Doing a side kick the "right" way

[joesteph]

Hi Jim. Welcome to the Forums.

Definitely a lot of power--and speed. He can really move!

[masters baby RR]

we pull our knees as close to our chest as we can, pivot the leg on the ground to roughly 285 degrees and then extend straight out hitting with the blade/heel/blade and heel...

[Wa-No-Michi]

Side kick (yoko geri) can also be performed with the ball of the foot can't it?

WNM

[Jim Hew]

A side kick, striking with the ball of the foot... in Han Foo Wa, under master Bill Shaw, we called that a JAB KICK

[joesteph]

I guess it can technically be with the ball, heel, blade, or even the flat of the foot, but how much power is generated? Whenever I've held the kick shield and someone is impacting with the ball instead of the heel, I've noticed the power difference. I'd never heard of a jab kick before, but perhaps it's for range?

The heel gives the most power through its focus. Any part of the foot that strikes has to be backed up by the lower leg, and that means going through the connection of the ankle. The heel is the most direct through the ankle to the lower leg, almost like a side kick being a side "stomp" of sorts. Fine photos of the heel making contact are online at Tang Soo Do World:

http://www.tangsoodoworld.com/reference/reference_techniques_side_kick.htm

The flat of the foot is a lot like a push, so that, say you want to break a board (or someone's rib), to be successful, it's much better to strike with the heel than to dissipate the force over such a large area. When I had to do board-breaking for my last test, I erroneously used the flat of the foot on the first attempt, making impact, but breaking nothing. When I focused on the heel and hitting the center of the board, then I broke through.

I remember side kicks using the blade of the foot years ago, but perhaps now they're for a really low shot, like to the shin, or if you're at the side of an opponent and want to go for the knee (as in one of my upcoming self-defense techniques).

The ball of the foot is something I think of, if shooting a kick straight forward, for the front kick. I think there's more power in the front kick than the side if using the ball of the foot is desired. A high-speed photo of a strike would show the toes pulled way back, the ball of the foot at impact, a straight line from the ball through the arch of the foot, the ankle, and into the lower leg. There are excellent photos of this straight line at Tang Soo Do World:

http://www.tangsoodoworld.com/reference/reference_techniques_front_kick.htm

[Rateh]

I also think that hitting with the blade of the foot would be good for a knee shot. It has a larger surface area, and I think it would be difficult for most people (especially in a real self defense situation) to aim with the heel at the knee.

[bushido_man96]

I think doing a side kick with the ball of the foot loses its usage. When impacting with the heel, you have the heel, knee, hip, and hopefully the shoulder of the kicking side of the body all lined up, putting a lot of power into the heel. Using the ball of the foot loses this impact power, I think.

[Wa-No-Michi]

I think doing a side kick with the ball of the foot loses its usage. When impacting with the heel, you have the heel, knee, hip, and hopefully the shoulder of the kicking side of the body all lined up, putting a lot of power into the heel. Using the ball of the foot loses this impact power, I think.

I think that the ball of foot position would be more of a jabbing kick (in maegeri foot position) as opposed to a thrust / push, which I agree is correctly performed by contacting with the heel.

WNM

[bushido_man96]

Yes, I could see it as a jabbing kick. I think that in sport kumite or something like that, it could be useful. For SD, I would rather just hit with the heel, though.

Very good points, though.

[Shotokan-kez]

As a jabbing kick, are you saying that you would snap the kick back quicker than the thrust kick? When we extend the kick out we tend to have a foot facing slightly to the floor with our toes pointing back so the ball of the foot is likely to be making contact, although i do agree with Brian, i would much prefere to kick with the heel.