how do you defend against leg kicks?

[aznkarateboi]

how do you defend against leg kicks? obviously you can't block them...

[martialartist1]

take the kick, or touch them

[whynot]

If you mean kicks to the thigh, they can be blocked; one just needs to raise the leg being kicked and block with their shin, preforably closer to the knee, since the bend in your leg will absorb more force than your free-floating shin. It sounds rough, and it is, but if practicing Muay Thai, then the shins should be conditioned to take it. Kicks below the knee, can be blocked by simply pivoting the foot towards the kick, again blocking with the shin. If those do not work, then try moving out of the range of the kick; although if you are practicing Muay Thai, then I recommend conditioning your shins to block.

[TJS]

Raise you leg and block with your shin...but you want to have a bit of give and bounce it back off...thing of it like a spring.

 

you can of course just hop back if you have time.

 

Then if you dont there is a meathod of absorbing the kicks.

[Kyokushin]

The leg blocks that others mentioned work well, but just make sure you're fast! Also if you're quick you can stop the kick by using one of your own. For example, the guy starts to lift his knee to kick and you could throw a side kick to his leg before he gets the momentum to throw it. Then follow up with some other techniques. Not to mention my favorite block of all. Not being there , but somehow I just haven't perfected that one yet. Taking advantage of footwork is a good way to evade kicks and just let your opponent waste their energy swinging at you.

[MawashiGeri60]

put it around ur arms and sweep them then follow through

[kenpo4life]

There are various methods of dealing with the leg kick. To use your own leg ( shin about 3 inches beneath the knee is the most accepted method

[chrismann]

Use an "outside knee block" (assuming the kick is an outside round kick to the thigh).

 

Raise the knee of the leg under attack and point the knee slightly outwards. You should make contact with the kicker's shin just below your knee at the very top of your shin fairly squarly on to the direction of the kick.

 

If you connect in the correct point it can be extremely painful for the attacker. If he doesn't have well conditioned shins and it was a hard connection it could easily be the end of the fight.

 

If he connects below this point let your shin swing backwards under your knee absorbing the impact. (Make sure your knee is pointing outwards or you will take it in the calf which can also be very painful). The kick will slide down your shin with mininal force.

 

There is a variation of the leg kick sometimes called a "cut kick", which involves tempting the defender into a knee block, then kicking slightly lower, under the defender's knee, through the shin and onto the standing leg, knocking the opponent to the ground. Defence involves keeping the shin stiffer and using a more positive blocking action.

 

You can also do an "inside knee block" for inside thigh attacks.

 

Alternatively a little shuffle backwards without really changing your stance can also put you just out of range if you're quick enough.

[Syo]

No particulary Techniques.

 

Just take the kick, and return a attack to the upper body, with the other leg....

 

This the reason, to have good conditionned CHIN!

 

Syo.

[chrismann]

Reply to last by Syo:

 

Obviously there are techniques (as described above) and they work very well.

 

Personally I wouldn't try to kick with one leg while taking a kick on the other. Sounds like a good way to end up flat on your back.

 

And, of course most attacks to the leg are aimed at the thigh muscle, so it doesn't really matter how touch your shins are. You can try and "take the kick" if you want, but after you've "taken" about three of them, you won't be able to walk, so I wouldn't recommend it.