right into the crotch

[fenglong]

I wonder why techniques to attack the crotch are shown so rarely, although existent. Have they even been avoided and forgotten in most MA because they are considered lame and not allowed in sparring and competition?
I personally consider them to be valuable techniques for self-defense, especially vs grappling, and defending against them should be practiced too since nobody on the streets would care where they hit you.

How do your schools/styles handle this topic?

 

[Tez3]

We tend not to do them much because if attacking you a man will always protect that part of his anatomy, it's instinctive on their part so there's much better targets. It's also instinctive to defend for some reason lol.

 

[Gnarlie]

True dat. Discovered an instinctive application for crane stance when a football flew towards that area. There are targets that work better as 'manstoppers'.

 

[WC_lun]

The groin is a valid target in our school. It isn't something we concentrate on, but it is on the centerline and a very sensitive part of a person's anatomy, so it IS a valid target. I believe the reason many schools do not use groin techniques is the rise and popularity of martial sports. Schools are training for those rule sets. I don't have any issue with that. We all train for different reasons...as long as you understand the training is different.

 

[Tez3]

While not a legal target in sports you will still see men defend this area. We do regard it as a proper target in SD if you have a chance to use a strike to there but there are easier targets, one shouldn't concentrate on any target in particular but be able to take advantage of any opening one gets.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

My intepretation of the primary intended targets with the general targets in brackets.

1. Eyes (Nose)
2. Groin (Knees)
3. Throat (Jaw)

I consider it an essential target with lots of tender areas around it if you miss. Also, if you look at the torso as a lever, the pelvis is the pivot point and the foot makes an excellent fulcrum.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Depends on what you mean by 'crotch'.

If you mean 'groin', then yes. Valid target and we practice it.

If you mean 'genitals' or 'testicles', then no. By targeting the groin, the junk gets kicked just as effectively; it's in the way. But our goal is not to kick a guy in the wedding tackle, our goal is to collapse his pelvic bone. That's where we are aiming and that is one of the primary targets of the first kick in Isshin-Ru, the 'mae geri' or front snap kick.

You might be surprised to find that an enraged, drunken or otherwise intoxicated man can potentially ignored what would otherwise be a devastating kick to the rubber parts. There are even some schools of CMA (as I understand it) that practice 'Iron Crotch' techniques to be able withstand such kicks. And frankly, if you're aiming for the junk, and you don't stop the guy with that one kick, you've just made an enemy who will not stop until he's flossing with your intestines.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[mook jong man]

In Wing Chun , after you kick the attacker in the groin , you don't stop to admire your handiwork.

It is used as an entry to get you safely past his kicking range so that you can get in and apply your hand techniques.

It's a bridging the gap technique , if the groin target is not available then a low heel kick to the shin/knee is used , for longer range a charging knee is used.

All of these techniques are immediately followed by hand striking as soon as your kicking foot hits the floor , it is unbroken chain of movement that takes full advantage of using the power generated by moving your mass forward as you kick.

 

[Cyriacus]

I was kicked straight up into the Groin once.
It did nothing - However, I was surprised for a second, so thats something.

As such, nowadays I only focus on Hand Strikes to the Groin.

 

[Toast_in_the_Machine]

Besides the sport aspect which you mentioned and the fact that it is hard to get a partner to train with full contact, there is another practical aspect to kicks to the groin in a self defense situation that bears mentioning.

Take someone doing a classic slow overhand knife attack or even a big haymaker, in both situations, in order to hit the crotch you must lean back off of your base in order to get the foot squarely into the crotch. It seems like in that situation it would be an obvious target, but if the person is stretching forward for a strike, the nuts are surprisingly hard to hit.

 

[billc]

They aren't as effective because for generations of fighting, they have been a target, and their is an intense personal interest in most males to protect that area. Most criminals have had encounters with violence before they bother you, and that experience is just as valid as when you go to your school to train. They know where the sensitive areas are and are ready to exploit yours as well.

 

[shesulsa]

I've seen men get an adrenaline dump and become enraged when struck there. I understand the pain relay can be as long as 8 seconds. A lot can happen in 8 seconds. While it is still a target, it is NOT a primary target for me, rather an opportune one.

 

[seasoned]

In GoJu, what appears to be a front kick with the heel, is at times an upward toe kick angling up between the legs, and targeting the area where the testicles retract into. When targeting the testicles, a front snap kick delivered with a quick knee action works well. In a grappling situation the groin is accessible with hand strikes and is an easy target standing or on the ground. When teaching a 6-8 week self defense class, I will teach the below targets by number.
(1) Ears
(2) eyes
(3) nose
(4) throat
(5) solar plexus
(6) ribs
(7) groin
(8) knees
(9) Their instep with a stomp kick

I always found the above very easy to teach to beginners in a 6-8 week self defense class. No blocks, strikes start high and progress down the body.

A hand cupping ear strike (1) leads into the thumb gouge (2).
While the palm strike (3) rocks the head back opening up the throat (4).

The groin can be hit from many different angles. If your sitting and their standing and in close to you, they present a very open target with their groin.
If your on the ground and their over you, everyone targets the head, but, the groin is very easy to hit.

Just some quick thoughts on techniques I have taught over the years using the groin as a very value rich target.

 

[David43515]

I use groin strikes as parts of combinations, but never a a first shot because it`s too easy to defend. Also like Bill mentioned, my goal isn`t to mash the guy`s wobbly bits,it`s to move his pelvis or break down his structual balance (either by impact or pain makes no difference). It`s no different than moving his head or shoulder girdle. If I get the added benefit of alot of pain that`s great.....but it`s not the goal.

 

[oftheherd1]

Besides the sport aspect which you mentioned and the fact that it is hard to get a partner to train with full contact, there is another practical aspect to kicks to the groin in a self defense situation that bears mentioning.

Take someone doing a classic slow overhand knife attack or even a big haymaker, in both situations, in order to hit the crotch you must lean back off of your base in order to get the foot squarely into the crotch. It seems like in that situation it would be an obvious target, but if the person is stretching forward for a strike, the nuts are surprisingly hard to hit.

I was never taught to be off balance when deploying a strike or kick. When defending either of the above, especially the knife defense, being off balance would be the last thing I would want. In the Hapkido I learned, we would normally deflect or otherwise defend an attack and then counter attack with a strike or kick of grapple. But being off balance is always to be avoided.

 

[oftheherd1]

Depends on what you mean by 'crotch'.

If you mean 'groin', then yes. Valid target and we practice it.

If you mean 'genitals' or 'testicles', then no. By targeting the groin, the junk gets kicked just as effectively; it's in the way. But our goal is not to kick a guy in the wedding tackle, our goal is to collapse his pelvic bone. That's where we are aiming and that is one of the primary targets of the first kick in Isshin-Ru, the 'mae geri' or front snap kick.

You might be surprised to find that an enraged, drunken or otherwise intoxicated man can potentially ignored what would otherwise be a devastating kick to the rubber parts. There are even some schools of CMA (as I understand it) that practice 'Iron Crotch' techniques to be able withstand such kicks. And frankly, if you're aiming for the junk, and you don't stop the guy with that one kick, you've just made an enemy who will not stop until he's flossing with your intestines.

Hope that answers your question.

An often overlooked point. Especially in sexual assault defense. When you attempt a kick there, if you are not successful, you have just attacked the assailant's weapon, as well as the essence of his manhood. It will likely make your opponent even more enraged and vengeful.

 

[Touch Of Death]

An often overlooked point. Especially in sexual assault defense. When you attempt a kick there, if you are not successful, you have just attacked the assailant's weapon, as well as the essence of his manhood. It will likely make your opponent even more enraged and vengeful.

I think its the thought that a kick to the groin will do the trick that is dangerous. As part of a series of strikes, the kick to the groin should be the least of his problems. That is how "you" get away.
Sean

 

[MJS]

I wonder why techniques to attack the crotch are shown so rarely, although existent. Have they even been avoided and forgotten in most MA because they are considered lame and not allowed in sparring and competition?
I personally consider them to be valuable techniques for self-defense, especially vs grappling, and defending against them should be practiced too since nobody on the streets would care where they hit you.

How do your schools/styles handle this topic?

Certainly a valid target IMO. I've seen people hit there hard, and dropped. I've also seen a lighter hit, and while it does get a reaction, its not one that stopped the person. I think alot of the time, people tend to disregard them, because they feel its an area easily protected, that it wont drop the guy, etc. Personally, as long as it gets a reaction, that works for me. It gets a reaction so you can now set up something else, then another move, then another, and so on. No, I dont think that it should be looked at as the magical 1 shot 1 kill move.

 

[Buka]

A lot of men have been conditioned to believe that a strike to the groin will disable them. Sometimes it will, but most times it will not. Hurt, sure, but disable - like a shock to the lower sternum - not like that, no. I fear a grab more than a kick. But at the same time, that has not proved to be a viable defense while grappling in self defense.

In the seventies, the groin was a legal target area in open Karate competition. Most fighters had a good snapping front roundhouse kick for that opening. Many had a good drop side kick to counter a big kick, often picking up the kicker off his feet so the judges could see it. I never saw it result in an injury. Tournaments outlawed the groin as a target somewhere around 1980.

I think having it as a target area helped kickers become better kickers. You had to protect it. You had to have better timing, and retract your kick quicker. I used to tell my male students, "You want to see how open you are when you throw a head kick? After you shower, go into the privacy of your room and throw a head kick in front of a full length mirror, naked. Then tell me you don't need work in retracting your kicks."

I still teach and use the groin as a target while sparring. But my students, who have gone on to be instructors and better martial artists than I am, do not. Ah well, they probably know better than I.

 

[chinto]

both styles of Okinawan Karate I study teach the groin attack along with the other vitals. we also practice it.