Break down the side kick for me, yeah? I asked over on mma.tv but all I got was the Muay Thai guys saying it wasn’t good and lkkmdc being silly 
it isn’t good for muay thai.
but it is for san shou.
and lkfmdc is silly.
ummm.. (how do I describe this?) I always think of a Piston. BOOM! the more power - the more you draw your knee across your body and then explode out and then back in and down fast!
follow with a right cross.
Does the leg come out straigjt, like a TMA, or is it more bent, like a Muay Thai back kick?
And how do you deal with it? I doubt I’ll be using it in a fight much, but I would like to know how to deal with it. Which menas, When do I use it? What’s the point?
Depends on what you want… Where its comming from… best bet is to get to the side of it and shoot in…
Lead leg side kick
As the lead knee is raised, the rear foot turns outward and the front hip is thrust forward. The side kick then shoots out in a STRAIGHT line (do not hook it like a round kick). The power comes from the locking of the hip. The buttocks must be tucked in. Also, the locking of the kick keeps the opponent at a distance. The lead leg side kick can be used as a “stop hit” against a rushing opponent or an opponent launching a rear leg kick. The lead leg side kick to the knee can also be used to distract an opponent and set up a clinch.
angle side kick
This is a side kick with your rear leg. Your lead leg steps outward slightly and the kick travels at a 45 degree angle
steal step side kick
The steal step side kick is a method by which the side kick can be used offensively. While in the fighting stance, the rear leg slides forward behind the front leg and the hip is turned to face the opponent. From this position, the knee is raised and the side kick extended.
Now, immediately forget this info and do not distribute it
“the kick travels at a 45 degree angle”
To the side or down?
Originally posted by lkfmdc
steal step side kick
The steal step side kick is a method by which the side kick can be used offensively. While in the fighting stance, the rear leg slides forward behind the front leg and the hip is turned to face the opponent. From this position, the knee is raised and the side kick extended.
This is the one I learned in Muay Thai.
Thanks for da info, Coach.
Lead leg side kick
As the lead knee is raised, the rear foot turns outward and the front hip is thrust forward. The side kick then shoots out in a STRAIGHT line (do not hook it like a round kick). The power comes from the locking of the hip. The buttocks must be tucked in. Also, the locking of the kick keeps the opponent at a distance. The lead leg side kick can be used as a “stop hit” against a rushing opponent or an opponent launching a rear leg kick. The lead leg side kick to the knee can also be used to distract an opponent and set up a clinch.
Can also be used offensively in the mid distance if you slide/shuffle your rear leg up just behind the front leg before the kick. Unobtrusive this way too, since your shuffle doesn’t look different than any other shuffle as you’re moving around.
steal step side kick
The steal step side kick is a method by which the side kick can be used offensively. While in the fighting stance, the rear leg slides forward behind the front leg and the hip is turned to face the opponent. From this position, the knee is raised and the side kick extended.
If you have a good steal step you can close a lot of distance very quickly. Plus the footwork comes naturally if you’re used to the (chan si chin?) takedown. If you start this one from in too close, though, it’s easy to end up off balance.
ummm.. (how do I describe this?) I always think of a Piston. BOOM! the more power - the more you draw your knee across your body and then explode out and then back in and down fast!
Argh, drawing your knee across your body is terrible. It slows the kick way down, telegraphs your intent, and really reduces the power, since this way it only comes from the “pistoning” of the raised leg, and not from the ground and hips. Finally, it tends to lead to poor balance. The foot should begin traveling upward and outward as soon as it leaves the ground, so the path of the foot is really a hyperbolic arc, rather than an up-in-out zigzag.
I’ve been kind of waiting for this thread to come up.. I have a question for those of you who use this a lot… I’ve been finding I get more power out of that kick if my planted foot gets turned all the way around (facing away from opponent = 180 degrees from kick). How far around do most of you turn your foot? Where do you find the most power? Is it an individual thing or is it the pure mechanics?
Thanks,
NP
I turn my foot 180 degrees, or nearly so, with all my sidekicks. It helps me align my hips correctly. It also helps with turning/spinning/back kicks, because it’s easy to just plant my heel facing the target and keep with my usual form.
I dunno if this is individual or universal.
boston school fighters have used the side-kick very effectively while fighting matches against muay thai under muay thai rules. they don’t fight them with their game, they fight them with ours.
its a bread & butter technique in san shou. yes the kick pistons in & out and support leg turns fully around.
From personal experience: Bringing the kick up in an arc from the ground is prett much asking to have elbows repeatedly driven into the foot you kick with. Chambering and driving in allows you to punish them instead of them punishing your foot.
Thank you Golden. If you don’t chamber the kick you can get jammed by a advancing fighter of the Muay Thai kick block. We train our fighters to think of kicking over a chair with the seat facing away form you. We also use a saw-horse and have people stand with their lead leg almost touching it and make them kick a pole bag over the saw-horse.
Now Tak would say you cannot get power this way and all I will say is this is how Marvin Perry kicks and although I don’t know you, he kicks harder then you do. You can see the side kick being used on our web page. Look at the clips of Marvin, Albert Pope and Mike Norman, they use them the most.
- “Now Tak would say you cannot get power this way and all I will say is this is how Marvin Perry kicks and although I don’t know you, he kicks harder then you do.”
Guru, don’t hold back, tell us what you really think 
We train our fighters to think of kicking over a chair with the seat facing away form you.
That’s the same way we teach it.
Originally posted by MasterKiller
That’s the same way we teach it.
And yet, despite this, it is STILL the correct way to execute the technique
Oh, relax, I’m just ribbing you, end of a long day, and weather sucks here in NY right now 
Wha…you mean Chan tai san actually remembers how to teach you to kick?
Tit Sa, you are a pathetic loser looking for attention. By now EVERYONE here knows you are a joke.
Hey…buddy…Im surprised you remember me 
Somethings aren’t, “like sifu like student” I guess.
Dude, ANYTIME you want to see what my kicks are like, just let me know