almost 4 months since i started my training. its going pretty well =D I'm mostly gonna rant a bit here but i'd like some input on the context of that rant following in 3 2 1.... blekh. See i've been started with sparring for a month now and i really love trying out techniques and principles that i have learned, granted i'm a wuss and hate pain HATE IT!!! i've gotten punches and blocks and movement down (as much as a 4 monther should anyways) and i can throw well enough mawashigeri's and i love to look for a gedan when the oponents foot is going for his own kick, but i'm having trouble with the front thrust kick. see the distancing is the main problem, the distance i'm comfortable with we don't realy find in the close arm to arm kumite style sparring. so i can't really throw them and i'd love to mix a couple with a punch combo or a kick combo.... i've had success with side thrusts but not front as of yet. and i HATE IT. ting
So the problem is that you are wanting to throw front thrust kicks while you are fighting at arms'-length? Being able to do that is just going to take a lot of practice and stretching (you have to be flexible to fit your bent leg between you and another person at that distance). Generally I find the front thrust kick to be a fantastic counter attack to be used when you and your opponent are at a distance and they attempt to close that distance
6footgeek, If you are having troubles landing a technique, it probably means the opponents are countering against it. Countering in this case, I have to clarify, means to take measures to make it harder for you to front kick successfully. Here's what I mean. IME, the ideal alignment for a front kick (or a back kick) to hit the front side is when that kick has a clear shot at the groin. In other words, when their hips are square to you. You will almost never see this in sparring or competition because the opponent will have one foot leading and they will be slightly turned in to protect the groin. In this situation, then your roundhouse kicks will have the better angle to kick the groin, so therefore that would be the better kick to hit them with. So my suggestion is only use the front kick if you have a clear shot at their groin (then you can kick them in the solar plexus since groin shots probably aren't allowed). If they are coming in with one foot leading, you might have to enter in at a 45 degree angle to get the right angle for a good shot at the groin with your rear leg front kick. Also, I agree with what Wastelander said, particularly the part about catching people on the way in. Just be careful of using the kick if you are too far away, this gives them more time to catch the kick or smash your toes. I'm thinking your front kick should not be getting jammed at punching ranges. First of all, if you are too close for a front kick, you can throw the knee instead. Anything outside of knee range, a front kick should do fine. However, maybe you are chambering your kick... you should not be chambering your kick (if you are doing that). The knee does go up and back down (similar to a chamber) but it isn't a chamber, chambering does not exist, it is like a piston for power. The knee goes up and down like a piston but the foot goes directly to the target. If you are chambering your kick, that might cause you to lose speed, power and get jammed at closer ranges.
Range is important, but so is weight distribution. Often people end up pushing themsevles backwards while kicking against an opponent. I found this to be a problem for me, for years so I didn't execute kicks such as the push kick and the side kick up until recently when I started Muay Thai. My instructor told me something that should of been said to me years ago back when I was doing ITF Taekwon-do. You need to push into the kick, instead of leaning against it. Lean into the kick by driving your hips forward rather than away from the opponent (which is a natural reaction when throwing a kick in sparring). Leaning back may keep you away from the opponent, but you will also find that you will be pushing yourself backwards rather than your opponent. The result will be a kick that does little impact and assists on helping you lose your balance (by having your weight on the back foot). Focus on bringing your knee up before throwing the kick and driving through. Don't lean back when bringing the knee up, you will only shorten the distance, you won't be able to kick as high and you will end up kicking at your opponent rather than through him/her. Closing the distance with the kick will create distance by pushing your opponent back, then you can come in with your combo. Timing will come with practice but in the mean time practice the kick against a punching bag rather than air and focus on those hips.
A good test for the front kick is if you are using good body mechanics, you should be able to kick ten times quickly with the same leg with power without ever having to put the foot on the ground. Say an average of 0.5 seconds a kick or faster (2 kicks per second). If you can do this, any of the front kick variations should not be an issue. Remember the principle of pressure. The force of your kick is going to be on the smallest area possible (e.g. ball of the foot, heel). You should not be trying to knock the opponent back but penetrate through them like a bullet to cause them to collapse. You are causing them to be stunned and/or unbalanced.
thanks for the replies guys. i made some notes to follow in my training according to your suggestions. =) Kicking at close range is indeed quite impossible for me untill i work on my flexibility more. and i've indeed observed the effectiveness of front kicks as keeping someone out of range or preventing his advance or even delivering a blow to his midsection. thats why i want to be able to use them more often. =) But the main issue i have is that i can't get out of that close quarters range to be able to throw any linear kick. if i step back they step with me. if i do get the distance and kick, its usually blocked.
What you want to do is conquer the center of the ring (or area that you are sparring in). Once you have the center, you have the control. Another thing you also need to work on is moving your feet. Angles are your friends in sparring, hence why staying in the center is important. Use your push kicks as your opponent is coming towards you, however make sure you don't fire them as you are being pushed back by your opponent, otherwise you will be adding to the momentum (which will be helping your opponent). If your opponent is pushing you back, start using your round kicks. Kick off the front foot by stepping with your back foot (in a shuffle motion) in line with your front foot in a 45 degree angle. Using the momentum, kick to the abdomen. If your opponent is moving away from you, kick with your back foot by stepping or shifting your front foot in a 45 degree angle and kicking through your opponent with the back foot. Here's an example by Bas Rutten; The first video covers the round kick. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ejw_S5M48&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ejw_S5M48&feature=related[/ame] The second video covers the front kick. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdd2eaC51Oc&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdd2eaC51Oc&feature=related[/ame]
If they are blocking your front kick, be aware that means they could be smashing your toes. This is a risk you might not want to take often. As for moving back and front kicking... this probably isn't going to work very well (as you stated) because the set up is usually to lean back (cat stance) and front kick with your lead leg WHEN they are punching to your head. Since punches to the head aren't allowed in your sparring, this set up isn't going to be there. If they are punching to your chest, your front kick is going to get jammed probably. I suggest you practice moving forward at an angle to get off the line of attack and front kick. There is a moment of opportunity for counter attack (your kick) when the opponent needs to "re-acquire" targeting on you. Because you move at an angle, you are not closing the distance on them as much as if you went straight in on them, so you may have the range for a good kick. When you move off the line and forward, the front kick would be with your rear leg.
@ hapuka: hey the vids helped a lot! thanks!! @Rebel wado: I've started trying out angles more for setting up kicks. my flexibility is still an issue though. how ever, i noticed that i fing it easier too punch while stepping to the side and immediately follow ith a knee to the solar, roundhouse or a side kick to the ribs. thats pretty interesting. i'm experimenting with those quite a bit, seeing how far i can take them.
Yeah, those videos were good. Thanks hapuka. Cool, practice makes perfect. Yeah, stick with fundamentals. Don't over think it, just go for what feels right to you. Also, big warning about using angles, you can actually end up leaning into a kick or punch and then it will hurt you a lot more. Think of using of angles in two parts: first is positioning so that you are a harder to hit target or basically don't give the opponent a "flat surface" to hit you on. Second is to align your body for entering and attacking. One of the positions that you might encounter a lot in karate is a shoulders squared position for close in fighting. From this position, both arms can be used to attack and defend. If you encounter an opponent that is squared shoulder to you and you have your shoulder turned in, your side punch and side kick will probably hit them before they can hit you (your footwork would be like a fencer). However, since they can use both sides of their body equally, they will be able to strike more often after your initial strike. What works for me is to move so that my opponent has one side jammed and one side where they have to over reach to get to me. This is basically a shoulder to shoulder position with my lead foot slightly inside their lead foot (this would be if they had left lead and I had left lead, or right/right leads). If the opponent turns to attack, there is an opportunity where they are vulnerable to me moving in at an angle and catching them squared up with a front kick (or any number of techniques).
Rather than stepping back, work on moving at angles. If you step straight back,it's easy for an opponent to move forward with his strikes. If you move back and to the left, now he's offcenter from you and has to readjust, giving you more time to react, create distance, or counterattack. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WoawZZ23KE"]YouTube - Karate - Okinawa Self Defence 1/3[/ame] Watch from about 2:15 on and you can see what I mean. Rather than leaving yourself wide open for the next strike, you instead move to the outside (or inside, depending on what you want to do), causing your opponent to then have to adjust for you. There's a few easy ways of working on this. Kihon-wise, you can try out something we do from time to time we call the "Eight Directions Drill." Inside the dojo or room you're training in, assign north-south-east-west in the room. From here you will then take a step in each of the eight directions, using whatever stances and techniques you like (start off with zenkutsu dachi and one of the four basic blocks, with a gyaku tsuki as a counter): (1) Northwest (2) Southeast (3) Northeast (4) Southwest (5) East (6) West (7) South (8) North Each time you turn in stance, you'll improve your agility and stepping as well as stance shifting and a number of other nice little benefits. Kumite-wise, the asterisk drill works the exact same. Take four long pieces of tape and make an asterisk (*) on the floor, then work on moving in each direction and executing fighting combinations from each. Put it near your bag and you can incorporate some heavy bag work with it. Add in a round or two of footwork-only shadowboxing a few times a week and some rope skipping, and you'll have some good footwork.
Nice video find kuma. Good demonstrations of getting to the different shoulder to shoulder positions that I use.
Wow kuma. that vid was awesome. i'm going to try angles in self training for a week or two then grab a partner and try to use them there untill i get the hang of it. will keep you guys posted. Thanks everyone =)
