Are low kicks underated ?

[early]

I see everyone at my gym trying to kick higher and higher , and it does
look really impresive .

But after a sparring session last night I found out how damaging the unasuming low kick can be , the other fella was taller than I was so rather than block them I was soaking them up while trying to get in close quickly , well that idea didn't last long , after one round my leg was stiffening up and I'm still feeling it's effects the next day .

I'm now a convert and low kicks are going to be practised every session

 

[Hand Sword]

Exactly right! No higher than the stomach area, but, almost exclusively lower than that. Save the head kicks for when there down. (oh wait! That's illegal. Sorry that's the old kempo coming out of me -lol)

 

[savior]

Try kicking in their torso a few times. One of the times, they will block your kick by raising their shin, when they do, sweep under their block and attack their one supporting leg

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Low kicks are extremly effective.

 

[stickarts]

I think the effectiveness of low kicks are often overlooked.
I have seen many techniques taught and practiced and the notion that low kicks could be used were often overlooked by the practicioners.

Once you add them in it changes the fight considerably!

 

[kidswarrior]

Exactly right! No higher than the stomach area, but, almost exclusively lower than that. Save the head kicks for when there down. (oh wait! That's illegal. Sorry that's the old kempo coming out of me -lol)

Low kicks are extremly effective.

I think the effectiveness of low kicks are often overlooked.

Once you add them in it changes the fight considerably!

Yeah, less chance of a catch or sweep by opponent. Less chance the opponent will even see it (just feel it!). And if only some kicks land (law of averages), you're not hanging in midair after a failed kick. And rich targets? Fuhgitaboutit! You can easily win a fight with a couple of kicks to targets from hip joint down.

 

[Kieran]

Yeah, I agree. I've seen fights stopped because the fighter couldn't stand. My Kru has told me of fights where the guys lead leg was black from his hip to his knee because he wasn't fast enough to defend his opponents low kicks.

I would only use a kick higher than the ribs to unsettle the opponent and show him that I can kick him in the head if I felt like it and even then, only at the start of the fight. Taking out a fighters legs with powerful low kicks is the most basic muay thai strategy. Try varying where you kick your opponent. There will generally be 8 targets for your kicks below the hip and varying between them will rattle your opponent more and leave him sore all over!

(inside and outside of both thighs = 4, inside and outside of each calf = 4)

It's often easier to kick the opponents lead leg and more spcifically inside the thigh but that's he first kick we learned to defend too! (aside from a teep).

 

[Touch Of Death]

I see everyone at my gym trying to kick higher and higher , and it does
look really impresive .

But after a sparring session last night I found out how damaging the unasuming low kick can be , the other fella was taller than I was so rather than block them I was soaking them up while trying to get in close quickly , well that idea didn't last long , after one round my leg was stiffening up and I'm still feeling it's effects the next day .

I'm now a convert and low kicks are going to be practised every session

I don't think so. It would depend on whom you talk to. I had a hardstyle intructor accuse me of kicking at rats. LOL I was no longer interested in what he had to teach.
Sean

 

[zDom]

It is because low kicks are so effective that they are not allowed in many point sparring competitions, I believe. Too easy for an injury to occur.

 

[geocad]

To chop a tree down you start at the base and work both sides.

Don't forget to switch it up. Enough low kicks may allow that show stopper to the head to sneak in.

 

[kidswarrior]

Yeah, I agree. I've seen fights stopped because the fighter couldn't stand. My Kru has told me of fights where the guys lead leg was black from his hip to his knee because he wasn't fast enough to defend his opponents low kicks.

There will generally be 8 targets for your kicks below the hip and varying between them will rattle your opponent more and leave him sore all over!

(inside and outside of both thighs = 4, inside and outside of each calf = 4)

I might just add: Inside and outside of each knee =4, front and back of each knee = 4, front and inside of both shins = 4. So, with the first 8, that makes 20 good, easy to hit (close usually counts), effective targets.

Just saw a local news story last night where a 16-year-old girl was attacked by an intruder, who pushed her to the couch and fell on top of her. At first, she said she decided to be passive. Then she decided to fight back. They wrestled their way off the couch and ended up in a standling grappling position, at which time she kicked him in the front of the knee. He immediately dropped straight to the floor and she ran out the front door. The police easily caught the guy.

 

[neversubmit]

i dont think they are underated. i see them used in a considerable amount. if anything at all i think clinching is underrated. i hate when they break it up. leave um in clinch! lol.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I have said it before

Why kick high when there is SO much from the waist down just asking to be kicked.

 

[thaistyle]

Low kicks are an excellent weapon. In muay chaiya all kicks are mostly low and very seldom thrown high. I train head kicks, although I focus most of my kicking on the torso or lower due the effectiveness of low kicks. They work very well against a taller or heavier opponent. Train them and make them a powerful weapon.

 

[Kieran]

I might just add: Inside and outside of each knee =4, front and back of each knee = 4, front and inside of both shins = 4. So, with the first 8, that makes 20 good, easy to hit (close usually counts), effective targets.

Cheers, totally forgot about the knees! haha. I was actually touching on my own leg where I would kick and I passed right over the knees!

A peck kick delivered directly above the knee is extremely sore!

 

[Odin]

people you think muay thai leg kicks are underated clearly have not been hit with a muay thai leg kick.

 

[hrlmonkey]

from a self defence point of view as well, they are far more practical than high kicks. why give the opponent an opportunity to catch your leg and take you down? a few kicks to the legs and they have a harder time running after you

 

[zDom]

I have said it before

Why kick high when there is SO much from the waist down just asking to be kicked.

a) Because a single head kick can END a fight

b) Head kick can knockout them out instead of crippling ("don't maim when to hurt is enough")

c) kicking to the head is FUN and looks boogey-cool

I can see your aversion, though, as trees generally don't have heads

 

[hrlmonkey]

if somebody catches your single head kick, it can most certainly end a fight. as proven so many times in the past. do you trust your kicking speed and power to be better than the blocking and trapping skills of your opponent?

 

[kidswarrior]

if somebody catches your single head kick, it can most certainly end a fight.

So can a knee kick. Or a shin kick. Even a toe to the thigh, especially if quickly repeated to same spot.

do you trust your kicking speed and power to be better than the blocking and trapping skills of your opponent?

No. Not above the bladder/hip crease line. :ultracool