TKD Blocking...

[Dijita]

From the result of a post to a different thread, I had a question....

 

How do TKD fighters block their legs? From what I understand a TKD's fighting stance is more sideways. I'm curious to know.

 

In Kyokushin we fight preety much facing our opponent, with hips preety much faced forward. If someone is kicking at our outer thigh for example, we raise our knee up and outward and block with our shins (with the same leg that's being kicked at). It's hard to describe, but hopefully you get the picture.

[delta1]

How do TKD fighters block their legs? From what I understand a TKD's fighting stance is more sideways. I'm curious to know.

 

Actually, TKD faces their opponent squarely. I don't know about traditional, but the non traditional guys do leg checks like you describe for low line kicks. For higher kicks, the primary defense is to move. They teach blocks for kicks, but if you don't move and put an angle of deflection on the block you'll probably do more dammage to yourself than to them. I just don't think you'd do any good with something like a 90' downward block to a roundhouse kick if you just stand there. Even to a front kick, I doubt you'd completely deflect it in time.

[Dijita]

Hrmm, that's interesting. We have a guy in our class who is a black belt in TKD. He admits to his bad habit of always putting his hips to the side in a fighting stance because of his previous TKD training. Though he did TKD many many years ago (20-30 years), so maybe it's changed since then.

[delta1]

He may have been from a non traditional system as well. And I'm not that familiar with traditional TKD, so it could be that they don't emphasize it as much as your system does. But if you get a book on TKD and look at their stances, you'll see that they are square on to their opponent. Then again, he might have been in a McDojang that didn't emphasize anything that much. Hard to say.

[Fat Donkey]

When I trained TKD it was as delta1 said leg checks and footwork. For some reason it's really hard to get rid of that sideways stance now that I train MT. We also do alot of modified clinching in TKD were u move in to get inside the kick. Don't discount the stance though. It alllows for very powerful application of certain kicks such as side, spin, back and axe.It also presents a lot less body area to attack. Like u MT prefers the square approach but because everyone uses it this makes the side attack a good method of temporarily confusing your opponent.

[ninjanurse]

My 2 pennies:

 

The Korean systems I have studied all use a somewhat "square on" fighting stance. In contrast, the Japanese systems I have studied use a

 

stance angled away from front. However, within each system are opportunities to use various stances depending on the situation. Each has its own merits...and downfalls.

 

[Guy_Mendiola]

Yeah, I check kicks with my leg or shin part and yeah it's really hard because it's a sidewards stance instead of a Muay Thai traditional stance.

[TJS]

Funny 90% of the TKD guys I have watched or spared with fight in a sideways or bladed stance and will have no defense for leg kicks.

 

It'd good for point sparring not real fighting.

[Zorba]

When i done TKD we were taught to stand nearly side on. It gives the opponent about half the target that standing square has. i used a lot of leg checks in sparring but must admit that we didnt do a lot of kicking to the legs (if thats what you mean by leg kicks)

 

however, bocking/deflecting/evading regular kicks is something i never really had a problem with.

[granmasterchen]

i use the sideways stance....yet i manage to block kicks with my shins with no problem, its just something that you get used to doing , you learn to adapt to what ever stance that you are comfortable with.....i have fought individuals that use the straight on boxer stance and i have been able to fight very effectively using that stance even with the low kicks....it may just be me, but it is something that i simply got used to over the years of training i supposse/.