How To Unleash Organ-Churning POWER In Your Kicks!
Are your kicks powerful?
Oh sure, you may be able to smack the hell out of a heavy bag with a well placed front snap kick or your favorite roundhouse.
But I’m talking real organ-churning POWER!
Unfortunately a lot of kicks work far better in TRAINING than they do in a real life street attack scenario.
This is because real “power training” that takes place in many martial arts schools is done with repeated motion against a striking pad.
The intention of this type of training IS to “kick hard”…but to also follow up with ADDITIONAL kicks as part of a drill.
But when done correctly – with real power – you should only need ONE SINGLE KICK to finish the job.
Here’s how to do it…
First, it doesn’t matter WHAT type of kick you’re launching…it’s the PRINCIPLE OF POWER that is most important.
You see, in close quarters combat, one of the methods I hold as a foundation is to constantly be in FORWARD MOTION as you fight.
This ensures that YOU “own” the offense and your attacker is focused on defending himself rather than striking you.
Understanding this principle, when you deliver your kick, you should focus on kicking THROUGH your attacker and dropping your foot down where HE is (was!) standing.
This goes against many training drills which have you retract your kicking leg back into your “ready stance” to prepare for the next kick.
In addition, driving your foot THROUGH your attacker and dropping down, projects the momentum of your foot, deep into his guts or smashes through bone much better than “static” kicks that instill the instinct to retract the kick.
So even when training with a heavy bag, train one kick at a time and focus on kicking and stepping straight down (with the kicking leg) to INCREASE POWER…maintain FORWARD MOMENTUM…and OWN the offense!
seems to me that the strike into or through the opposition would also work for all or most all types of responses whether kicks, punches, palm-strikes, elbows, etc. . This would effectively change ones entire fighting “philosophy”, the devastation method. semper fi
Really good tips, this is what i use to train.
Starting can get some getting used to, so to help, imagine your aiming for the spine, or back of the skull and kick through.
After that, aim for the nearest wall, and kick your partner through it
oh yea, i agree with that! kicking and aiming thru the opponent; one of Bruce Lee’s famous philosophies too!
But I dun quite agree with the notion that only one kick will or shall do the trick. True to some, they have the ability to do that; however to most people under extreme stress, fear and adrenaline dump, would it create a mis or pre-conception?
Constantly moving forward is a great way to get knocked out by any decent fighter. Have you heard of “Counter-attacks” ?
Sean…love your attitude brother!
Charles…c’mon man…you really want to stick around for “counter-attacks”? If you DON’T continue forward momentum, you’re giving any fighter, ESPECIALLY your “decent fighter” a chance to turn the tables on you.
The whole principle is NOT to give them the chance for a counterattack. Forward momentum is what gives you the edge…and helps you keep it ’till the “end”.
Respect your opinion though and all views are always welcome here! Keep up the great comments! (Same goes to all!)
I once witnessed a side thrust kick delivered in exactly this manner in the ring back when full contact didn’t involve a cage. Despite the top condition and the washboard abs, the recipient of the kick (a little more than waste high)simply collapsed into himself. he didn’t fall down only because his legs held his stance, but he was absolutely through.
I always use this method in the street, especially with low kicks. A side blade kick that scrapes the shin and lands on the instep immediately breaks the form of the biggest opponent, and a front kick to the solar plexus places the knee in striking range to the groin as long as you do NOT snap the kick back.
For my way of thinking, multiple kicks are best thrown when the repeated kicks begin much closer to the tragte, so snapping them back really doesn’t work very well.
The second I have more than a penny to my name,I’m taking this course. It cannot help but improve my ability to defend myuself, especially against larger opponents.
A forward moving knee to the groin followed up by a chin jab was the only thing that allowed me to get away from a VERY uncomfortable situation that doesn’t really require going into details at this point. If bought a lot of running time and eventual safety. I don’t think sticking around trying to establish “macho” dominance is the route to take. Get your hits in, buy yourself “departure time” and get to someplace safe before buddies, allies, etc. show up. And a good, solid, forward momentum kick WILL buy you time, specially if used with other gross motor movement strikes you can handle when your adrenaline is pumping wildly. As far as I’m concerned, Jeff’s recommendation is excellent.
Great point Tony!
We can NEVER stress enough the importance of “getting away”. As a security professional, I’d seen too many reports of guys sticking around to admire their work or defend their girlfriend & ego only to find the wrong end of a baseball bat pulled out of the guy’s buddy’s car.
Matsan, the Sensei at the KODAKON Annex in Yokosuka once spoke of catching the kicking leg, crossing your arms at the midpoint between wrist and elbow and traping the kick in a cross 24 inches wide, lifting the leg as you step in and crossing it in front of you as you raise it high.
Itchi Ban son Mike trained since 5 years and a 3rd degree black Judologist has spoken of it in successful terms as a defence against 2 kicks but leaves the kicker near defenseless to a third kick to his head.
A “Gentle Way” player would not unleash that 3rd kick but your suggestion of stepping in would sure give him something to step on wouldn’t it? Mike helped Capt. “M” coach the LA Olympic Judo Team and probably would not kick!
This sounds great as long as you connect with your ONE kick. There are no guarantees in a fight especially no guarantees that every strike you attempt will be successful. What happens if your opponent is able to side step your kick attempt. Like Charles said at that point your open to a counter attack made easier by your unstable wide stance that results from your kicking leg coming straight down instead of back into your fighting stance. Besides, I distinctly remember my mcmap training including counters to kicking opponents.
I agree with kicking through your target. In a street fight, I want to take out my opponent as fast as possible! For example, If I hook kick someone in the knee or side of the the thigh, I want my kick to be like a baseball bat smashing through the leg and not like a “whip” ( which hits and retracts, negating some of the forward momentum ) If my opponent is able to evade the kick, I better have enough neuromuscular control to maintain my balance and fight on and of course I’ll always keep my hands up when kicking.
Comments well taken (Juan). But this still seems to fall into a traditional training model. Watch real street fights and look to see how many times an opponent “sidesteps” a kick.
In an adrenalized state, the brain doesn’t process reaction very well. It goes into “monkey brain”. However, if you do try to throw a kick from too far away (hence, “kicking range”), then it is much more probable that your kick will be deflected, caught, or sidestepped. This is why I don’t recommend “kicking” from far away. We ARE talking about “close quarters combat” here.
I prefer not to think in “attack – block – counterattack” training models. I’ve just never seen it happen in real life.
Thank you VERY much for contributing your opinion! All are welcome here!
Low kicks are the safest in a street/bar fight. Remember to watch for your assailant’s buddies-They tend to move in fast when their friend gets himself into trouble. Taking out the “Mouth” of the group quickly gives the others second thoughts in many cases. Best of luck!
Owen K. Megonow
This is a good strategy with a high probability of success. However, as with any strategy, there are many variables which can alter or affect the outcome. Relying on one strategy opens the potential for an encounter with an opponent whose strategey works better in this specific scenario. A good fighter must remain flexible in order to change strategies or tactics as the situation dictates.
Respectfully,
Tom
im only 11 and i am kicking fucken ass