how important is pad training and sparring to learn to fight

[judobrah]

Here's an exercise for you, Judobrah, once you start training in kicks. I am pretty sure Shotokan also has kicks in 4 parts- chamber, extend, re-chamber, place. Up, out, back, and down. Try doing it slowly. Very slowly. While retaining your balance. How high can you kick when you do it so slowly that it lasts at least 10 seconds? That's how high you can kick with complete control and access to all the force multipliers you need. Flexibility and speed are two components to a kick, but there is also the force of your body behind it, your strength, your control, and your focus. If you do not have access to the last four things, you are simply throwing your leg out there. It's likely not going to be powerful enough to knock someone out.

But of course we only kick to the head in tournaments, lol. Not out in the street. Having law enforcement officers as instructors means we get some good perspective about what actually does and does not work when fighting to defend one's self.

OSU!

for shure,good advise,when i think about it,i used to be able to kick with a decent ammount of force before,but when i tried to do it slowly,it was eye opening

but i dont think head kicks are whe worst strike you could use,even in a real fight,its used in combat sports like k1,mma,full contact karate e.t.c,and kyokushin guys seem to master this kick

[Harkon72]

While the experience of a real fight is something I never seek out, effective pad work and sparring hard but safely are the best substitute. Also realistic self defense is a good measure of your prowess. My Sensei tests me to knockout in pressure point application; if my technique does not work he will not let go, there are no gimmies.