As many of you know I've recently started mma training. I've gotta say, although my karate background has helped tremendously the leg kicks have really taken me by surprise! In karate we never trained with them, last night I was in a few sparring matches (supposed to be light contact) and a few turned fairly heavy. What I've taken away from the experience is simple. Pay close attention to leg kicks, and throw more of them. I've still got a bit of a limp going and by tonight I should have some nasty bruises to show for it. It's fun starting a new martial art, and getting new bruises in new places.
Leg Kicks are one of the biggest "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???" experiences of the striking arts Ask Trevor Berbick [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru8DzzSBq2s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru8DzzSBq2s[/ame]
That's a perfect example of what we where talking about in the "how to fight a boxer" thread. If I get nothing else from my mma experience, it will be the power of leg kicks. If I can learn to use those as well as get some groundfighting experience I know it will revolutionize my fighting.
This is my Senior classmate Nat, now Muay Thai Program Director at The Academy (Sean Sherk, Brock Lesnar, Jakob Volkmann et al). First time I sparred with Nat I was on the floor with a dead leg after less than a minute. Definitely a game changing experience. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADPhe9lunaM"]Nat McIntyre Highlight - YouTube[/ame]
Leg kicks are by far the most underestimated technique by people who have never trained Muay Thai. Everyone knows that head kicks or punches to the head are dangerous, but no one gives leg kicks respect, until that first one lands right on the IT band and oh. My. God.
Absolutely, I never expected them to hurt that much. I took a few good punches to the face and the leg kicks bothered me more.
The first time I got introduced to leg kicks, I took a lot of them and I threw a lot of them at the other guy. We were both the cliche "tough guy" and just kept going regardless of how much it was hurting. I didn't show up to training for a week after that and thought, "man, that guy I sparred with is going to think I'm the biggest wuss!" For a week I could not bend my leg at the knee. When I finally went back I could move my leg with half the normal range. Turns out I showed up the same day the guy I had sparred with decided to come back! He also couldn't bend his leg for a week. He worked at a hospital and his supervisors made him do desk work because of how bad he was limping around (same limp I had).
You've never seen so many creative ways to climb onto a work bench or scaffold on a construction site than from a guy who can't bend one leg.
It was kind of a one time deal. Kinda' like when I started boxing I got black eyes, busted lips and nose quite a bit. After about 6-8 months I could take a banging and might get a little red but that was it. The legs toughen up to the impact. That said, if you keep getting pounded there with good hits it's still going to hurt the next day!