There are many advantages, and disadvantages on kicking. Kicking in street fights will most likely send you off balance etc, but I would like to point out some advantages of kicking rather then punching.
1:The muscles in the legs are much stronger then in the arms. Ofcourse it’s not all about muscle, but you can train kicking as much as you can train punching to make the kicks very fast.
2:The legs are longer then the arms, and can also be used at short range (knees, foot stomps, low roundhouses etc.)
3:Kicking can be very surprising, since there are only few people who can kick well.
4:Ever tried blocking someone’s kick, when it comes at full speed and when the kicker has his shoes on? It hurts, and even if you can block it, the impact will most likely to be so big that it damages the blocking area.
5:Kicks tend to have more power then punches.
Don’t get me wrong, this is only my opinion, since I’m a kicker. I’ve experience, so I don’t make this things up
How do you feel about this? I don’t want to start a flame thread.
Fair advantages. Not flaming back, just listing some of the disadvantages, though I like to kick as well.
Body level kicks are extremely simple to defend against using elbows and chin na. Even if the kick is fast, the upper body has to move much less to defend than the leg must to attack.
Power kicks are higher risk(generally), whereas safer kicks(front kick) don’t have much of a power edge over hand techniques.
However, I love kicks lower than the waist, as they are, IMO, the hardest to defend against and I find it easier to move to hand techniques from low kicks.
And what would you do with a brain if you had one? -Dorothy to the Scarecrow
It’s a stylistic/personal preference. My teacher comes from a Long Fist background through Wei Chin Ni. He will kick the out of you literally. I come from a Taiji and now Shuai Chiao background. I more or less refuse to kick even though he has taught me some powerful ones.
True, but some styles train it more which tends to make their kicking more efficient. It’s not to say that an Aikidoka can’t have good kicks. It just means that a style like Long Fist will generally have better kicks. It’s a question of focus. In the same light, Long Fist’s leading skills are not as sophisticated as Aikido.
I would go so far as to say a pure aikidoka does not know how to kick. I have yet to hear of an aikido school that teaches kicking. Someday that’ll change though ;).
When you ARE a good kicker..there is no low or high consideration to think about. A good kicker will pound you low and then take your head off high. Alla northern shaolin or good traditional military tae kwon do i suppose.
High kicks can knock you back and set you up, powerful kicks when delivered through combinations on both the leading and power leg are devastating…now rush a kicker and its a diff story. I know that my instructor coming from an Okinawan karate background and TKD background can pound the hell out of us with his legs alone. Then again, he can do it with fists and grappling too… in his opinion, there is a place for everything but you have to know when and why you can pull it off..also, you cannot just think you can pull it off..you abilities actually have to match your will. Not many self proclaimed “kickers” have an ability that matches their self confidence.
Michael Panzerotti
Taijutsu Nobody from the Great White North..
On the street, unless you’re fighting someone trained who’s used to catching or countering kicks they probably(confidence over 50%) won’t be caught or countered.
Now on the street you damn well better be using the right kick, at the right range, at the right time. Even a front kick can get hosed up if thrown at the wrong time. A good kick to the solar plexus is a glorious thing to behold.
[i]Signed,
Rogue, Soke and Senior Grandmaster of Southeast American Brazillian Bagua Combat Chi jitsu Kempo Karate Do and Choral Society.
The only tactical principle which is not subject to change; it is, “To use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time." [/i]
Ruas was the first guy to use low kicks effectively which made Muay Thai(his stand up style) popular and he opened up everyone’s eyes to cross training, learning and training in striking and grappling. Chop Chop Chop, TIMBER!!!
For me .. well, I’m a small guy and the idea of kicking someone who can just rush in and take me down is not very nice. I like to stay on my feet (and keep both my legs rooted, too).
Nor don’t I particularly like the kicking range. I’d wade through that and deal with the knees and elbows, as I like to dish those out too in big numbers.
Low snap kicks to the knee might be used in conjunction with some armwork, as well as using footwork as kicks .. those are kicks I like.
Of course, if he’s sprawled down on the ground, dazed or cautious .. then a good ol’ big strong kick might be a good choice.
Maybe it’s just a matter of not havign trained kicks that much, pretty much like everything, but that’s how it is for me and I don’t mind it.
Legend I disagree, spinning kicks are effective if used in combinations with other techniques, so are jumping kicks(maybe not flying side kick) I have seen tons of knockouts from both in fights where throwing and shooting in was allowed and my school also makes extensive use of the spin kick in combination and also uses a few jumping kicks and I have used them in actual fights.
Rolling elbow is right, if you train your kicking schools high and low in actual use isn’t that much of a difference to the kicker. If your kicking skill s are well trained you should have the same balance and speed as you would for a punch. If you spar with all your tool often you can also learn to recover quickly from unbalacing techniques. I think that every thing has a place it is more important to learn how to use punches, kicks, throws, and jointlocking in a fluid manner with each aspect supporting the other.
P.S. most people think kicks don’t work because they are hard to develop, but once they are developed they will be a great part of your arsenal.
Hey if u can make it work great…but from experience…my friend was a TKD guy…and tried a high kick in a real fight…he slipped…and landed on his head…the environment where u will fight are usually in nite clubs…bars or outside in the street. Slippery spots are all around…the more your kick rises in the air…the more likely u will lose your balance…but hey to each his own.
Besides a slippery floor your friend sounds like he was off balance, I see it all of the time in class. On a slippery floor even a low line kick could land you on your @ss, same with walking. What kind of kick was he trying?
[i]Signed,
Rogue, Soke and Senior Grandmaster of Southeast American Brazillian Bagua Combat Chi jitsu Kempo Karate Do and Choral Society.
The only tactical principle which is not subject to change; it is, “To use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time." [/i]
Yeah when doing anything you should take into acount your enviornment. Kicking on slick surface is definatly a bad idea. TKD while having great indivdual kicks, they don’t seem to be able to put them together in combinations well. The key to landing a good kick is in the shaking up the technique. If you use your hands and grabing to usually you can sneak a spin kick in and hurt someone. Since it sneaks around the back and alot of people don’t use it the spin kick is a good secret weapon to have. You just can’t go throwing your legs around, just like to be good at ground fighting you have to be able to do more than tackle someone football style and choke
Since I study a Northern style, I train kicking a bunch, but it seems that you should just use the best offense or defense for the situation. If kicking is not in your arsenal, then don’t use it, if it is, figure out how to use it effectively.
LOL…he’s actually a very good kicker…it was a modify northern shaolin type hook kick to the head. But funny thing was the opponent jump back as soon as he saw the kick rise…knocking over a girl dancing. My friend fell on his head but he felt no pain…the adrenalin pump etc…but his pride was hurt LOL. But actually the opponent didn’t want anything after seeing that cause he was like ****…the guy knows karate…lol. So in a way he won.
