Good lead-leg kickers (KB, MT, TKD, karate, MMA, San Da...)?

So my latest project has become researching fighters who start off combinations with their lead leg, and examine the strategies and techniques they use to make it work. While Bill Wallace is legendary for this, I don't follow most striking pure(ish) sports enough to know who to immediately look up, besides him. Since my "kicking for short guys" thread from a while back gave me some great resources, I thought I'd open up to the MAp community on this subject. Mostly, I'm looking for footage of fighters who are good at using their lead (front) leg to kick, specifically who use lead-leg kicks to begin combinations. Any names you guys want to pass on?

 

Hi mate not sure what sort of level of power etc your looking for on these videos but f you go on YouTube and search for Raymond Daniels .. It's mostly semi contact but he has a very fast lead from front leg.

 

Baukaw Pro Pramuk is generally a great all rounder and as a MT fighter they generally kick for the body with both lead and rear legs.
Its difficult to say which is his stronger as he tends to switch stances at times. However, when you see a guy do this (see below) I dont think it matters.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfWywyVsrFU"]Buakaw Muaythai kick on bambo tree - YouTube[/ame]

Ben Henderson (UFC/WEC/MMA) history of TKD has given him the obvious benefits of various kicks and mad flexibility. (see his Diaz fight using front splits as a way of getting out of a foot lock). Most notably he has been using a lead kick to the calf to his opponents. Most likely in an effort to slow them down, such as Frankie Edgar and Nate Diaz whom both walked away with big bruises on their calf. The calf is a much smaller muscle than the quads (thighs) so the impact/damage is much greater.
Its also a touch more unexpected as traditionally kicks to the legs are to the knees or thigh areas.
I remember I was entered into a semi-contact MMA match back in 2002 which was cancelled due to lack of numbers. One of the rules was "No kicks below the knee". I think the reasoning was that the pressure of a rear leg kick into a calf is heavily felt in the knee.

Cung Le vs Frank Shamrock

Here are 2 guys from different disciplines who both are comfortable in starting combos with kicks. Although Le is more or a power kicker than Frank is.
Heres their full fight and see what you can pick out from them.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQQqkqIWnYc"]Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le - YouTube[/ame]

 

For some reason I didn't think of Baukaw at all. Probably because I don't watch a whole lot of K-1, and when I do, it's mostly looking at how the Dutch guys set up their low-kicks.

Interresting point about Bendo. Haven't seen the match (we've forgone TV in favor of the internet and movie rentals), but I heard it was pretty good. Been a fan of the guy for a while, and while I can see his TKD background factoring into his wins, it's never stood out that he's targetted the calf. Of course, again, I haven't seen a whole lot of recent UFC fights.

I've seen Siver, Mezger, Machida, and I think Cerrone set up combos in MMA with the lead leg. I've also seen Rambaa Somdat just tear a guy up in Shooto using a lot of lead-leg kicks, though he rarely threw punches behind them.

The main reason I'm asking for all this is that my karate background gives me some solid lead-leg kicks, but I still tend to go into "point sparring" mode with them, ie using one at a time. A training partner of mine with a TKD background is also comfortable with his lead-leg kicks, but suffers from the same thing. As another training partner once told me, "You're either boxing or kicking, but not kickboxing". Since then I've gotten better at setting kicks up with punches, but still trying to do the reverse. I'm just wondering if the shift in weight to the rear leg when throwing the lead kick is too telegraphic. So, I want to study these guys to see what they do.

 

lead leg... Buakaw immediately comes to mind. Insane power with that one.

 

From the knockdown side of things, there's a few good fighters to look at.

Hajime Kazumi is a good low kicker in general and mixes them up, often attacking in twos or threes and occasionally doubling up. His primary tactic is to attack the supporting leg whenever his opponent goes for a high kick, and while waiting for that opportunity he pummels both the insides and outsides of the thighs.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgJpiak1wxw"]Hajime Kazumi demonstrates the power of gedan mawashi geri - YouTube[/ame]

Lead leg kicks in my opinion are best used like the jab in boxing: you're cracking them when they get in range with single shots to see what opens up, then follow up with punches or kicks depending on how they react. A lead leg kick to the inner thigh followed by a lead straight and a rear low kick to the outer thigh is a good combination.

I also recommend Buakaw simply because he is awesome and one of my leg kicking heroes.