Side Kick versus Thai Roundhouse Kick

nuh uh...still doing it TKD style, straight up and pop...?

 

yeah i can do that and get enough power for a low kick (not a damaging one, but enough to stop the person coming in)
try this- before you throw the kick "switch" your foot position. so that your lead foot is now your back foot, and your back foot is in front. doesnt have to be by much because you will only be like that for a split second. as soon as your foot that you are kicking with touches the ground, drive it up and into the kick. its kind of hard to explain and it takes some getting used to, but its worth it. the switch itself is the hardest bit to get right, have to do it REAL fast otherwise its a dead giveaway. can be useful for other moves too, like switching and throwing a punch instead of a kick to throw your opponent off

 

LOL! Ikken's up on the ol switch step rigamarole.
A classic one is to switch up and they rush to check on the new side and then switch back and nail them from your original stance. Nothing like annoying your opponent to death!

Then again there are guys like Buakaw, Kaoklai and others that can get the same amount of power throwing from the lead leg with no switch step... damn those Thai genetics!

 

How many thai boxers get hit by lightning each year, though?

 

hehe. im getting there... can set the really super duper heavy bag swinging with a lead leg kick. but it doesnt tear it off the chain and send it hurtling through walls like my rear leg one

i have a clip of buakaw throwing consecutive kicks off each leg, same power, not moving backward or forward... now that, I wish I could do!

but if you watch his footwork closely he does throw some switch kicks in there while hes fighting.

 

sweet, I'll give it a try..

:love:

 

For my front roundhouse, I don't usually switch (else its no longer a front, is it? ), but I do tend to step out a bit wider on my back foot, so just a bit lateral instead of forward like a quick switch. Still a dead giveaway if you are slow. Unless they think you are just side stepping around a bit.

A lot of people seem to be comparing the speed of a front side kick vs a rear thai roundhouse which is not a fair comparison. Comparing a rear sidekick I think would be very similar in speed in well trained fighter of each style. I know some fighters who can put a rear thai round through your shin mighty quick, or even into the side of your neck if you aren't paying attention. See it in fights all the time too. Ok not all the time, but its not uncommon. Cropcop anyone?

 

I prefer the thai roundhouse as it's less telegraphed and lends itself better to combos. Side kicks are quite powerful if they hit though.

 

Side kick vs roundhouse

Hi Mr Gray..interesting question. Before i go on, would like to say my martial art background is similar to yours. Okay..i would just comment the strengths between these 2 kicks.
Side Kick:The side kick is a good offensive and defensive tool. As offensive tool, it can be executed fast with the lead leg as a "slide-in or hop-in lead side kick">the 'thrust power' of this is incredible..made famous by Bruce Lee. As a defensive tool again the lead leg side kick to the body can be used to stop an advancing opponent.
Roundhouse Kick: A well planted roundhouse kick to the body is as powerful like the side kick. However the impact is different. Being a 'circular' kick, an opponent will not 'bounce back' unlike the side kick.
Thus, these few points i mentioned will hope to highlight the difference of the 2 kicks.
I refrain from saying which is better overall because it would be "how well it is executed" by the individual. In short, different fighters have each different favourite tools.

Thank you.

 

Sorry Mr Gray, to complete my answer to your Q "which is overall better">> the roundhouse kick is mostly used in sport fighting due to its economy of movement, easier to 'follow-up' unlike the side kick.
The side kick however is better to hold-off an incoming attack as in sport fighting or in street situation where an opponent is lunging at you with or without a knife. I call it a 'jamming' kick to hold-off the opponent. Thank you, again.

 

Personally I am really against the idea of jamming or stop kicks. If you are going to put your foot on the opponent IMO you want to have the intention of doing damage.

There are simple mechanics for both front and side kicks of the front foot that strike with some power. The front kick using a square on hip flex the side kick using the side teep mechanic described on the mai tai side kick thread. (which oddly is the way I learnt to side kick in Kung fu).

I am not against using a kick to stop the opponent as they come in. I am against only useing the kick to stop them when it is possible to stop them and do damage at the same time. Its a mindset thing.

 

Why limit yourself to one particular "mindset thing"?

Could you possibly imagine a circumstance where you might prefer not to damage someone?

What if some snotty teenage girl gives you some argy-bargy on the street, then you see her hips shift to kick you? You're going to smash her up because you won't allow yourself a different mindset?

 

Against an unarmed opponent the low roundhouse kick has a high chance of success a high impact on the opponent and posses a low risk to kicker.
There is a chance of leg injury if the kick is blocked heavily. I personally know one person whose leg shattered when their roundhouse kick was blocked in a fight. It was not the result of bad technique. I also personally know one person who has been struck by lightning.

 

In my personal experience it is possible to tone down the power of a technique when necessary. However if one practices a technique thats mechanics are incapable of generating power it is not possible to tone the power up.

I am against learning kicks that can only be used as stop kicks.

 

The Stop Hit is to allow an easier follow up/hit - I think you are either misunderstanding the nature of it or else have not actually experienced it

The Jeet Tek is an obvious example

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCskBD66HEY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCskBD66HEY[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCWGNFvQa2A"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCWGNFvQa2A[/ame]

Again it is not an end in itself, it is a "active defense" - you may as well object to blocking, bobbing or weaving

 

Again I suggest you have never actually felt one, because the power is not a prerequisite...the attacker supplies that themselves

 

Why tag someone comparatively lightly to set them up for an attack when one could just as easily hit them hard enough to potentially end the fight?

It takes the same amount of time to kick with power as to stop kick. It is just as easy to kick with power as to stop kick. There are the same levels of risk to the kicker. Why not practice a mechanic that provides the option of kicking with power?

 

Because the opportunity does not present itself. Additionally a Jeet tek will wreck the knee quite handily

Again as you have never tried or trained in or against it you are merely speculating; I have used it "live" and in sparring and to be honest the only reason i don't use it more is because it quite devastating

100% wrong and once again shows you have no experience in what you are critiquing

 

Again we are using slightly different definitions of terms

1m 30s in to the first video the speaker distinguishes between a snap kick / harassing kick and a stop kick with power.

I am used to using the term snap kick and stop kick interchangeably. What you refer to as a stop kick I would call jamming, a very useful technique.

Using the terms in the video - I would say that I am against learning snap kicks as opposed to stop kicks. For the reasons already outlined.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCskBD66HEY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCskBD66HEY[/ame]

 

If it is simply a semantic difference then fair enough on teh "stop kick" front

However, even with that said you are overlooking the potential of arts such as savate in dismissing "snap" or "flick" motions; Daniel Duby throws effortless kicks with what looks like a flicking motion and there is NO loss of effect

My own Sifu showing some "snap" in his Savate (which he learned from Professor Duby)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BifTcyQfR_w"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BifTcyQfR_w[/ame]

Pseudo on here has felt this up close and personal too, so feel free to ask him about the effects

Power and snap are not "either/or" solutions any more than "jab OR cross" - time and a place for everything