# vs hard kicker



## hma123 (Oct 5, 2013)

Hey guys after going to one of my teammates fights last night there's always that one guy on the card who has VERY good and sound leg kicks.....that guy was my teammates opponent and just from watching the fight actually in person you see how hard and damaging them leg kicks are. Besides anything on the fight, Im coming here to see what others like to do against someone they know has hard leg kicks and technically sound also (good set ups) 

Not so much looking for a technique like check,or catch but what are some strategies or concepts to follow for being successful in this situation? 
(will be talking to my coach Monday for sure)


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## MJS (Oct 6, 2013)

hma123 said:


> Hey guys after going to one of my teammates fights last night there's always that one guy on the card who has VERY good and sound leg kicks.....that guy was my teammates opponent and just from watching the fight actually in person you see how hard and damaging them leg kicks are. Besides anything on the fight, Im coming here to see what others like to do against someone they know has hard leg kicks and technically sound also (good set ups)
> 
> Not so much looking for a technique like check,or catch but what are some strategies or concepts to follow for being successful in this situation?
> (will be talking to my coach Monday for sure)



Well, aside from the obvious, I'd say timing and footwork are key.  A little over 2yrs ago, when I started training Kyokushin, after coming from a Kenpo background, I ate a lot of leg kicks.  I still eat them, but I've gotten better at blocking them, moving the hell out of the way if I see them coming, and trying to work different strategy to prevent them in the first place.  

But yes, I've taken some hard shots from some of the Brown and Black belts at the school, that have stopped me cold.  It's all good though, and I enjoy the hard training.


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## RTKDCMB (Oct 13, 2013)

hma123 said:


> Hey guys after going to one of my teammates fights last night there's always that one guy on the card who has VERY good and sound leg kicks.....that guy was my teammates opponent and just from watching the fight actually in person you see how hard and damaging them leg kicks are. Besides anything on the fight, Im coming here to see what others like to do against someone they know has hard leg kicks and technically sound also (good set ups)
> 
> Not so much looking for a technique like check,or catch but what are some strategies or concepts to follow for being successful in this situation?
> (will be talking to my coach Monday for sure)



I am not a kickboxer but I would suggest conditioning, changing your stance often staying out of range until you want to attack, getting in close and using your hands and/or keeping him away by using your front push kicks or side kicks (try sparring with your hands behind your back to practice keeping your opponent at bay with your kicks). I hope that helps.


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## Zero (Oct 17, 2013)

RTKDCMB and MJS seem to have laid it all out for you. For safety, you should be doing a degree of conditioning in any event, for when you have no option but to check/block, for when you get caught and for when your own attack is stopped cold with an effective block.

Then there is evasion or tying the guy up or smothering/jamming the kicks by being in close. 

I have a TKD and then Goju Ryu karate background so I am not a guy who naturally fights by way of leg attrition but have entered a few open tournaments, Kyokoshin and kickboxing tournaments and I don&#8217;t like playing that attrition/weathering game.  Most of my fights against kickboxers have been, as MJS says, with the use of timing and distance.  You need to read the low kicks coming but if you are in the right mindset a lot of these can be avoided.  Obviously you need to work on your timing, and, despite what some say, in my view this is best done with sparring and obviously with various opponents (there are also specific exercises/drills you can do with your coach or friends to enhance this).  Once you get your timing, speed and reflexes honed you can then also play an effective (but potentailly dangerous) game of baiting, which I have used in tournaments to (sometimes) good effect, where many expect you to weather or check as the norm.  You can leave your front leg out there a bit as a target and then pull it back and counter with the same leg with a high kick (or from what was the back leg with a front kick), your counter can also be against the support leg or the opponent&#8217;s striking leg as weight is put on it again as it touches the mat.  Again, you need to be sure of yourself doing this (and have an idea of the guy you are up against) as it can otherwise go horribly wrong  : )

Another counter, which is very hard to pull off (at least for me) and one I spent many months working on (for some reason I just love the idea of the move) (and still seldom used or felt comfortable using &#8211; but it does have its place!) was to attack the support leg of your opponent as he executes a leg attack off the back leg. As he starts to execute his attack you (very) quickly attack his front support leg (either by leg/knee (if permitted) attack or sweep) with your own front leg.  You need to be good at reading the roundhouse leg attack coming and need to react - almost pre-empt it very quickly.  This is a nasty counter and almost always (actually, I would say 100%) results in the opponent going down if successful.  If you leave it too late when moving in you can obvuiously get hurt badly.  But if you do muck it up you are often in close enough to smother or inadvertantly negate the round house leg attack in any event as your body is positoned much closer into him and the leg target is no longer presented. However, it is not something you want to get wrong so it&#8217;s not something I have used much or see being used (but I have a soft spot for it as when done properly it is a beauty).  I trained a lot with team mates on this move and also (mad as it sounds) by using a tree limb or the like and placing this at an angle against another fixed post or tree and practicing explosively moving in and attacking with the front leg. Those are some secret training tips I&#8217;ll let you have for free.

Another word from experience, if you are entering these kickboxing tournaments and if you are fighting it in your style (an evasive style), if you are unable to win by KO you really need to compensate by landing strikes and being seen to land strikes and to dominate in that manner.  I have found that if you end on what would be otherwise a draw or where no fighter has really bettered or damaged the other, the evasive style and lack of &#8220;committal&#8221; may be misread in this environment and go against you on the score card.


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## Touch Of Death (Oct 17, 2013)

Run around in circles, and his leg strikes will be too little too late. Why time the fan blades, when you can walk over to the wall and switch it off?


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## Zero (Oct 17, 2013)

Touch Of Death said:


> Run around in circles, and his leg strikes will be too little too late. Why time the fan blades, when you can walk over to the wall and switch it off?



You've just ruined every great (and rubbish) action movie plotline involving fan blades for me...(funny but first time I read that, I imagined a hoard of demented fans (as in the fan-boy type) weilding blades running at you).


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## Cho, Yeonsoo (Oct 2, 2014)

in my personal TKD club, we do contact sparring with no pads, to counter kicks, legs, head, chest, etc. I prefer footwork, OR use the opening that is made as he kicks to land in a kick. block low, cutting off the kick at its weakest point and land a counter


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## drop bear (Oct 2, 2014)

For Thai. Good teeps to keep him off. Or throw the right hand a lot. Don't let those kicks go unanswered.


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