The purpose of kicks in....

[Spartacus Maximus]

Kicking is found in practically every form of unarmed martial arts system. Each system has its own set of kicking techniques and each one has a unique way of applying them their strategy. I propose to discuss and compare the ways and strategy of kicking in different systems.

In Okinawan karate, there are five techniques taught: front kick, roundhouse, side kick, stomping kick. The roundhouse and back kick are recent additions(last century) and were seldom used in confrontations.

Though the leg is powerful it is slower than the hands. Kicking also momentarily compromises balance and can be risky. Therefore kicks have a secondary role. Their purpose is to disrupt, destabilize and create openings to strike with the hands. The hand strike is usually aimed at the same target as the kick. The target areas are low and can include anywhere between the lower ribs and the feet.

To summarize:

Number of kicks used/practised: 5, originally 2 or 3

Targets: usually low, from the lower ribs downwards

Strategy: kick to disrupt and created openings to strike

Role: kicking is secondary. A kick is always immediately followed by a hand strike, often to the same target.

How are kicks considered in the system you practise?

[sensei8]

Solid OP!!

Your style, Shorin-ryu, and mine, Shindokan are both birthed on Okinawa, therefore, related. Therefore, what you've described in your OP is extremely similar to Shindokan across the board; Shindokan kicks are considered just as you've described.

The hand, the te, always leads any kicks because kicks are always secondary.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Going by the information I found as well as several lectures and conversations with my instructor, until very recently the difference between the okinawan systems were few and not as obvious as they may seem today. I suspect that in general, okinawan karate systems in their original form would share the same idea about the use of kicks.

As I know there is an undeniable link of influence from Chinese systems imported to Okinawa, I am very curious as to what those systems teach about kicks. I also hope someone will share ideas from the lesser known systems that may not originate in East Asia.

[hammer]

Maybe other Kyokushin karateka can speak better for this, but in my 1 year experience we actually do a decent amount of kicking. Might be because knockdown kumite rules allow kicks to the head but not punches and because low kicks are used a lot as well. I have also found that the kicks are more challenging than in TKD because the distance to the opponent is smaller.

[DWx]

Great topic Spartacus.

In TKD kicks are used more than other styles. In the style of TKD I do (ITF) I would say the split is maybe 60 - 70 % kicks to hand techniques and we have many more types of kick than you listed for Shorin Ryu. In fact, ignoring all the variations in attacking tool and jump / spinning variations, in the TKD Encyclopedia I count 17 base attacking kicks and 5 defensive kicks.

Most players spar and fight side on and use the lead leg side kick much like boxers jab with the rear leg roundhouse playing the part of the cross. The idea being to control your opponent at distance and to only give this up when you absolutely have to. Then you can use your closer range techniques once your opponent breaks in within your leg range. If you watch ITF sparring matches, the players spar at a much greater distance than Karateka or Thai boxers for example, and even when they do come together, they will break and make the distance as quickly as possible.

One of the criticisms of TKD is all this fancy kicking and spinning is no good for self defense as you'd be highly likely to fall over etc. However whilst kicking someone in the head on the street isn't sensible, and I wouldn't recommend it, training to kick high consistently promotes balance and athleticism to kick well at lower levels too.

[Spartacus Maximus]

At least as far as karate and its derivatives, which include taekwondo, it appears that many of the kicking techniques are variations developed from an original 2 or 3. This may have been done for the purpose of competition and sporting reasons.

For example, a roundhouse kick can be considered a variation of a front kick. The difference is in the angle but the in-out action is the same.

A side kick has the same base movement as a stomping kick except the angle is slightly higher.

Dwx also touched on an important training principle. Many practise to kick high but only a few realize that it is an exercise. Training to kick high improves balance and develops the flexibility and leg dexterity to execute more powerful kicks at lower angles.

[Wado Heretic]

I have competed in knockdown, but have never trained in Kyokushin, and I would say a varied kicking arsenal is of benefit to a lighter fighter. Keeping it simple and calculated seems to work for heavier fighters, of which I am one. Regarding syllabus though, I imagine the idea is more is better, so the more kicks you encounter, the better chances you have of finding the kicking weapons that work for you.

If we look at Okinawan kata, which are arguably the only reliable sources regarding the practices of turn of the century pre-war karate, only three kicks will be found. The front kick, stomp kick, and crescent kick, with most examples of a kick in kata being done from a defensive posture; seisan being a rare exception. I do not believe the majority of kicks evolved from these three, although they are the most universal kicks found in traditional martial arts never mind karate.

Shotokan lore holds that Funakoshi Yoshitaka developed the majority of kicks now found in Shotokan, and the systems it broadly influenced. The main innovation he introduced being that of bringing the knee to a position aligned with, or above the waist, in what is known as the chambering position; thus allowing more diverse motions by turning the hip over, or altering the angle at the knee, or pivoting the body. The influence of this innovation can be seen in Tae Kwon Do, although that is also from the influence of traditional Korean martial arts, but more broadly in Japanese Karate. Supposedly the round kick, side kick, and turning/spinning kicks of most systems came into vogue during the post-war period, and the early development of inter-school competitions where these techniques were initially highly successful as they proved able to stifle any one utilising a conventional approach. As a result many Japanese systems adopted these winning techniques as their own, and thus these otherwise unorthodox techniques have become so widely propagated as to be conventional in the modern era. Similarly, when Japanese Karate was introduced to Okinawa in the form of these emerging competition forms, the Keidogi, and Kyudan system, Okinawan, or real (depending on how hard-line you are) karate could not help but be influenced by these techniques as well. Furthermore, the eclectic, competition driven nature of Karate’s early expansion into the western world in the U.S and Europe probably maintained the momentum for diversifying techniques, and perhaps distracted from notions of pragmatic self-defence.

However, it should be noted that apparently Kyokushinkaikan did not adopt the round kick until after the 1964 inter style matches against Muay Thai, therefore I would take the Funakoshi Yoshitaka/Inter-school competition explanation with a pinch of salt, as May Oyama began his studies of Karate in post-war Shotokan and apparently participated in inter-school matches. Furthermore, Wado-Ryu, Goju Kai, and Shito-Ryu rarely expand beyond the four kicks of front, Side, Round, and Back kick, though this varies from club to club, and association to association. Speaking specifically of the branch of Shorin-Ryu I study, Aragaki Shihan did little more than front kick as a basic technique, and my experience on Okinawa with regards to competition is that they still favour straightforward kicking over anything elaborate.

A tangent I admit, but I believe it helps put kicking techniques in perspective. My personal inclination is that the predominant kicks of pre-war karate were the front kick, stomp kick, and perhaps the crescent kick. However, I am also inclined to believe the back kick may have existed prior to the modern age; due to several kata indicating the use of the foot to attack behind oneself, and also some of the positions stomp kicks are performed from in kata. I argue though that it existed in competition with simply positioning the self to perform a front kick, and that the impression we have of it being modern evolves from the back kick often being performed as a turning/spinning technique during line drills. I am also inclined to argue that the side kick is a modern invention, for the majority of kata where one kicks to the side; one simply positions the hips so as to perform a front kick. Furthermore, although the conventional side kick is a lovely weapon in competition, it is not so useful in the situations, or the environments, one would find them selves performing self-defence.

On kicking high; although I concur with the general wisdom that is better to kick high as regular practice as it encourages flexibility, athleticism, and serves to strengthen the muscles more quickly due to the greater work, one should commit as much time to kicking low. A good high kick, and a good low kick, have subtle differences in the muscle groups they use, and only doing high kicks can lead to hyperactive hamstrings and tight calves. So one should balance it out with regular low kick practice, or exercises such as squats, and lunges.

Of Chinese influences; the traditional kicking techniques of most karate systems bear greatest resemblance to Fujian systems, for example White Crane boxing, though there are an increasing number of parallels with northern wushu in modern Japanese karate. Interestingly; one can find depictions in Egyptian and Greek artefacts showing the use of front toe kicks, and crescent like kicks, and Siamese boxing and Indian martial arts also feature these techniques. My inclination is that the Waza or techniques we see in Okinawan karate are derived from Te, whereas the Kata are a model of practice adopted from Chinese Kenpo, with only some Kata truly being Chinese. I think that many independent developments of the Okinawans may have been lost to history, both by the interference of the Japanese, but even the Okinawans own appreciation of Chinese culture. Also, because the human body has not changed in millennia, it can be difficult to say what technique came from where or when it did. It’s a catch 22, one could underplay the Chinese influence and be wrong, and one could overplay it and be wrong.

My opinion on the martial arts of Okinawa is that they have always been homogenous in nature ever since the unification of the RyuKyu kingdom. By most accounts, the study of the martial arts was a personal, and unregimented, affair with most dedicated martial arts having several masters. Although it is convenient to recognise masters historically by terms of Shuri Te, Naha Te, and Tomari Te, I believe this is inaccurate to the actual history.

I believe the division of Shuri Te and Naha Te, or Shorin-Ryu and Shorei-Ryu, only truly occurred when Itosu Anso, and Higoanna Kanryo both began teaching publically at the turn of the 20th century and became so influential as to have Shuri-Te and Naha Te essentially refer to their systems respectively. With the influence and start of formal dojo, and therefore systems, in Okinawa we can now see clear differences in practice; however, the most successful were the students of Itosu and Higoanna and thus the clear distinction of Shuri and Naha Te, whereas Tomari Te, which never had such prolific or successful teachers, seems to have its influence spread across systems but never really represented by a modern system. I assert that is because there never were three Tes as it were, merely modern karateka creating the notion to explain differences in styles. I believe this is reinforced by the creation of the Karate Kenryukai (1918-1929) where Karateka irrespective of style came together to exchange knowledge. Along with the efforts of teaching karate in schools and dojo, this created the division of so called school karate, and village karate. I believe school karate represents the direct ancestor of most modern systems, and reflects homogeneity in karate, whereas village karate reflects heterodox traditions not influenced by the broader culture. The distinctions we see between styles today are reflections of the globalisation of Karate, and how its traditions are interpreted when it encounters the martial concepts of other cultures. If one can, it is worth reading the Matsuyama Theory, which provides are far more coherent argument than I have.

On how I use kicks; depends on if I am competing or practicing self-defence. Honestly, I follow Motobu’s response to the question:

“Which hand do I strike with?”

“The one that is closest.”

If a kick provides an opportunity to end matters, my hand cannot, I will use a kick and vice versa.

[hansenator]

On kicking high; although I concur with the general wisdom that is better to kick high as regular practice as it encourages flexibility, athleticism, and serves to strengthen the muscles more quickly due to the greater work, one should commit as much time to kicking low. A good high kick, and a good low kick, have subtle differences in the muscle groups they use, and only doing high kicks can lead to hyperactive hamstrings and tight calves. So one should balance it out with regular low kick practice, or exercises such as squats, and lunges.

I was in a JKD class for several years and they said the old timers would practice the high kicks, they called it aerobics. Also what you pointed out, that kicking high and kicking low are separate skills. Just because you can kick high, doesn't automatically mean your low kicks will be good.

The JKD class kicking was mostly at or below the waist. Also a lot of emphasis on using the hands and feet in combination. They kicked Thai pads a lot but it was explained that was considered conditioning and you normally wouldn't kick that high.

[bushido_man96]

Great topic Spartacus.

In TKD kicks are used more than other styles. In the style of TKD I do (ITF) I would say the split is maybe 60 - 70 % kicks to hand techniques and we have many more types of kick than you listed for Shorin Ryu. In fact, ignoring all the variations in attacking tool and jump / spinning variations, in the TKD Encyclopedia I count 17 base attacking kicks and 5 defensive kicks.

Most players spar and fight side on and use the lead leg side kick much like boxers jab with the rear leg roundhouse playing the part of the cross. The idea being to control your opponent at distance and to only give this up when you absolutely have to. Then you can use your closer range techniques once your opponent breaks in within your leg range. If you watch ITF sparring matches, the players spar at a much greater distance than Karateka or Thai boxers for example, and even when they do come together, they will break and make the distance as quickly as possible.

One of the criticisms of TKD is all this fancy kicking and spinning is no good for self defense as you'd be highly likely to fall over etc. However whilst kicking someone in the head on the street isn't sensible, and I wouldn't recommend it, training to kick high consistently promotes balance and athleticism to kick well at lower levels too.

I would echo Danielle's post here for the style of TKD I do. We don't allow head punching, but head kicking is allowed in our sparring, so we do high kicking in sparring.

In self-defense, however, the role of kicking changes a bit. Many times, we will deliver a kick that is lower level after securing an arm or wrist in some sort of lock. Or, the lock or restraint could cause the attacker to bend over, making a lower level head kick possible to end a confrontation.

[guird]

Currently my striking simply consists of kickboxing. As kickboxing doesn't have a set form or approach, you can use whatever kicks and whatever approach you like, provided they fit within the rules. That said, there are conventions.

The most common kick is undoubtedly the roundhouse - with many variations for personal preference. The thai kick seems the most popular nowadays and is also my preference. Lower kicks are mostlyu used to wear the opponent down and set up punches (though left kick to the body is a notoriously effective fight-ender, and even leg/right-body kicks can end things.) To the head it's generally to finish an opponent who leaves their hands too low.

second most common seems to be the front push kick. I should mention I don't know how to effectively utilize the technique. I know it's used to gain some distance, but other than using it to clock an over-agressive opponent as they charge back into range I'm not sure what you can do with it.

then there are the less common but not uncommon side kicks and spinning back kicks, the occaisional wheel kick, followed by whatever kick from whatever style you feel like using. (axe kicks, tornado kicks, front snap kick, hook kick)