Roundhouse kick impact area

[tallgeese]

For me, it's mostly about matching weapon to target. That said, most of my stand up has put emphsis on the shin, followed by the ball. There's just too many bones to break on coverage with the instep.

[Harkon72]

Weapon to Target, yes, I agree. You shouldn't throw instep kicks at someone who blocks with his knees or his forearms, it hurts. Just watch what happens when punches are blocked with the points of the elbow; you won't do it twice.

[Alan Armstrong]

Roundhouse impact area simultaneous targets with one kick.

Kicking with the lower part of the shin and instep, including the knuckles of the toes.

Target area, corner of chin, jaw area under the ear, jugular on side of neck and the spine at the back of the neck. Including the jolt of the impact to rattle the brain hard enough so it hit's the inside of the skull; all with a single roundhouse kick.

The idea is that all of these target areas singularly can knock a person out. The more foot contact with the opponent in these areas the more of a chance for a knockout.

With five knockout concentrated targets grouped together so closely, hitting one accidentally might be enough to win the fight and making the kicker look like an experienced martial art expert.

[TJ-Jitsu]

Hello,

Across different martial arts, we can usually find 3 ways of connecting with a roundhouse kick:

1) Shin

2) Instep

3) Ball of the foot

With a little more than a decade in muay thai, I could be a little biased but I'll give my input.

I see all three as being valid, it depends on your target and what technique you're executing.

The shin is best for that raw power strike thats going to crack whatever it hits- like swinging a baseball bat at someone. I dont care what it hits- its going to hurt. Thats the pro. The con is a shorter range and a limited angle of attack (how does one kick straight up and hit with the shin?).

Instep is good for a little more length and because of the flexibility of the ankle its attached to, gives more angles of attack. You'll often see fighters wind up a kick and feign to the leg only to redirect and whip the foot over to attack the head. Its a common set up. Thats the pro. The con is you're limited on your targets since you move definitely dont want to throw leg kicks this way, nor do you want to kick at the body for fear of hitting the elbow, as these run high risks of breaking your foot..

Finally the ball of the foot. Again the pro is it offers an angle of attack that neither the shin nor the instep offer (straight up the pipe). The con is that this is the only practical angle to use it (front kick).

So in short, the one that can utilize various facets of kicking will most likely have the most success- choosing the best tool for the job so to speak.