Most people drop at least one arm and also leave their head in the same place during the kick, allowing the counters, mainly the cross like 7* said.
Some cage fighters only learn one or two kicks and then always drop the hand(s)
You can safely drop your hand for more power when you have your opponents timing and your range is perfect. People drop their cross to throw the knockout wide-hook all the time. Not always the most defensive technique, but more power.
I agree with oso that a guard should be maintained at all times. Even a weak thai kick can kock people out or sweep a leg.
[QUOTE=Royal Dragon;765198]If the upper body is going one way, and the lower is going the opposite, these opposing directions cancell eachother out and reduce impacting force.
Sure, dropping the arm makes it Feel stronger, because you feel the struggle, but you are not actually Hitting as hard.
This is especially true with a side kick, and the round kick.
Once you learn to keep the upper, and lower body connected (like internal guys do), you really see what I am taling about.[/QUOTE]
ok, my bad…i’ll get back to you when I figure that out…:rolleyes:
[QUOTE=SevenStar;765222]too much momentum. ever notice how after throwing a hard roundhouse and missing, some muay thai guys spin completely around and some stop at 180 and throw a back kick? it is hard as fock to stop a fully committed roundhouse in mid-kick. that said, you can kick hard with less momentum, but it would still be much more powerful with the momentum added.
I do know a couple of guys who teach not to drop the hands tho.[/QUOTE]
i almost always throw the back kick if I’ve committed that far and will often throw a round kick to set up the back kick so I agree with that.
I’ve just never focused on trying to ko w/ a head kick, too risky for me. my legs are actually pretty short for a 5’11’’ guy with an inseam of just 30.5"
In old school TKD they taught to bring the arm back and torque that way, without the arm “swinging” out in a typical MT fashion.
First Seminar I did with Chai back in 89 or 90, can’t remember, I did this and he said, as best as I can remember " good twist and defense, keep up".
I thought that was nice of him after having elbowed me before that while demoing a move.
I did TKD in mid-seventies and we were taught to keep the hands up. We were also taught to kick from a more upright position so we can immediately follow up with the hands. Then again, we also were taught alot of boxing. I guess, in retrospect, my teacher, Yeon Hee Park, was quite an innovator
[QUOTE=TenTigers;765245]I did TKD in mid-seventies and we were taught to keep the hands up. We were also taught to kick from a more upright position so we can immediately follow up with the hands. Then again, we also were taught alot of boxing. I guess, in retrospect, my teacher, Yeon Hee Park, was quite an innovator[/QUOTE]
Where you taught to bing the hands in ( guard still up so you are really bringing the elbow(s) in) and torque the upper body on the side of the kicking leg?
[QUOTE=Oso;765189]to be blunt, that’s just not true. there is power to be had from countertwisting the upper body. it’s much easier to get the power that way then with just waist coiling w/o the upper body helping. you can get power by using great waist/hip coiling and keeping your guard up but it’s not likely to be as great as dropping the hands and counter coiling w/ the upper body. that’s why we see it where we do.
me, I don’t like getting hit in the head…****es me right off, it does. so, I’ll sacrafice a bit of power and inrease my chances of getting ktfo’d[/QUOTE]
instead of swinging the arm downward, swing it outward and level with your face. this way you still get the full effect, plus your arm is in between your opponent and your face.
Savate trains to keep the guard up while kicking. There are times when one hand is thrown for balance on high kicks, in that case I believe it’s more important to be aware of a possible sweep as opposed to an attack at the head. The range at which high kicks are thrown is difficult (but not impossible) for someone to close the gap for a upper level strike.
All in all, I don’t use high kicks much (if at all) and I train to maintain my guard. Just a personal goal.
Think of a sprinter: Maximum power is gernerated by pulling back the arm on the same side as the striding leg. Try sprinting with the same arm/leg forward and see how much power you generate.:rolleyes: That would be unnatural body mechanics.
Now, whilst fighting, you want to keep your guard as tight as possible, whilst still involving the upper body in generating power. That means the hand on the kicking side ‘snatches’ down sharply as if having touched something hot. It is a short, explosive twist which balances the kicking force without dropping or pulling back too far. Try it on the bag and you can generate the same power as pulling the arm right back, without sacrificing defence.
[QUOTE=RisingCrane;765448]Think of a sprinter: Maximum power is gernerated by pulling back the arm on the same side as the striding leg. Try sprinting with the same arm/leg forward and see how much power you generate.:rolleyes: That would be unnatural body mechanics.
Now, whilst fighting, you want to keep your guard as tight as possible, whilst still involving the upper body in generating power. That means the hand on the kicking side ‘snatches’ down sharply as if having touched something hot. It is a short, explosive twist which balances the kicking force without dropping or pulling back too far. Try it on the bag and you can generate the same power as pulling the arm right back, without sacrificing defence.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like what I was describing earlier in “old school TKD”.
[QUOTE=RisingCrane;765448]Think of a sprinter: Maximum power is gernerated by pulling back the arm on the same side as the striding leg. Try sprinting with the same arm/leg forward and see how much power you generate.:rolleyes: That would be unnatural body mechanics.
Now, whilst fighting, you want to keep your guard as tight as possible, whilst still involving the upper body in generating power. That means the hand on the kicking side ‘snatches’ down sharply as if having touched something hot. It is a short, explosive twist which balances the kicking force without dropping or pulling back too far. Try it on the bag and you can generate the same power as pulling the arm right back, without sacrificing defence.[/QUOTE]
I’m totally willing to sacrifice the little extra power generated by throwing the hand as a counter balance in favor of protecting my dome.
[QUOTE=SevenStar;765216]yes. in addition, as the kicking leg arm is dropped, the base leg arm is brought aroundthe face - similar to how a capoeirista does the ginga. one of the most effective counters to a roundhouse is the cross, so you need to protect your face.[/QUOTE]i thought glove on head cos the counter you cant see coming is the round kick to the head, then move it from there to the face to parry if needed. also another detail is screwing the arm instead of swinging it back/down… in a rush… oh and forgot hand position even more important when teeping!!
[QUOTE=AmanuJRY;765390]Savate trains to keep the guard up while kicking. There are times when one hand is thrown for balance on high kicks, in that case I believe it’s more important to be aware of a possible sweep as opposed to an attack at the head. The range at which high kicks are thrown is difficult (but not impossible) for someone to close the gap for a upper level strike.
All in all, I don’t use high kicks much (if at all) and I train to maintain my guard. Just a personal goal.[/QUOTE]high kicks can be thrown at close range too.. especially a round thai kick to the head from inside boxing range :eek:
