo Builder, and FightFlow calls it out loud during your rounds in the same voice. 10 free training minutes a day.
“Strikes to the temple are illegal.”
Adult boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai rules all allow strikes to the side of the head. What they ban is hitting the back of the head and the back of the neck.[6,7,8]
“The temple is the weakest point of the skull.”
The bone at the temple is among the thinnest in the skull, but thinnest is not the same as weakest. A few lab tests on donated human heads compared the side of the skull with the front and did not find that the side breaks more easily. There is still too little data to rank skull areas by strength, and a blow to the side can hurt the brain without breaking the bone.[9,10,11,12,13]
If you or your partner might be concussed, stop at once, even if you feel fine, and get checked by a doctor within 24 hours. Do not train or spar again until a doctor who knows concussion has cleared you, and never spar or compete with any symptom.
Call your local emergency number (999 UK, 112 EU, 911 US) or go to an emergency department straight away if, after a blow, the person:
If a neck injury is possible, do not move them; wait for trained help. For the first 24 hours, do not leave them alone and they should not drive. No alcohol for 24 hours, or for as long as symptoms last.[14,15,16,17,18]
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you think you are hurt, see a doctor. Where your gym or governing body has stricter rules, follow them.
The medical and rules statements on this page come only from medical references, peer-reviewed studies and official rule books, each checked against the source text. Fight technique is our own. Last checked October 12, 2026.