If you grew up in the 90s, you would have witnessed Karate starJean Claude Van Dammein his prime and all that spinning Kick glory. Many kids during this era longed to be like Van Damme, so they promptly joined Karate classes in Singapore.

As we all 'grew up' and started to watch theUFCand follow the trends in mixed martial arts, many became cynical and started to question the use of such 'fancy' kicks. "Oh Van Damme is just doing it for a movie, these kicks won't work in real life." "Do you really think a fancy kick is going to work?"

However, seeing combat sports athletes such asIgnacio Capllonchand the lateAndy Huguse 'fancy kicks' against trained opponents, we realized that such kicks did actually work in real situations, but of course only under certain situations and circumstances.

And today the three kicks we are going to explore (that work in realistic situations) are the Reverse Spinning Kick, the crescent kick and the Axe Kick, all which can be applied in tournament and certain self defence situations. Now, if you're a martial artist/fighter who can't kick high, no worries, low kicks are just as effective - the common factor between the application of high and low kicks in reality is the.

Reverse spinning kick

Also known as the Ushiro Mawashi-geri, the more spectacular forms are the ones you've seen in Van Damme movies where the practitioner is airborne. Truth be told, in real life it doesn't work this way- the key to executing a successful reverse spinning kick which connects to your attacker is surprise and stability.

And how you are going to create a surprise is to throw combinations. For example, kickboxers tend to throw a jab, rear, hook, then a low kick.  An example of a simpler combo (roundhouse kick then reverse spinning kick) is as follows:

So the steps broken down are:

1) Throw a round house kick using your rear leg. If you intend it as a feint, do not add too much weight to it.2) If your opponent/attacker dodges, force your kicking leg to land at a 45 degree angle. Your rear leg should be prepared to swing.3) In a split second, glance over your shoulder to see the target. Simultaneously, lift up your rear leg in a chamber position.

4) Swing your entire hip and core, propelling your rear leg into your opponent's head/neck. You should follow through and not stop there.

If your opponent can read you and is way faster than you, stick to straightforward combinations such as the jab, cross, hook and rear low kick. However, the minute you see him evade your low kick and inch forward to attack, catch his forward momentum with the reverse spinning kick.

Inward/Outward crescent kick

If you've seen Chuck Norris using the inward crescent as a gun disarming technique inWalker Texas Ranger, it must be a legit application of the inward crescent right?

Well, this is a TV series after all. In a real situation you wouldn't be fast enough or have enough force to kick a firearm out of a man's hand in time.

This is not how the inward crescent works. There is a purpose for everything under the sun, and dangerously disarming a firearm is not one of the applications of the inward crescent. Use it as part of a combination.

1)  If a punch is thrown,slip awayfrom the punch, and step forward into your opponent. Your lead foot should be outside his body, and your hands should be up.

2) Use your front hand to jam/trap his arm by pulling down on the elbow joints.If you are on his blind side on the left, use your right hand, and vice versa. The other hand should be guarding the face. Pivot away 90 degrees to his left or right side until his arm faces you.

3)  Execute the inward crescent with your rear leg, aiming either for his head or his solar plexus. Release the hand trapping his arm so your leg can follow through and deliver maximum impact.

Outward crescent kick

If your opponent has his guard up defending his chest or face, it can be frustrating if you wish to throw a clean hit and finish the fight. You may opt to go in close range and rain blows but that could be exactly what he wants so he can throw a sudden body shot or uppercut.

Not exactly the kind of strike you want to receive.

The next best thing you could use would be to use an outward crescent to clear a block. Think about it. Your opponent or attacker is expecting you to go in punching so he plays defensive. Suddenly you pull down his defense and he will be too surprised to react to your punches. Or...you could use the outward crescent to break his guard and follow up with a low kick to soften him, then add the hand strikes.

The other way to throw it would be as a heavy impact move, meaning after your punching combos, go off your centreline, throw the outward crescent towards his head even though he is blocking, and generate enough force to knock him out even with his guard up!

Axe kick

Of course the most famous and effective practitioner of the Axe kick would be the late Seidokaikan fighter Andy Hug. If you think that all he needed to do was to simply walk towards an opponent and throw an axe kick to knock him out...well...he could.

However, a normal person would be in danger of exposing his groin and having an experienced fighter charging in and off balancing him. Andy Hug could throw perfectly timed axe kicks just like that, but what he did was to use them as part of aneffective combination.

Note two things in this video of him..

1) Andy doesn't saunter straight to his opponent and execute an axe kick. He throws simple combinations such as a jab, cross, low/high round house kick before executing the axe kick. The best moves that connect are those your opponent do not see coming.

2) He disguises his axe kick as a round house/mawashi geri. Pause the video when Andy throws the axe kick. It looksdeceptive similarto a roundhouse until the opponent realizes too late. In order to have an axe kick that works, you'll need a lot of practice, flexibility as well as the ability to feint and disguise the kick at the start of execution, and switch direction midway.

In conclusion...

'Fancy' kicks do work in tournaments and sometimes in a street situation. Be warned, however, that in the street your clothes may restrict your movement and you may face more than one attacker.

If you see an opening or opportunity, be 100% sure you can execute the technique in your civilian clothes and that your opponent isn't trained enough to catch your kick or see it coming. If you do not have the confidence, keep your kicks low and your hands up always.

OSU.