Punching vs. Kicking....

[Mart]

Good point Ironberg.

 

Im 6 foot tall but my frame allows me to punch like a monster, my kicks are ok and i have really good knees. I guess frame and size makes a difference.

[Guy_Mendiola]

High kicking like roundhouses,side kicks, and etc isn't a good strategy when in a street fight because chances are low and it could be caught even by a person that doesn't have martial art training and it's just sticking to punches and just throw mainly punches is the key weapon and for kicks just stick to low and mid range kicks.

[Mart]

yeah Id never throw a head kick in a street fight unless their head came down to a low level, i wouldnt throw mid section round house either, thats just dumb.

[Guy_Mendiola]

Yeah, Like as I mentioned it's risky and a high roundhouse could be caught by even a person that doesn't know how to fight unless your kick is really fast and snaps back into the chamber.

[Synaesthesia]

The advantages offered by kicks are not fully encapsulated by looking at what goes on in the ring. Hitting at or above the groin, hip joints, knees and stomping feet can be very effective in reducing mobility. Such strikes are not availible in the vast majority competetive fighting.

 

Secondly, on the street you can have steel toed boots which may add some effectiveness. Medieval knights had those long 'elf' spikes on the end of their foot armour. Such embellishments could surely penetrate the heads of unfortunate footmen.

 

I think that body shots are often underestimated, or at least underused. Particularly when hit with a dowel or similar weapon, ribs are far more vulnerable to bare fists than gloved hands.

[RussellC]

I disagree also on the spinning kick even if the opponent was to catch the kick if your quick enough you can counter with the other foot.

 

It's very affective

[Fenris-wolf]

Yeah, if I've only got those two choices I'd tend to go for punches because they're faster, I'm more comfortable with my ability in punching than kicking and my body shape lends itself to punches (avg height for a woman, which makes me short , broad shoulders).

 

Also, I would tend to go for the body if I could simply because when you're pumped up on adrenaline you can have blood going everywhere from head shots without feeling it (it's hard to knock someone out!) but you know when you're winded! Also not overly fond of the idea of breaking my fist.

 

But having said that if there's a really obvious opening, I'd quite like to beat the crap out of their legs - I've seen people unable to go on from beaten up legs. And of course I can get a lot more power in lower shots, so while I enjoy kicking people in the head in sparring (hehe) I wouldn't try it in a streetfight.

 

Wow, that was long!

[Ironberg]

I disagree also on the spinning kick even if the opponent was to catch the kick if your quick enough you can counter with the other foot.

 

It's very affective

 

Yep! Every time someone's caught my spinning kick (in sparring matches), it was always after the fact that they've already been creamed - and I can't follow through and take their head off because of the law. Then they are always too dazed to really think of what to do with my leg other than push me away.

[SevenStar]

The advantages offered by kicks are not fully encapsulated by looking at what goes on in the ring. Hitting at or above the groin, hip joints, knees and stomping feet can be very effective in reducing mobility. Such strikes are not availible in the vast majority competetive fighting.

 

not true. Everything you mentioned is legal in mma, except groin shots.

 

Secondly, on the street you can have steel toed boots which may add some effectiveness. Medieval knights had those long 'elf' spikes on the end of their foot armour. Such embellishments could surely penetrate the heads of unfortunate footmen.

 

you CAN have them - that doesn't mean that you will. You may be coming from the pool and be wearing flip flops when you get attacked.

 

I think that body shots are often underestimated, or at least underused. Particularly when hit with a dowel or similar weapon, ribs are far more vulnerable to bare fists than gloved hands.

 

they're not underestimated. body shots are best accomplished with kicks and knees. good use of body shots can set up your head shot, which is in many cases the goal. It's the headshot that produces a knockout, which is why alot of people are headhunters.

 

 

[Synaesthesia]

not true. Everything you mentioned is legal in mma, except groin shots.

 

You're allowed to kick to the knees? I didn't know that. Thanks for the correction. I'm just suprised they don't try to take out the kneecaps and joints more often! (Maybe they do and I better start renting more fight videos.)

you CAN have them - that doesn't mean that you will. You may be coming from the pool and be wearing flip flops when you get attacked.

 

Absolutely. Every predatory approach on me (and I come off like a mark all too often..) has been when I'm off my game. I'm tired, sleep-deprived or depressed.

they're not underestimated. body shots are best accomplished with kicks and knees. good use of body shots can set up your head shot, which is in many cases the goal. It's the headshot that produces a knockout, which is why alot of people are headhunters.

 

Well I'm sure a lot of people don't underestimate them. More to the point, I don't stay in places where people get into fights, so I have a very small sample of experience to speak from.

 

But it does seem to me that bodyshots are underused. That fact alone makes them worth training. And you're absolutely right about the use of combinations. The cool thing about martial arts is that constant practice open a wider reflexive "vocabulary of motion" and so you can predict, open up and abuse more vulnerabilities.