Most people who aren’t familiar with the martial arts can’t really tell taekwondo from karate. Often, they view both as the same or similar art. “But, don’t both have punches and high kicks?”

Also, often, white belts and beginners often ask me. “Senpai, why do we need to do kicks, especially high kicks? Will it work in the street? Won’t my groin be exposed? How do I kick?”

Then there are the traditionalists who often study an older form of Okinawan karate orsouthern chinese arts, who scoff at the idea of using kicks because ‘there is no stability’ or ‘your groin is exposed’ etc. They are not wrong, butthere’s a time and place for everything.I will explain more later.

First, let me explain why Okinawan karate has fewer ‘spectacular’ kicks as compared to modern schools of knockdown karate such as Kyokushin, Ashihara etc. To understand this, let us look at the background of Kyokushin founder Mas Oyama. (Now, some of the stuff I am about to write may be a tad controversial but my aim is not to stir up arguments, but to exchange ideas)

Mas Oyama trained under many masters of different styles (mainly Nanquan, Shotokan, Goju Ryu and Judo) as well as sparred with numerous martial artists of different backgrounds. Ignoringurban legends, there is a high possibility he sparred with martial artists who had strong middle or high kicks in their arsenal. There is also a possibility he looked at arts such as Taekwondo and Muay Thai for ideas before creating theUltimate Truth Karate

What is known is that his head kicks were devastating, and normally, a founder of a martial art adds what works for him into the syllabus. Head kicks, when thrown as part of a combination or when your Opponent least expects it, works as an effective knockout move.

Now back to the original topic – Will spectacular kicks such as high round house kicks work in a fight? The answer is simple –You’ll need to see the environment, look at the situation and execute accordingly.

I see your confused faces. Okay, let us take a kickboxing or muay thai competition as an example. Imagine you are going for a kickboxing or muay thai competition – Your aim is to knock your opponent out to get the prize money or medal. There is a referee in the ring, and the rules are no ground grappling should you get taken down. In this kind of situation, you would go for ‘power kicks’ or head kicks for points or KO.

One style of kick that is extremely effective in a competition setting is the Thai roundhouse. In order to execute this, you pivot on the ball of your feet, slightly bend your Striking Leg, throw your weight into the strike using your hips and follow through the motion.

When this kick contacts against an opponent, it often results in weakening your opponent or, if it connects perfectly, atechnical knockout. However, if this is applied in a street setting against 2 or more opponents without a referee, you’re pretty much in danger if you miss the guy in front of you.

The other challenge in a competition setting is if your opponent is an experienced fighter who has been trained to catch kicks, you’re going to experience a takedown.

There is another way of firing the round kick quickly which knockdown karateka often use: The mawashi geri. Now most karateka will do their stretching and kicking exercises to improve flexibility for the kick. Kenji Midori of WKO demonstrates it here:

However, what I want to talk about is to increase kicking power and speed for the Mawashi Geri roundhouse using a heavy bag. Find a heavy bag (Muay Thai or boxing bag, doesn’t matter) and for illustration purposes I will show you one:

This is a standard heavy bag. Now imagine a center line cutting through the bag. How you will practice your mawashi geri effectively is like this:

Step 1– Lift up your rear leg by the side while in fighting stance (orthodox). The knee should be chambered, toes pointing down.

Step 2– simultaneously when throwing the kick, pivot your supporting foot 90 degrees to the left and use your hips to swing the striking leg. Your knee should still be bent and the hitting leg chambered.

Step 3– At the split second when your knee aligns with the bag’s centerline and your striking instep/shin is at point B, release your striking leg to follow through until your instep/shin reaches point A, then pull back your striking leg to it’s original chamber position with knees bent.

Step 4- Rotate your hip until your striking foot reaches step 1, then put your leg down back into fighting stance.

When you are familiar with the lower and center levels of kicking, attempt to increase height until you can apply this principle for high kicks.

The reason why this is an effective kick is because if you are fast enough in a competition setting, you can deal a hard blow to your opponent without giving him the chance to catch your kick or expose your back.

Now, will a high round house work in a street fight?Yes, just not all the time. What you’ll need to do is to throw it only in two situations:

1) After executing a punching combination– When throwing a jab-cross-hook combination or even a flurry of punches in a street fight, be aware that your opponent may or may not be trained. An untrained opponent will attempt to charge in and rain blows, whereas a trained opponent may fight similar to a ring or competition scenario (depends on person, really). However, after executing some punching combos he may either run off, be already knocked out or expose a gap.

When at close range you see an exposed gap in the head area or your opponent has his hands down, throw a palm strike to eitherjam his forearm or create slight distance, then throw your high kick to his head.

2) After trapping attacker’s hand and going to their side– If you manage to evade his strikes and maneuver to the side, quickly trap or jam his hand. You can do this by pivoting like so:

...and thenjamming the nearest hand of your attacker close to his body (by targeting the elbow joint)and throwing a high kick to his face.

Although in this video the coach is 45 degrees away from his opponent, make it 90 degrees so he cannot attempt groin kicks.

In summary, the high kick does have its uses. Keep training and practicing, practice safe sparring, and you will be confident in application.

OSU.

P.S:If there are two or more attackers, do not attempt high kick knockouts. Keep all kicks below the waist because if you miss and one attacker takes you down, all will converge on you on the ground and finish you off.