flat footed kicks???

[greenbelt_girl15]

Hi everyone,

I've got a question. In Cuong Nhu we have been taught that a thrust kick is a forward kick; knee comes up, foot goes out pulling toes completely back so that striking surface is the heel.

When I began to take Shotokan I was promtly informed that I was "flat footing" this kick and that the proper way to do it is similer to a front snap kick, only more deliberate and with more thrust in the hips when extending the kick.

How were you taught this kick, and which do you think would work better?

Thanks!

[bushido_man96]

Actually, I can do this kick both ways. Neither is wrong; just different. The kick done with the heel as the striking surface is very popular in the Muay Thai circles. I think kicking with the heel is safer, as the kick is more of a thrust or push as opposed to a snap.

As I said before, neither is wrong, they are just different ways of doing it.

[iolair]

We're talking about a front kick?

OK, I use several surfaces... my "standard" is with the ball of the foot. However, I also use:

toe ... if I have strong shoes on a la savate

flat footed ... to push the opponent back

heel ... good for low targets (e.g. opponent on floor, or to knee or PPs in leg).

[Shotokan-kez]

In general we use the ball of our foot with our toes back. But i guess it can be done in different ways!

[Oli]

I suppose it depends how flexible your calf is. I know people that can't strike with the heel cos their foot doesn't go back easily enough, especially for higher targets. I've always kicked with the ball of the foot, it's closer to the target and you're putting the power into a smaller surface area with the ball than with the heel or the whole foot. The down side to kicking with the ball i find is that if you don't pull your toes back far enough, ouch, especially bare footed. And in my opinion, the downside to kicking with the heel is it takes me longer to prepare and prepares at a later stage of the kick (The higher the kick, the later the heel gets to the right angle) which means that if someone moves onto the kick to smother it, my foot isn't in the right shape. Thats not the general opinion, just my own.

[danbong]

In shotokan what distinguishes a snap front kick from a thrus front kick is what the knee is doing. In a snap kick the knee is stationary and the foot swings out in an arc to the target. In a thrust kick the knee is lifted as high as possible and then moves down as the leg is extended. In a thrust kick you can hit with either the ball of the foot or the heel - preference often varies by school.

[bushido_man96]

IAnd in my opinion, the downside to kicking with the heel is it takes me longer to prepare and prepares at a later stage of the kick (The higher the kick, the later the heel gets to the right angle) which means that if someone moves onto the kick to smother it, my foot isn't in the right shape. Thats not the general opinion, just my own.

I see what you are saying here, but generally, a front push/thrust kick isn't going to be aimed much higher than stomach level.

[Mike Flanagan]

Personally I like kicking the knee from the side (inside or outside) with the sole of the foot. It should feel simply as though you're stamping down through the knee. Not a competition technique though obviously.

Mike

[Jiffy]

As previously mentioned, neither is wrong. I tend to believe that for the most part though, the ball of the foot is better. It allows greater movement of the leg due to less tension in the calf. Also, remember that the smaller the striking area, the greater the impact. The other thing is that with the calf fully tense in a heel kick version, the flexability is greatly decreased, therefore the ability to flex the hips and to kick high are both decreased.

The exception is a front kick to the knee. In this scenario, you do not need flexibility and due to the low line of the kick, the calf is not over-tensed anyway. The advantage of the heel kick in this scenario though is a greater chance of hitting a small moving target (as opposed to the large, semi-static target when going for the body).

[bushido_man96]

I saw a UFC fight years ago where a Thai fighter put a guy back in his corner with a flat-footed front thrust kick. It was quite effective.