General notes:
One of the best defensive kicks in any martial artists arsenal in my
opinion, as well as one of the easiest to learn. It has the best power-to-speed
ratio when practised properly, using the quadriceps and the gluteus muscles
as well as the knee tendon and arch tendon areas. It can be used not only
as a very fast way to stop an incoming opponent using any kind of short
range attack, but can be used as a good combination starter for a wide
variety of offensive kicks. A good example of this can be seen in the
VIDEOS section of the site.
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1) Stand in the ready stance. |
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2) While shifting the weight of the body on to the back leg, begin
to lift the leading leg. The upper part of the body should remain
upright at all times, and the arms should be kept up as much as possible
to protect the head and torso. The supporting foot should face towards
the target area at all times during the kick, and should never move. |
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3) Continue raising the leg using the quadriceps, keeping the lower
half of the leg at right angles to the top half of the leg. At this
point, the leg is in what's known as the 'chamber position'. Depending
on how well the entire leg was 'wound up' at this point the power
and swiftness of execution of the kick is determined. It is of vital
importance the body is completely balanced at this point, or the kick
will lose a lot of power during execution. For this reason, the arms
should still be raised, and the back should still be straight. |
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4) As should be viewed on the video, the movement from the chamber
position previously to this should be one steady flow of movement
and not just one after the other. The momentum of raising the leg
should be carried though to the bottom half of the leg - much like
a 'whip' effect. The point of contact with this kick is the ball of
the foot; so you must remember to pull the toes back, but point your
foot. The important things to remember is that when kicking the target,
the target area has to have been hit before the leg even reaches this
position. Essentially kicking 'through' the target. (I find maximum
power is reached just after mid-way between the chamber position and
point where leg is fully locked). The other very important thing is
to control the kicking leg during the kick. Never let the leg fully
extend when the kick is executed. The whiplash effect on the knee
if over-extending the leg can cause serious, sometimes irreparable
damage to the knee. I have found that making sure that just before
the point of full extension, tense all the muscles within the leg.
This prevents the leg from being completely locked out by ensuring
that the tensing of the hamstrings counters that of the quadriceps.
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5) After execution, it is important to retract the leg as quick
as it was executed, bringing it through the same path that brought
it there. |
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6) After execution, it is important to retract the leg as quick
as it was executed, bringing it through the same path that brought
it there. |
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7)Back in to the ready stance |
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Click here to see the kick in action !
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