The simplest Muay Thai knee drill for beginners is a walking knee drill. Start in fighting stance, hands high, and throw knee after knee as you walk forward — pushing your hips forward, pulling the head down, and pointing your toes down on every rep. That's it. Four things at once. That's the whole drill.
Sounds easy. It's not.
Beginners usually screw up one of the four cues. They'll remember the toes. They'll forget the hip push. Or they'll get the hips right but forget to pull the imaginary head down. The whole point of walking the drill is that you can't think about any one piece — you just rep it until all four things start happening together.
Here's how Master Toddy sets it up in the Muay Thai Bible. Fighting stance. Hands up where your face is. Knee, knee, knee — all the way across the mat. Then turn around and come back. No bag, no partner, no pad. Just you and the movement.
Why no target? Because when beginners put a bag in front of them, they start cheating for power. They lean back. They drop their hands. They reach with the knee instead of driving the hip. Take the target away and the body is forced to learn the shape first.
The four things you're burning in:
Hips forward. Head pulled down (picture your hands on the back of a neck). Toes pointed down. Hands protecting your face.
Do it for three minutes. Rest. Do it again. After a week of this you'll never throw a flat-footed knee again.
For the big picture on knees and every other strike, see our Muay Thai techniques overview. And if you want to work through the whole Bible, grab The Ultimate Muay Thai Training System.