Lead leg fighting

[JusticeZero]

I prefer to use the lead leg, although my subumnim doesnt really approve as he says it makes me predictable. So he says I should use my rear leg. But does that not also make me predictable?

If ALL your kicks come offone leg, then it's pretty predictable. If you sometimes mix a rear leg kick in, you can get them to focus less on the one striking tool.

[Superfoot]

I find the best lead leg kicks are:

Lead Hook Kick

Lead Side Kick (thrusting and snapping)

Lead Pushing Kick

Lead Crocodile Kick

Lead Rising Ax Kick

OK, so what's a "Crocodile Kick" ?

It is a kicking technique in which the kicking leg is thrown 45 degrees upwards above the opponents head, then sharply thrown downward. The downward motion is facilitated by pivoting 180 degrees on the supporting foot. This kick can be seen to be utilised by Kyokushin practitioners, and Muay Thai stylists. Some Taekwondo students throw a kick like this, but to my knowledge, it is taught as a tactic rather then a coined technique. I have seen this kick performed numerous times, but first saw the name for this kick written in a book called Advanced Kickboxing written by Pat O' Keefe. I still wonder if this is the same person who started this site.

[Superfoot]

I prefer to use the lead leg, although my subumnim doesnt really approve as he says it makes me predictable. So he says I should use my rear leg. But does that not also make me predictable?

If ALL your kicks come offone leg, then it's pretty predictable. If you sometimes mix a rear leg kick in, you can get them to focus less on the one striking tool.

Very true, I love to use lead and rear kick, but prefer to use my lead, as it keeps the opponent at a distance, closes the guard, and hard to interpret. You'd be surprised how many percieve a lead hook kick as a lead side kick. This aids misdirection, and facilitates scoring using high kick, compared to using the rear leg, where side and hook kicks are easily percieved by looking at the presence of a chambering action (as found in a TKD side kick) or lack of chambering (as in the hook kick)

I rarely use the rear leg for kick that travel in a predominanlty linear fashion (e.g turning kick) but prefer to use the rear for kicks that utilise a sliding motion with the kick (sliding axe kick) or arching motion (crescent kick) or even spinning motion (spinning back kick, spinning hook kick)

One kick where the rear leg is vital is setting up a powerful hook kick. I usually practice a sparring pattern on my own, where a low kick is thrown several times, and on the last, the rear leg is thrown like a low kick, but is then swung across the upper body, and pulled back into a hook kick. I find this useful where leg kicks are allowed. If I spar from the Orthodox stance against a Southpaw, this kick comes past the oppoents guard, and hits them from behind, which is very surprising. However, I usually employ the sole of the foot for this kick not the heel in addition to trying to hit the face, not the skull.

Against another Orthodox fighter, this kick attacks the face, where low kicks are thrown to condition the opponent into thinking every next kick is a low kick. The final hook kick is thrown, and if the opponent lower the guard to defend, the kick is aimed at the face. However, many martial artists defend low kicks by raising the knee, and point the toes down to flex the calf muscle (which acts as a better shield than a flaccid muscle). In such cases, where they keep their guard high, I aim the subsequent hook kick for the body. As they are likely standing on one leg, and the other is blocking low, this either pushes all of the body's weight past the supporting leg, and hence the opponent rolls back onto the heel and falls over. There are numerous ways an opponent can be made to fall over, or how to throw a good hook kick, any kick for that matter. This is just one thing I've mused over.

Excellent thread, thanx.

[ivette_green]

I'm not much of a side-kick thrower. Perhaps I will try that more the next time I spar...

[Sabumnim]

It is a bad idea to become to set in one approach to sparring, you should try switching your methods and it will definitley help to confuse more perceptive opponents.

[Flying Tiger]

Your crocodile kick sounds like an axe kick, but its all semantics to me. I used to be a huge lead leg fighter, but when I started doing full-contact fighting with almost all areas being legal to hit, I stopped doing that. Not long ago I only fought southpaw (I'm right-handed) because it seemed most advanteous to me in point-fighting, but now I use my right leg behind for the greater power.

[SyracuseJundokan]

I love the stance you described - makes it easy to sweep you Plus you have very few responses if I can get around your kicks which usually isn't so hard...

[Flying Tiger]

me?

[SyracuseJundokan]

Not you necessarily... people in that stance... Sideways stances set up for lead-leg kicking have a lot of vulnerability against good punchers that know how to sweep...

[Dragn]

I was a TKD 2nd degree before I took up full contact karate and Muay Thai, so I was used to using snappy high kicks from my lead leg, in a side on stance.

This didn't work so well against kick boxers.The stance leaves you open to leg kicks. Also, The kicks lack power, good for point fighting but not for full contact.

For a while I stopped using them to focus on Muay Thai. Then as my Muay Thai got better I started intergrating them back in and modifying them to work from a more square stance.

Now I use both lead and rear leg similar to the way I use my hands.

Lead Leg/hand for speed, keeping opponent at a distance, annoying and frustrating him and setting him up for a power hit from the rear leg /hand.

I use the lead leg for:

low kicks to the inner thigh. Occassionally the rear outer thigh with a shuffle step.

front kicks to the gut/face.

Roundhouse to jaw/temple. The slightly squared stance alows for a touch more power, and I focus more on really driving through the target and down.

Sweep to inner ankle.

Occassionally the axe kick.

I rarely throw side kicks. Maybe after a round house has missed and I'm slightly turned away from my opponent and he tries to rush in. So its kind of like a back kick.

Of course I also use switch step round house from the lead leg for power.

Dont do hook kicks from lead leg. No power. And you really need to be in a side on stance to throw it.