Kicking- High or Low?

[DeLamar.J]

What is your preferred method of kicking and why? For myself, I tend to be more of a low line kicker, keeping the majority of my kicks waist level or below. I find that I'm more in balance and the odds of telegraphing the kick are a bit lower.

Thoughts?

I think it's best to just react naturally and kick where ever you kick. I'm not for or against high kicks. I do realize that they are high risk but thats because alot of people abuse them.

 

[MJS]

You kind of have to go for what's open. I mean, for someone to give you a head shot, if you don't take it, you effectively lower your chances of winning, simply because you had the opportunity to end it right there. I like to kick lower, picking off the lead leg is my signature, but you can't really pass on something that you have a decent shot at landing. These questions are kind of unanswerable, since your opponent's job from a defensive perspective is to get you out of your element. Thus, if you like to kick low, a good fighter will try his best to not offer anything up where you like to strike. So, preference has little to do with how you might actually strike in a fight.

I suppose we can look at this two different ways: ring and street. In the ring, taking those shots that may be a little risky, really wont matter, as the worst that'll happen is that if you make a mistake, and the other person counters, you'll just be missing out on that 'point' whereas outside of the ring, your shots need to have a bit more thought behind them.

If I'm wearing clothing that is not going to allow alot of flexability, I'm certainly not going to take that head shot with a kick just because its presenting itself at that time.

As for the other person not offering anything up...its pretty hard to be 100% protected. That being said, this is why its important to be able to set up your strikes in combos.

Mike

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

I suppose we can look at this two different ways: ring and street. In the ring, taking those shots that may be a little risky, really wont matter, as the worst that'll happen is that if you make a mistake, and the other person counters, you'll just be missing out on that 'point' whereas outside of the ring, your shots need to have a bit more thought behind them.

If I'm wearing clothing that is not going to allow alot of flexability, I'm certainly not going to take that head shot with a kick just because its presenting itself at that time.

As for the other person not offering anything up...its pretty hard to be 100% protected. That being said, this is why its important to be able to set up your strikes in combos.

Mike

First, I don't recall saying anything about being 100% protected; let's try not to mix my point up. I said that a good fighter will pick up on what you are comfortable throwing and try to take that away by not offering up shots where you want to throw. I'm not saying anything about a person's ability to do that, just that a good fighter will try. If you still don't understand, I'll be happy to give an example.

As for the street vs. the ring thing, I am almost in total disagreement. The longer a street fight goes, the more chance you have of getting hurt. I'm going to try to end it as quickly as possible. Your "pants" example is obviously a reasonable restriction; nevertheless, anything that can reasonably connect could potentially end the fight, and I'm going for it.

Also, the reason I didn't address other strikes is because I didn't want to derail the thread too badly. The point being that preference plays less a role in fighting than one would generally think. With some dude charging at you, you're not going to be picky.

 

[MJS]

First, I don't recall saying anything about being 100% protected; let's try not to mix my point up. I said that a good fighter will pick up on what you are comfortable throwing and try to take that away by not offering up shots where you want to throw. I'm not saying anything about a person's ability to do that, just that a good fighter will try. If you still don't understand, I'll be happy to give an example.

You're right, a good fighter will try. I would also think that if his opponent is a good fighter, he will do what he could to create openings, such as with combos.

As for the street vs. the ring thing, I am almost in total disagreement. The longer a street fight goes, the more chance you have of getting hurt. I'm going to try to end it as quickly as possible. Your "pants" example is obviously a reasonable restriction; nevertheless, anything that can reasonably connect could potentially end the fight, and I'm going for it.

I agree. Get it done as quick as possible. However, I would still think that one should not just throw a strike for the sake of throwing it, but instead, putting some thought behind it, to yield better results.

Also, the reason I didn't address other strikes is because I didn't want to derail the thread too badly. The point being that preference plays less a role in fighting than one would generally think. With some dude charging at you, you're not going to be picky.

Yes, the thread was about kicking, but I don't see any reason why we couldn't talk about other strikes to set up those kicks. Perhaps I'm just reading your post wrong, but why wouldn't you want to put a bit more emphasis on where you strike, rather than just throwing a strike for the sake of throwing it? If someone is charging at you, knowing what would get you the best results would be pretty important IMHO.

Mike

 

[Marginal]

If I'm wearing clothing that is not going to allow alot of flexability, I'm certainly not going to take that head shot with a kick just because its presenting itself at that time.

Stop buying Wranglers.

If it came down to having a clear head shot in a self defense situation, I'm tearing the crotch outta my jeans. (Just to clairify, I mean in the process of kicking them, not as a distraction before I kick 'em.)

Seems like absolutely refusing to throw a strike at a particular target is not being deliberate in strike placement.

 

[MJS]

Stop buying Wranglers.

Nope, don't buy those.

If it came down to having a clear head shot in a self defense situation, I'm tearing the crotch outta my jeans. (Just to clairify, I mean in the process of kicking them, not as a distraction before I kick 'em.)

Sure, and if I was in a good position to do so, I may do the same.

Seems like absolutely refusing to throw a strike at a particular target is not being deliberate in strike placement.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against head kicks, but like it was said by Xequat, I'd prefer it if the head was near the ground already. Its just my personal preference to use low line kicks.

Mike

 

[Marginal]

Nope, don't buy those.

But they're cheap and tight in all the wrong places!

Don't get me wrong, I am not against head kicks, but like it was said by Xequat, I'd prefer it if the head was near the ground already. Its just my personal preference to use low line kicks.

Yah, but that just fits in with what AJ was saying. You tend to react within your comfort zone, and with what you trained. If you train more high kicks, your natural reaction may be to go for the head. Vs someone else going almost exclusively for the knee. Don't see one as necessarially being more intelligent or better thought out.

 

[MJS]

But they're cheap and tight in all the wrong places!

:lol:

Yah, but that just fits in with what AJ was saying. You tend to react within your comfort zone, and with what you trained. If you train more high kicks, your natural reaction may be to go for the head. Vs someone else going almost exclusively for the knee. Don't see one as necessarially being more intelligent or better thought out.

I see your point and I'm not necessarily disagreeing. Like I said, I'm not against high kicks. The arts that I do, Kenpo and Arnis, are not known for high kicks, like you'd see in an art like TKD. That being said, that is why I prefer low line kicks. As far as my game plan goes, I prefer to pick my targets a bit more carefully so as to get the best results I can.

Mike

 

[Odin]

Muay thai low kick to the nerve endings just above the side of the knee.....come on man my brothers in the army doing crowd control in iraq and they are adivsed to strike that point with a battons while in riot situations since not only does it cause a hella lot of pain but also gives you a dead leg and makes it hard for the target to run away!...and i know my shin can have the same effect as that batton.

I like high kicks but i wear baggy pants...baggy pants+ high kicks= ripped pants

 

[Bigshadow]

What is your preferred method of kicking and why? For myself, I tend to be more of a low line kicker, keeping the majority of my kicks waist level or below. I find that I'm more in balance and the odds of telegraphing the kick are a bit lower.

Thoughts?

I don't really have a "preference". However, low kicks are more common in the art I train in. Being close in, high kicks take too long, telegraph too much, and can be seen coming a mile away. Most kicks we do are low, attacking the knees, feet, thighs, hips, etc. Of course if on the ground, some kicks attack the head, neck, and chest.

I would say in general, low is the way to go! "Working on my poetry!" :rofl:

 

[rutherford]

Groin is the highest target I kick for, and I actually prefer not to kick there. Automatic response to protect is too strong for anything other than a surprise attack while they're distracted.

And, I've been doing less retracting of my kicks in anything other than solo training drills. I've been doing more aggressive stuff where I'm always trying to take the other person's space and advancing in with every movement. So, I like to hit and then keep pushing or redirect.

But, I've still *never* thrown a kick in anything other than playful sparring or training. For anything serious I still use my legs solely for taking balance, leg trapping, low-line defense, and my own mobility.

 

[Bigshadow]

Groin is the highest target I kick for, and I actually prefer not to kick there. Automatic response to protect is too strong for anything other than a surprise attack while they're distracted.

In reality, groin kicks are one of the most difficult to pull off in a real confrontation. Just the way people naturally stand, their thighs protect that area making contact extremely difficult.

 

[rutherford]

In reality, groin kicks are one of the most difficult to pull off in a real confrontation. Just the way people naturally stand, their thighs protect that area making contact extremely difficult.

And then there's people like my instructor. He can hit them regularly, no matter what you try to do to protect yourself. Often it's because of the distractions and timing we use in our art. Often it's due to his pinpoint accuracy. He does always strike with the toes to there, and I'm a top of the foot guy.

I don't know. I just know it sucks, because I always end up on the ground. :idunno:

 

[MJS]

And then there's people like my instructor. He can hit them regularly, no matter what you try to do to protect yourself. Often it's because of the distractions and timing we use in our art. Often it's due to his pinpoint accuracy. He does always strike with the toes to there, and I'm a top of the foot guy.

I don't know. I just know it sucks, because I always end up on the ground. :idunno:

Dont you just hate that? Makes you constantly think "How the heck did he sneak that kick in?"

 

[MA-Caver]

At 16 I could perform a beautiful full round house kick to the head. At 17 I managed to get that to a nice jumping round house kick to the head. At 20 I was able to do a blinding three stroke kick that started at the head, then the chest (designed to knock off balance and the wind out) and ending with the solar plexus, was able to do that so quick that most people thought I just hit the head once. .... God, I loved doing that. :uhyeah:

sigh ... now then, at 30 I was able to still do that triple stroke but no longer the nice round houses. Never mind the jumping ones either, ... those went out when I was ohh, about 27 or so. But I still managed to keep my balance enough to do a sweeping side-kick to the head, which is to say that it's me standing in one spot, turned sideways to my opponent and bringing my foot up to smack a jaw that's about up to 5 1/2 feet off the ground and bring it back down.

Now at 44 years of age, (sigh) no matter how much I try to keep myself in shape, no matter how much I stretch and try to maintain my balance (keeping in mind ya'll, that my equilibrium is off due to deafness in one ear and severe hearing loss in the other), I'm not able to do those nice TKD kicks I learned so long ago. Nor those nice side kicks to the head, or even the triple kick starting at the head. So I use kicks that I've learned from other arts.
So now, I tend to kick for the solar-plexus, stomach, groin, knees, and shins. I believe now, that if I can bring my opponent down to their knees or knock their center off balance then I got a better chance of putting them where I need them to be do to what I got to do to come out ahead.
Age sucks, and maybe this doesn't happen to everyone at or near my age (or those approaching it... and yes, you will :wink1: ) but it does happens; so you compensate and throw away what is no longer useful (or capable) to you and utilize what is useful (or capable) to/for/by you.
At least you don't go around feeling sorry for yourself because you're not as young as you used to be. You just go around feeling good about yourself for what you can do today.

:asian:

 

[karatekid1975]

Age sucks, and maybe this doesn't happen to everyone at or near my age (or those approaching it... and yes, you will :wink1: ) but it does happens; so you compensate and throw away what is no longer useful (or capable) to you and utilize what is useful (or capable) to/for/by you.
At least you don't go around feeling sorry for yourself because you're not as young as you used to be. You just go around feeling good about yourself for what you can do today.

:asian:

I feel for ya. I used to do those pretty kicks, too. Even a few "trick" kicks. But I had a few injuries, and I hit my 30's. I can still manage kicks (my height) to the head in sparring, but most of them are mid section now. BUT my mid/low kicks are technically good/powerful. So, I didn't loose much technically by loosing height. So I agree with ya.

 

[Bigshadow]

At 16 I could perform a beautiful full round house kick to the head. At 17 I managed to get that to a nice jumping round house kick to the head. At 20 I was able to do a blinding three stroke kick that started at the head, then the chest

sigh ... now then, at 30 I was able to still do that triple stroke but no longer the nice round houses.

Now at 44 years of age, (sigh) I'm not able to do those nice TKD kicks I learned so long ago.

So now, I tend to kick for the solar-plexus, stomach, groin, knees, and shins.

Age sucks, and maybe this doesn't happen to everyone at or near my age (or those approaching it... and yes, you will :wink1: ) but it does happens; so you compensate and throw away what is no longer useful (or capable) to you and utilize what is useful (or capable) to/for/by you.

:asian:

Hmmm..... I believe there is a lesson hidden in those words. :asian: