Another kicking question

[ShotokanKid]

Is kicking to the face or stomach better? We have face control rules so I dont want to go for the face but the stomach is well guarded. How shuld I attack?

[CapitalKarate]

are these kicks for if self defense or for sparring/tournaments?

[Gungrave]

What're the best kicks for sparring? Cuz that's what I'm best built for.

[CapitalKarate]

front and round house and normally the best or easiest kicks to throw at someone in sparring, and if you're good enough and quick enough at it.. the side kick, personally, the front stomp kick is a fun one for me, i have strong legs so if i get close up to the guy and just do a quick stomp kick at them even if they block it or try to, i will kick them backwards or get them off balance (keep in mind i mostly only spar green belts or lower, i know if i tried a stomp kick with one of you black belts i'd end up on the ground either holding a body part or in a lock of some kind)

[P.A.L]

many points come from round house kick to the side of the head , some times you may get point by front kick counter attack. also reverse round house is a good one to make points.forget about back kicks. you gotta work on your hand techniques if you spar in shotokan.

[gojuchad]

if you are talking about for sparring then you have to take into consideration the point system, obviously more points for a round kick to the head, but a front kick in my opinion is the safest and if done properly most reliable kick. you must also remember that you may have to do another technique to get an opening, they call this setting someone up. Fake hi and go low or vice versa, its very hard to land a single technique.

[CapitalKarate]

ooooo, sparring for points? i thought we were talking about sparring to learn how to defend yourself, my bad. if its sparring for points, i'd ONLY use the roundhouse and front kick, it takes too long to do a side kick, unless you happen to have "superfoot" legs. isn't it unwise though to do a roundhouse to a kick of any kind to the head because of how easy it is for your opponent to take you off guard?

[Ottman]

As CapitalK said, knowing the rules that you spar under will help us to give you better advice, but if your just starting out, just concentrate on proper technique. If you can't get controlled kicks up to head height, then work on them and get good at them before trying to unleash them in sparring. Instead, try to get the proper foot positions, and technique down, and really just focus on hitting your target, even it is just at stomach height. (not to mention, focus on NOT getting hit yourself, which will probably be your main focus if you're a beginner anyway. Footwork footwork footwork)

 

For self defence, stomach kicks are much better as they are easier and more quickly executed, as well as the stomach being a very sensitive target area. It really takes a lot of practice to develop accurate, precise, and fast high kicks, especially for us short guys. Never stop working on them, but don't underestimate the effectiveness of mid-section kicks. They are the most common kicks you'll see anywhere, in any fight, sparring match, or style, so get good at those first and worry about head kicks later.

[CapitalKarate]

if you're a beginner, then i'm surprised you're sparring already. what kicks have you learned and how good are you at executing each of them?

[ShotokanKid]

I'm a black belt.