The importance of the side kick in TKD

[Mimir]

I will also use a front leg (defensive) side kick while sparring. Especially if the other guy is trying to bull his way in.

 

[BrandonLucas]

One of my instructors (years ago) taught me tremendous respect for a lead-leg side kick. He'd throw it right at your beltline as you came in. One learned quickly to try to use an angle to get in. Nasty when done well!

Oh man!!!

My instructor used this on me back in the day....it sucks sooo bad!! One of my weaknesses in sparring is trying to guard my beltline from the side...my elbows don't cover the area as well. That used to be his main thing to do to me when we were sparring. I know he was trying to tell me to cover up, but I just couldn't...and I would totally have to change up my plan of attack, because those kicks would hurt and throw me way off balance at the same time.

On a side note, side kicks are not necessarily slow. It all depends on who's throwing the kick...they can be fast, sneaky, and powerful. Alot of those front leg sidekicks are great for under-the-radar kicks as well as distancing kicks, or even closing-the-distance kicks.

The cool thing I like to do is to think outside the box with what applications I can have with certain kicks.

 

[Miles]

I use side kick in sparring all the time - lead leg side kicks are quite fast, and very hard to stop.

Sorry Kacey, I should have prefaced my remark by stating the side kick is used very little in Olympic sparring. When we use a lead leg side kick-it is generally referred to as a "cut kick" since we are cutting off our opponent's technique or movement. And I totally agree, the cut kick can be quite fast. Even an old guy like me, with proper timing can knock down a larger person using this technique. I instruct my students that when they see their opponent's rear shoulder moving forward, that's when we cut!

 

[Miles]

The way I see it, a kick which lacks speed is one which can be evaded, unless the attacker is controlled so that he has no chance to do so. And if he is, that power can be brought decisively to bear to end the attack, if properly applied. Put those two considerations together and you get the kind of app we stress for the side kick at our school: a damaging strike on a controlled attacker's lower body—typically the inside of the knee joint, which can easily be ruptured by such a kick in a way that won't easily heal, while the attacker is kept at close range by a hikite/pin combination or something similar. At that kind of range, he won't even see the knee coming, and a good hard strike will bring him to the ground without much chance of getting up unaided. We practice side kicks high, as serious training in balance while applying major force, but as a terminating strike we treat it as a CQ tactic.

This is an excellent point Exile-if I am behind my opponent in a self-defense situation, I can side kick the back, the kidney area, the back of the leg, etc. If I have controlled my opponent because I have grabbed him, I can side kick him into tomorrow. If I control my opponent because I've limited his options due to a check motion or the terrain, I can side kick him into tomorrow.

 

[terryl965]

I also enjoy the turning sidekick for competition, it works wonder on people minds. Always wanting to know how can it be thrown with that amount of speed and my response is practice.

 

[exile]

I also enjoy the turning sidekick for competition, it works wonder on people minds. Always wanting to know how can it be thrown with that amount of speed and my response is practice.

More and more, I've come to think that repetition, correction and more repetition is 99% of success in the MAs...

 

[terryl965]

More and more, I've come to think that repetition, correction and more repetition is 99% of success in the MAs...

It is repetition is the leys to all who trains in the MA. I am a firm believer in this, I tend to work my basic three or four times a week. I also believe this is what makes my timing so much netter than others.

 

[karatemom]

Interesting video... it's funny since the broken toe + surgery (3 months ago) I am still struggling with my balance which is really affecting my side kicks. No way could I try to throw a kick that high w/o falling over.
I may try some of those excercises from that video.

 

[zDom]

Sorry Kacey, I should have prefaced my remark by stating the side kick is used very little in Olympic sparring. When we use a lead leg side kick-it is generally referred to as a "cut kick" since we are cutting off our opponent's technique or movement. And I totally agree, the cut kick can be quite fast. Even an old guy like me, with proper timing can knock down a larger person using this technique. I instruct my students that when they see their opponent's rear shoulder moving forward, that's when we cut!

Sad, but true. The really sad thing is it isn't used in Olympic sparring because it doesn't receive points, NOT because it isn't effective.

Even the front leg side kick has tremendous power if trained.

Here's a very recent example.

In hapkido class last week, we were getting a guy ready to go compete in a Olympic style match in St. Louis. Heavy contact but we weren't trying to kill each other.

During my first round with him, I decided to stick him with some side kicks — pretty much like you described: a "cut kick" if you will.

Every time me started to move — POW: I stuck a sidekick in right on the belt line. Hit him with about four sidekicks in a row on his left side. I wasn't trying to "blast" him — no step behind or slide in. Just a short series of (well-timed) front leg sidekicks.

When dressing back in after the next class he showed me the results: an oval-shaped bruise about the size of a hand in a knife hand position. This was THROUGH a hogu.

Side note: when he got back from competing, he said one of the event's black belts told him that in their judging seminars, they are INSTRUCTED to NOT award points for sidekicks or punches.

It's a shame. There is nothing in the rules that I know of that should have resulted in the bias against sidekicks in Olympic style TKD.

 

[dancingalone]

Side note: when he got back from competing, he said one of the event's black belts told him that in their judging seminars, they are INSTRUCTED to NOT award points for sidekicks or punches.

It's a shame. There is nothing in the rules that I know of that should have resulted in the bias against sidekicks in Olympic style TKD.

That's interesting. What do they have against the side kick? Is it just because it's not a flashy technique?

 

[BrandonLucas]

I don't understand how it would not be as flashy...a kick that scores is a kick that scores. So it's not a headshot...how does a roundhouse kick to the hogu look more flashy than a side kick to the hogu?

It's just one of the many things I'll never understand about Olympic style sparring.

 

[dancingalone]

I don't understand how it would not be as flashy...a kick that scores is a kick that scores. So it's not a headshot...how does a roundhouse kick to the hogu look more flashy than a side kick to the hogu?

It's just human nature - it's what we prefer for spectacle. Techniques with big, arcing swings are generally considered more aesthically pleasing (by most). Look at the competition wushu routines: their movements are large and they are greatly influenced by Northern Chinese styles like fanzi that favor this type of motion. If you've ever attended an open martial arts tournament where the styles are mixed, have you ever seen a Wing Chun guy win the forms division with something like Sim Lum Tao or a Goju karate person winning with sanchin? I think not. It's usually crowd-pleasers like Bassai or Chung Mu or even Moi Fa.

 

[BrandonLucas]

That's true, but I just don't understand WHY the points are awarded on aesthetics alone. If a point is scored, as long as it's a CLEAN point, then why not count it?

By the nature of aeshtics, would a flying sidekick count?

I just don't agree with tournements being judged on what looks cool...but I don't want to derail this thread, either..just my .02.

 

[dancingalone]

That's true, but I just don't understand WHY the points are awarded on aesthetics alone. If a point is scored, as long as it's a CLEAN point, then why not count it?

By the nature of aeshtics, would a flying sidekick count?

I just don't agree with tournements being judged on what looks cool...but I don't want to derail this thread, either..just my .02.

That's just an assumption I am making. I could be entirely off base. I'd love to hear why judges are being told not to score a side kick from someone in the know.

 

[bluekey88]

from what I've seen...side kicks score. However, a classic back leg sidekcik just doesnt' get throqn as much as it is too slow and telegraphed in msot cases to land effectively. cut kicks (fast front leg side kick) in combination with roundhouse and axe kicks are bread and butter in Olympic TKD.

It's got nothing to do with perceived aesthetics.

Peace,
Erik

 

[dancingalone]

from what I've seen...side kicks score. However, a classic back leg sidekcik just doesnt' get throqn as much as it is too slow and telegraphed in msot cases to land effectively. cut kicks (fast front leg side kick) in combination with roundhouse and axe kicks are bread and butter in Olympic TKD.

It's got nothing to do with perceived aesthetics.

Peace,
Erik

Erik, you may have missed post #29 where zDom states referees are being told not to score side kicks...

I'd still like to know why.

 

[bluekey88]

In tournies I've beenm to...they're getting scored. All I can report is my experiences.

 

[zDom]

Erik, you may have missed post #29 where zDom states referees are being told not to score side kicks...

I'd still like to know why.

I'd like to know why, too.

Speculation: based on what their sidekicks look like, I think it might be a case of THEIR sidekicks lack "trembling shock" power hence they believe ALL sidekicks lack "trembling shock" power. Ditto for punches.

 

[IcemanSK]

At the '88 Olympics, the USA's Arlene Limas, came out of an Open tournament background. In the Open-style, a front leg side side was quite common. It was not the norm in Olympic-style circles. Arlene won gold, in large part, to her ability to land that kick well.

It's odd to me that it didn't really catch on in Olympic Style TKD.

 

[Kacey]

Sorry Kacey, I should have prefaced my remark by stating the side kick is used very little in Olympic sparring. When we use a lead leg side kick-it is generally referred to as a "cut kick" since we are cutting off our opponent's technique or movement. And I totally agree, the cut kick can be quite fast. Even an old guy like me, with proper timing can knock down a larger person using this technique. I instruct my students that when they see their opponent's rear shoulder moving forward, that's when we cut!

No worries... I've never been and Olympic-style sparrer, so I don't generally think in those terms. As far as why side kick has never caught on in Olympic sparring, I couldn't say; I've been side-kicked in the head enough to know it's effective!