Re-Chamber: Another Reason One Should Consider

[sensei8]

Re-Chamber your kicks is not only important, but immensely important. If one doesn't re-chamber, and the kicking leg misses its proposed target...

You won't be able to execute a follow-up kick!!

AND

You'll become vulnerable; standing on one leg, exposing yourself to an attack!!

Your thoughts...

[Dobbersky]

I always always rechamber a kick, the XMA multi-kicking fad, looks pretty in films etc but about as useful as a chocolate fireguard in a street situation or in a Knockdown karate competition or cage fight

[DoctorQui]

I rechamber my kicks, at the least, after the strike your heading in the right direction ie away from your opponent and denying them an easy counter.

[JusticeZero]

I don't go back to a chamber. I'd rather park it on the ground.

[DWx]

Actually I think it depends. Definitely do not fall onto the kicking leg but I wouldn't say rechambering is a must. You should be able to of course if you want to do multiple kicks on the same leg and you should retrieve your leg from the opponent so they can't grab it, but I wouldn't necessarily say you have to rechamber as such. Often some kicks naturally can lead into hand strikes and to rechamber wastes the momentum you've gain and slows the combination down. For example, a back leg roundhouse (even if you miss) nicely generates some momentum for you to strike with the back hand or you can carry on turning to do a spinning kick with the other leg. In situations like this, rechambering isn't as necessary.

[jaypo]

A buddy of mine studies Chinese Ba Gua (sp), and I find that the kicks in that system are not rechambered. He does a front kick and lands the leg directly below where the kick would have landed. Same with side kicks. I'm from a Shotokan back ground where you draw back the kick and then plant it according to your stance. In his style, the foot lands where it was thrown. It looks odd to me.

[JusticeZero]

I've seen that type of kick and it makes sense to me; in what we do, you kick then put your foot down into but not "according to" your stance. You abandoned that position as soon as your foot came up and there is no particular value in your previous position compared to any other solid position. Front stomp for instance gets tied a lot between 'return by stepping out to the side', 'return by putting the foot down directly under the contact point', and 'return by collapsing the base leg and falling to the ground directly under the target point', among a couple of others.

[ninjanurse]

I am in agreement with sensei8 here. Rechambering (recoiling) your kick when appropriate redirects your energy back into a stable & balanced base and allows for faster "re"kick. Some kicks rely on the recoil timed correctly to produce their maximum effect-such as hook kick, push kick, and turning kick. I liken this to slapping drills (for learning to fall properly)....if you leave you hand on the mat, energy returns to it and creates an undesirable effect in your hand/arm/body however if you slap and quickly remove your hand (recoil), the energy is completely transferred into the target (the mat in this case). A more efficient transfer of energy =more power going into the target.

[JusticeZero]

....if you leave you hand on the mat, energy returns to it.. if you slap and quickly remove your hand (recoil), the energy is completely transferred into the target...

I'd think that is more about dictating that you are going to be moved by the returning energy than it is about moving your hand away before the arrows in the science class animation finish drawing. Action/reaction are instantaneous.

Rechambering.. redirects your energy back into a stable & balanced base and allows for faster "re"kick.

Some kicks rely on the recoil timed correctly to produce their maximum effect-such as hook kick, push kick, and turning kick.

For one, a "chambered" leg up position does not strike me as a "stable and balanced" position. If you want stable and balanced, put something else on the ground. Arguably, it is a "ready" position, just like your other stances. In that case the advice is just "make sure to return to a stance after you kick". In that case, i'm not completely clear why there is such a dispute about which stance to transition to after a technique.

Second - are you saying that a hook kick should include a moment where after making contact, you suddenly extend your leg straight away from and past the target? The recoil you were discussing before was not "retract" but "rebound", and the two are very different ideas.

[monk64]

I've rechambered for so long that I don't think I could switch. The point is to not commit yourself until you're ready to do so.

For example, a typical Kenpo move is to do a kick and then plant where you would have planted had you not rechambered. Why? Because (a) you might have to change plans after then kick, and (b) the momentum of planting is used to add power to the next strike.