dvcochran
Grandmaster
We've all seen in action movie fight scenes where characters manage to slip and duck underneath kicks the same way a boxer might bob and weave underneath punches. But I've never seen this applied in real life, and I've never had the courage to try it in sparring as I didn't feel I was fast enough.
Is this a viable manner to dodge and avoid head-height kicks? I mostly mean circular kicks such as spin hook kicks or roundhouse kicks, not linear kicks like the front and side kicks. Have any of you managed to do this before?
It is a good question. YES, Slips are done all the time. I think they are done both purposefully and as pure luck or just as a reaction sometimes. Slips are great strategy for high kicks/punches. Most people think they have to move much more than is really necessary to make an attack miss. Yes, slips on circular kicks can be ill advised and the direction of the avoidance is paramount. You can slip a circular kick but you may have to take more of the kicks energy elsewhere than you want.
In a SD/street scenario the odds of an attacker kicking you in the head is pretty low compared to a punch. So ducking would not be a good choice of defense. Slips and bobs are very high percentage when you get them down. One of the best tools you can learn from boxing.
In competition it is not uncommon to need a little time to read your competition (unless you have tape on them). Reading body language is important; not always 100% but important. This will help you know when to slip, bob/weave, or possibly duck. Recovery is always a big part of learning how/when to use them so a duck or a really big movement can put you in trouble if your footwork or balance get off.
FWIW, the lean the fighters are doing in the video is cool as heck to watch but I am guessing they are in the top 10%-20% in their class. That movement is not everyone's cup of tea.