Kicking and self defense

[sgtmac_46]

I don't trust kicks to the groin, unless you can reliable smash through and break the pelvis. I've seen too many cases of guys taking solid shots and keeping going. They may crumple down later -- but drugs, or just plain adrenaline & mad can get 'em through it. Like I said -- if I am kicking to the groin, it's either a distracter and something else is on the way, or my aim isn't the groin, it's to destroy the pelvis to take away their mobility.

If you're dealing with a drunk, there's always the bladder kick.

 

[Akira]

To answer the OP, muay thai kicks FTW.

Used *very* successfully in many self defense situations to put someone down, or make them drop their hands letting you knock them out. My shins are conditioned and I'd have to be really unlucky to come up against someone who knows how to block it. Kick to the outside thigh...will put most people down with one or two.

I did kung fu for a few years, I wouldn't use the kicks in a self defense situation.

 

[BLACK LION]

If you have "kick to the groin" in mind while effecting a strike to the testes then maybe it will do something or maybe it wont. BUT I have in my mind that I am going to give that man OVARIES and he is going to give me a somatic reflex which is going to set him up for further trauma elsewhere.... Sure, there are stories of people so high on pcp that they castrate themselves then proceed to prance around an apartment complex like nothing ever happened...AND stories of older ladies grapping a would be rapist and murderer by the testicles atwisiting and squeezing them all while being punched and thrown until this predator begged and begged to be let go.
A shot to the groin is just that... but a ruptured testicle or a torn scrotum is much more than just a 5 minute break. Even still, its not an end all resolution...its merely a step up the ladder of violence on to your next target and so on.
A shot to the jewels is merely a social deterrent and not intended as a serious injury... a torn scrotum or ruptured testicle is intended as a traumatic injury in a series of effects. I have in my mind that every strike affectuated by me is an injury in line to the next.

Shoving any striking medium into the testicles with intent to cause injury is going to give you an effect to take advantage of... however slight it may be, its there... compromising one area leaves another one open...
thats the chain of violence... its not dependent one one shot one kill but a whole chain of effects leading to total catastrophic failure.

 

[hafoc]

Dropped a guy on the street once with a kick to the shins.

Also, I once dropped a guy with a knee to the stomach. That sort of counts.

Know of two instances where guys were killed by kicks to the head. One was a side kick, the other a round house.

Earlier this year, an 8 year old kid took out a pedophile who tried to kidnap him with a round kick to the knee.

Also, I know of instances where front kicks to the groin took out somebody.

So, I'd say the evidence is good that kicks can work for self defense. But they're like any other technique. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

 

[blindsage]

Be careful with a groin kick. Take Black Lion's advice, if your going for it, make sure it's hard and it counts and that it leads to the next technique. I've been kicked in the groin without a cup a few times while sparring with moderate strength kicks and kept fighting through the discomfort because that's how we were taught to fight. Done the same with a kick to the solar plexus. It might work, but it might not. Commit to the attack to do damage, or at least be aware that a light or moderate hit may only receive a light or moderate reaction.

 

[BLACK LION]

Striking with the legs is paramount as they are the strongest of body weapons... I do not advocate striking above the pelvis unless its a knee or if they are on thier knees or on the ground... Its especially effective on upper body targets when the threat is on the ground.

I will say this... if there is a "leaglity issue" then it is clearly a social situation in which negotiation or evasion is a better option as physical contact is aviodable.....
If there is no legality and this is truly a threat then you are at liberty to do as you please and should not be constrained with social or legal nonsense.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Pretty much everything worth saying has been said, so I will simply add that I do feel that kicks have a place in SD.

I will comment that I have used kicks above my opponent's waist (and not above my own) successfully, but if my opponent is my own height or above, I tend to avoid them unless the opportunity is just handed to me.

In my case, I can kick quite a few people in the ribs or chest and still not kick above my own waistline.

Daniel