Kick question

[RW]

In MMA, kickboxing, etc, I do not see fighters use two of my favorite kicks as often, the side kick (yoko geri) and the front kick (mae geri).

They seem to be simple and fast, but all I see is shin side kicks (like a mawashi geri, but with the shin).

Is there a reason this kicks wouldn't be effective in a full contact fight?

[glockmeister]

I see front kicks now and again and on a few occasions, a side kick. I don't know if I would say they aren't effective, just less common.

[bushido_man96]

Cung Le has a very effective way of using the side kick in his fights. But, he has spent a lot of time developing it, too. Front kicks you will see at times, used like the tiip of Thai Boxing, but it is used as more of a pushing kick.

The main reason that you don't see them as much is because the round kick is easier to set up, and tends to be a faster kick than the side kick. I think that the round kick lends itself to combination use better, too.

[tallgeese]

I concur, the round defiantly lends itself better to follow up. Certainly over a side kick. Bear in mind, we're talking about follow up combinations that produce full contact quality damage.

The other reason that you see more of them is that the target is generally lower. The outside/inside of the quad is the main attack seen. I know, you'll also see body shots and the occasional one to the head. These last ones always make the highlight reel so it's easy to think they happen all the time. But in reality, a vast majority go to the leg.

This has the effect of being harder to catch or trap, thus keeping a striker on his feet longer. It also keeps one's center lower and more grounded, again, keeping a striker up longer vs. a grappler.

For those guys who don't strike alot, it's also fairly easy to learn and integrate into grappling stance work and timing. So it's less time intensive in it's training time to application for them.

[pittbullJudoka]

The stances that most of todays fighters take aren't favorable for throwing side and front kicks. Like mentioned above Cung Le has used them with sucess. But he also come from a traditional back ground. Most of the fighters today aren't from the traditional arts.

[MMA_Jim]

Front Kicks are used often, just simply as a push kick rather than a direct attack. A well placed tiip though still spears directly into the diaphragm and does decent damage. A rear push kick (or strong front kick if you will) simply takes alot of time to set up and is therefore more easily defended.

Side kicks are difficult to use for a couple of reasons. Someone mentioned stance- you cant stand sideways or use a traditional karate stance in MMA, or else you'll either get taken down or be at the mercy of cut kicks all fight long. Being the best position for utilizing sidekicks this stance is extremely disadvantagous, so you're less likely to see their application.

A second reason is that sidekicks can be easily countered. You can counter one the same way you counter a tiip (push kick) and deflect it to the side. When either kick is countered, it leaves a very vulnerable opponent, with a free attack to the hamstrings (very painfull area to recieve a cut kick) the back, or for closing the distance for takedown attempts.

The best application for a sidekick is more like in a mule kick scenario. When one is trying to run from an opponent and that opponent starts to gain ground, planting and kicking may work well (Imagine a gazelle running from a lion). This being a purely self defense situation you wouldnt see in a cage fight.

[CanFightIt]

A front snap kick, which has tremendous range from your opponents shins, knees, groin, stomach and chin can be devastating and hard to block as one can suddenly change the target area.

A stop kick, where one is blocking his opponent's kicking leg can unbalance one's opponent and can quickly be shifted into an offensive maneuver ( a technique used in Northern Style Seven Stars Praying Mantis Kung Fu)

A lead leg roundhouse has good range and can quickly be shifted into another technique/kick, like a sweep.

All such depend upon one's flexibility (for range) and power (with lower kicks often having more power than high kicks) as well as individual preference and situational necessity.

One danger would seem to be that kicks are not as fast as most hand techniques and are at least slightly more telegraphed. If one's opponent is adept, he or she may well trap the kicking leg and redirect one's energy so as to take the kicker down quickly and easily ( as well as uncomfortably in the extreme for the kicker) as with properly performed aikido techniques.

Sometimes, all one needs to do is to stomp the instep of his opponent as he lands a few well placed, well timed and powerful body shots so as to end a physical confrontation ( as in Wing Chun).

[Kuma]

I feel the main reason why you don't usually see other kicks aside from push kicks and roundhouse kicks is due to the training MMA fighters typically focus on. Most of them tend to go with the "Muay Thai and BJJ cocktail". However, it's interesting to note that virtually all of the greats have had training far and beyond this, and I feel it's because of the fact that they're not solely restricted by the usual cocktail is how they gain victory more often than not.

You do occasionally see other kicks though, which is a refreshing trend that I've been enjoying.

[gzk]

I think the main reason you don't see these kicks so much is due to the typical MMA stance, which is much longer and wider than say, a Muay Thai stance, and roughly front-on, in contrast to a side-stance more typical of Karate or TKD, which is largely to enable (or counter) takedowns. Throwing a front kick is going to be slower from an MMA stance than from a traditional Thai stance where your weight is already on the back foot and your front foot is bouncing. This means a front kick is going to be telegraphed more, and unless you like grappling from your back, you risk giving your opponent a high single-leg takedown and ending up in a bad spot. Throwing a side kick will require a pivot, unless you happen to temporarily end up in a side stance from something like a failed round kick.

This is not to say that you can't use them in MMA, it's just a little more risky. Anderson Silva and Brandon Vera have been using the stomping side kick to the thigh a lot lately. Silva also occasionally uses a front snap kick. Seth Petruzelli likes to throw a lot of thrusting front kicks. Some guys will throw a turning side kick once or twice a fight.

Basically, what MMA_Jim said (just scrolled up)

[bushido_man96]

A lead leg roundhouse has good range and can quickly be shifted into another technique/kick, like a sweep.

The main drawback of a front leg round kick is that it lacks a lot of power, even if it is thrown to a low target. Throwing a belt level or higher front leg round kick wouldn't accomplish much in a full contact fight, unless one can generate and unusually high amount of power from it.