High kick effectiveness and form.

[Tony Dismukes]

I've seen a variant of this attack in modern media used where an assailant grabs a person from behind and that person performs a high kick that hits the attacker in the face. Theres never a good enough angle to tell exactly which part of the foot is striking. I would assume the toes would be the the main mode of attack. that is if it landed at all.

You would need to hyper extend your leg to some degree to hit an opponent your height rather than overshooting.

This would also be necessary if you wanted to use the ball of your foot.
Does anyone know if this is an actual attack, or just another flashy move they use for comics and shows?

That's a movie-fu technique that depends largely on the camera angle. Sort of like the hook kick that appears to knock out two opponents at once.

As far as a real front kick aimed at the head of someone in front of you, either the heel or the ball of the foot will work. Generally the heel works with more of a stomping action and the ball of the foot works with more of a snapping action to the kick.

 

[RTKDCMB]

A front kick in TKD is typically done with the ball of the foot. I would never recommend kicking with the toes unless your goal is to get time off work for having broken toes. There are some Karate masters that can kick hard with the big toe without injury but they do an insane amount of conditioning for it. I personally see no value in it, but that's just me. You can kick with the instep but I would advise that only on a bent over opponent and where the angle of attack would require you to bent your toes back too far and you are clear of any elbows.

As for kicking over your head, the that would only really be useful if you were on your back and your opponent was standing behind you and even then you still need good flexibility.

If you are wearing steel caps you can still hurt your toes by kicking with them as your toes will strike the inside of the steel cap,(which hurts by the way). Kicking upwards would be better but then you risk hyper-extending your ankle. I would still tend to kick with the ball of the foot as I have yet to wear a pair of steel cap boots where I could not bend my toes back.

 

[FriedRice]

Best high kick for the street, IMO, rear leg round house to the temple. Comes out of nowhere towards their blindspot, especially when setup with jabs:

 

[Buka]

I wish you well, aggrippa, in getting back to training when you can. And welcome to Martial Talk.

The questions will be more properly answered by whatever instructor you eventually train under. Asking us around here - you do so at your own risk. (and sense of humor, of course)

 

[kuniggety]

Maybe kicking with the toes is also an alignment issue, where if the foot

And to think. I actually searched the Internet to make sure something like this wouldn't pop up lol.

To be fair, their proportions aren't anywhere near the same as a regular person in which is would be impossible.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Best high kick for the street, IMO, rear leg round house to the temple. Comes out of nowhere towards their blindspot, especially when setup with jabs:

This wasn't a blindspot issue as much as the person who got hit with the kick doesn't understand how to deal with kicks. Slow the video down and you'll see what I'm talking about. The guy in the shorts actually drops his guard when the kick comes in and you can actually see his hands trying to chase the incoming kick. He saw the kick coming, he just didn't know how to handle it. From the look of it, I would say that he probably doesn't do sparring with anyone that kicks.

 

[FriedRice]

This wasn't a blindspot issue as much as the person who got hit with the kick doesn't understand how to deal with kicks. Slow the video down and you'll see what I'm talking about. The guy in the shorts actually drops his guard when the kick comes in and you can actually see his hands trying to chase the incoming kick. He saw the kick coming, he just didn't know how to handle it. From the look of it, I would say that he probably doesn't do sparring with anyone that kicks.

Well yeah.....that video wasn't Lion Fight nor The UFC, it was in some street of a bad neighborhood. What's so unusual about someone not knowing how to address kicks there that you'd need to watch it in slow motion to figure it out. The NM went low for his first RH and the other guy thought he was going low again.

And yes, there is a blindspot when getting kicked with a high roundhouse to the head like this. I didn't say it was a guaranteed KO strike or that this is the perfect strike. Like if I threw this against Buakaw, I doubt that I'd even touch him before I got KTFO. But this does work vs. equally experienced fighters, mainly because there's the blindspot there. Been there, done that.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Well yeah.....that video wasn't Lion Fight nor The UFC, it was in some street of a bad neighborhood. What's so unusual about someone not knowing how to address kicks there that you'd need to watch it in slow motion to figure it out.

Because slow motion allows you to see if the kick was successful because it was in a blind spot or if the person just didn't know how to deal with kicks. In this case the guy saw the kick coming which means it wasn't in his blind spot.

The nature of a "blindspot" is that it's an area where you aren't going to see the attack come in. There is no default blindspot for a kick. How big, how small, or the location of a blind spot will vary from person to person. We see non-professional (students) and professional fighters block roundhouse kicks all the time and the reason they are able to block it is because 1. they see it and 2. they understand what they see and have a solution for it. Any blind spot that one person has is not going to translate into the same blindspot to someone else.

For me a round house doesn't exploit my blindspot because that's not where my bind spot is. A round house may beat my defense, meaning it may hit me before I can use my defense but I always see roundhouse kicks coming.

 

[FriedRice]

Because slow motion allows you to see if the kick was successful because it was in a blind spot or if the person just didn't know how to deal with kicks. In this case the guy saw the kick coming which means it wasn't in his blind spot.

No. He saw the leg lift from the ground, right in front of him, so he knows that a kick is coming. Obviously that's not a blind spot. But he dropped his hands to block low to mid and the kick went high towards his temple in an oval loop.

The nature of a "blindspot" is that it's an area where you aren't going to see the attack come in. There is no default blindspot for a kick.

So you think that a blindspot is a complete, 100%, perfect, blind area? C'mon. How is this even possible
if 2 people are standing in front of each other, fighting?

How big, how small, or the location of a blind spot will vary from person to person. We see non-professional (students) and professional fighters block roundhouse kicks all the time and the reason they are able to block it is because 1. they see it and 2. they understand what they see and have a solution for it. Any blind spot that one person has is not going to translate into the same blindspot to someone else.

Well no kidding that a high kick is blockable, this is obvious. But there is still a blindspot due to the nature of this RH and especially if it's a ? kick.

For me a round house doesn't exploit my blindspot because that's not where my bind spot is. A round house may beat my defense, meaning it may hit me before I can use my defense but I always see roundhouse kicks coming.

Depends on who you fight.

 

[JowGaWolf]

But he dropped his hands to block low to mid and the kick went high towards his temple in an oval loop.

Correct because he didn't understand the kick. For example, the correct defensive response to a low kick is not to drop your guard from your head, to try and stop a low kick with your hands.

So you think that a blindspot is a complete, 100%, perfect, blind area? C'mon. How is this even possible
if 2 people are standing in front of each other, fighting?

Yes. The back of your head is a blind spot. 100% meaning that you cannot see the back of your head without the use of something reflective like 2 mirrors.

Human visual range is around 180 degrees horizontal which means you can see what is on the side of your head.
Test: Have someone stand next to you on your right side and left sid. Keep your head straight and only move your eyes to view the person standing next to you. Most people should be able to see the person standing. Now have the two people step back a little and repeat the test. As long as you can see them with out turning your head or neck then they are still within your visual range. If you don't see them then they are 100% outside of your visual range and 100% in your blindspot. The fact that you can't see them 100% means that they are in your blind spot 100%

Closing one of your eyes creates a blind spot and no matter how you focus the open eye you'll never be able to see what is in that blindspot. When you move your head, that blindspot is still at the same angle with the exception that now a different object is in the blind spot. Do some research on Peripheral Vision for the human eye and you'll see just how wide visual range is. So the answer your question is there a 100% perfect blind area? yes.

Another trick that you can do to experience your blind spot is to hold your arms straight out to the side and slowly move your arms backwards while looking straight forward. When you can no longer see your fingers wiggle then it's because they are in your blind spot. This is important because if I'm facing you then it's really difficult for my opponent to get into my blind spot. Fighters are always told to keep their eyes on the opponent because looking down or away puts the opponent into the blind spot and usually exposes the back of the head.

Blindspots work horizontal and vertical. If you watch the video in slow motion you'll see that he drops his guard while the kick is still in front of him and well within is visual range which is why he reacted to the kick in the first place. Had the kick truly been in his blind spot then he wouldn't reacted to the kick at all.

This is a kick that appears to be in this person's blind spot. Notice the reaction to the kick is totally different than the video that you showed. In this video he doesn't react at all to the kick which makes me think that this kick was 1. in his blind spot because it landed under his chin, we can't see under our face and that's where the foot came from. In this scenario he probably saw something that looked like a kick then it disappeared out of his vision making him think that nothing was coming which is why there was no effort to defend the kick he couldn't see. My other guess is that he had tunnel vision to the point where he ignored any other movement. Maybe he was so focused on his hands that he couldn't see anything else aka "Tunnel Vision."

 

[FriedRice]

Correct because he didn't understand the kick. For example, the correct defensive response to a low kick is not to drop your guard from your head, to try and stop a low kick with your hands.

The funny thing is, many Kung-Fu people drop their hands to block my low to mid kicks. They're just real lucky it was only light sparring. One Sifu even said to drop the hands to block mid kicks.

Yes. The back of your head is a blind spot. 100% meaning that you cannot see the back of your head without the use of something reflective like 2 mirrors.

Well if you let some get behind you from a staging point during a fight, then that's just inexperience.

Human visual range is around 180 degrees horizontal which means you can see what is on the side of your head.
Test: Have someone stand next to you on your right side and left sid. Keep your head straight and only move your eyes to view the person standing next to you. Most people should be able to see the person standing. Now have the two people step back a little and repeat the test. As long as you can see them with out turning your head or neck then they are still within your visual range. If you don't see them then they are 100% outside of your visual range and 100% in your blindspot. The fact that you can't see them 100% means that they are in your blind spot 100%

Closing one of your eyes creates a blind spot and no matter how you focus the open eye you'll never be able to see what is in that blindspot. When you move your head, that blindspot is still at the same angle with the exception that now a different object is in the blind spot. Do some research on Peripheral Vision for the human eye and you'll see just how wide visual range is. So the answer your question is there a 100% perfect blind area? yes.

Then thanks for agreeing with me that a high RH kick to the temple, does enter the blindspot.

Another trick that you can do to experience your blind spot is to hold your arms straight out to the side and slowly move your arms backwards while looking straight forward. When you can no longer see your fingers wiggle then it's because they are in your blind spot. This is important because if I'm facing you then it's really difficult for my opponent to get into my blind spot. Fighters are always told to keep their eyes on the opponent because looking down or away puts the opponent into the blind spot and usually exposes the back of the head.

Blindspots work horizontal and vertical. If you watch the video in slow motion you'll see that he drops his guard while the kick is still in front of him and well within is visual range which is why he reacted to the kick in the first place. Had the kick truly been in his blind spot then he wouldn't reacted to the kick at all.

No. He saw the leg lift for a kick. but just doesn't know what level it's going to. And the nature of the high RH kick to the temple, is that it enters the blindspot at a certain point, momentarily.

This is a kick that appears to be in this person's blind spot. Notice the reaction to the kick is totally different than the video that you showed. In this video he doesn't react at all to the kick which makes me think that this kick was 1. in his blind spot because it landed under his chin, we can't see under our face and that's where the foot came from. In this scenario he probably saw something that looked like a kick then it disappeared out of his vision making him think that nothing was coming which is why there was no effort to defend the kick he couldn't see. My other guess is that he had tunnel vision to the point where he ignored any other movement. Maybe he was so focused on his hands that he couldn't see anything else aka "Tunnel Vision."

It can be various to many reasons. One being, he's facing a world title holder and possibly the best ever, martial artist....and he's scared.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The funny thing is, many Kung-Fu people drop their hands to block my low to mid kicks. They're just real lucky it was only light sparring. One Sifu even said to drop the hands to block mid kicks.



Well if you let some get behind you from a staging point during a fight, then that's just inexperience.



Then thanks for agreeing with me that a high RH kick to the temple, does enter the blindspot.

Another trick that you can do to experience your blind spot is to hold your arms straight out to the side and slowly move your arms backwards while looking straight forward. When you can no longer see your fingers wiggle then it's because they are in your blind spot. This is important because if I'm facing you then it's really difficult for my opponent to get into my blind spot. Fighters are always told to keep their eyes on the opponent because looking down or away puts the opponent into the blind spot and usually exposes the back of the head.



No. He saw the leg lift for a kick. but just doesn't know what level it's going to. And the nature of the high RH kick to the temple, is that it enters the blindspot at a certain point, momentarily.



It can be various to many reasons. One being, he's facing a world title holder and possibly the best ever, martial artist....and he's scared.

You still don't understand. Put your shoe to your temple as if someone is kicking your temple and let me know if you still see the shoe.

 

[FriedRice]

You still don't understand. Put your shoe to your temple as if someone is kicking your temple and let me know if you still see the shoe.

Did you just make this diagram, just for this argument of this post? If yes, I'm impressed.

Unfortunately, I still stand by my argument that the RH head kick is effective because it enters a blindspot when targeting the temple.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Did you just make this diagram, just for this argument of this post? If yes, I'm impressed.

Unfortunately, I still stand by my argument that the RH head kick is effective because it enters a blindspot when targeting the temple.

Nope. I didn't make this diagram. There are tons of these diagrams discussing peripheral vision of the human eye which is why I said do some research on it. I'm not making this up, it's science. Just to humor you here's an image from a site that I just found who shows the same peripheral test that I was talking about.
Source: Peripheral Vision Test

The reason I have a lot of information on this subject is because I've been doing some research about the eye to help me become a better martial artist.

You can believe what you want about the kick. I have no interest in changing your views on the subject. My responses are more for others who may be interested in the information and my conversation with you is helping to deliver that.

 

[JowGaWolf]

This is what I'm learning and beginning to understand: It's a really good article that has more than what I put here.
Source: Psychology Today
"The proper gaze needs to be an unfocused attention that allows reaction to everything, a readiness for anything while focusing on nothing specifically. Musashi wrote that one must “perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.” Although he may not have conceived of it this way, Musashi’s words do an excellent job of separating visual information (seeing with the eye) from conscious awareness (perception)."

"Musashi wrote that the eye for simply observing things is naturally strong but that the eye for seeing things for what they are is naturally weak. He further cautioned to see “distant things as if they are close” and close things “as if they are distant” to avoid distraction. He urges that “you cannot master this ability quickly…use this gaze in everyday life and not vary it…”"

What he is referring to is Peripheral vision. The close and distance that he's talking about refers to focus.

"Musashi referred extensively to training vison and perception through martial arts, but now there is modern evidence in experimental psychology to support his assertions and show that visual abilities can be enhanced with such training. In this context, enhance means protecting against the normal decrements in dynamic visual acuity that occurs as we age. Dynamic visual acuity is simply a term for the ability we have to discriminate details about an object (in the martial context think fist, foot, or sword) when there is motion between the observer and the object. This fits the bill perfectly when it comes to martial arts where opponents are usually in motion constantly relative to each other."

 

[Kenpoguy123]

The only time you should kick a guy in the head is if he's on the floor and trying to get up to attack you again

 

[Tez3]

The only time you should kick a guy in the head is if he's on the floor and trying to get up to attack you again

I really shouldn't like this but I do As my mother taught me 'never hit a man when he's down... kick him it's easier'.

 

[Touch Of Death]

The only time you should kick a guy in the head is if he's on the floor and trying to get up to attack you again

Or when he bends to tie his shoe, which you secretly untied.

 

[Flying Crane]

Maybe we should ask the guy in the video if he didn't see the kick because it was in his blind spot. Ya know, because it was him, he was there, all that...

 

[Kenpoguy123]

I really shouldn't like this but I do As my mother taught me 'never hit a man when he's down... kick him it's easier'.

There's an old saying my late instructor used to say when relating to fights. Never kick a man below the soles of his feet and never kick a woman in the testicles. Basically means anythings a target haha