An introduction to kicking

Every part of your body is a potential weapon, yet most people tend to think of hands first, feet second, knees and elbows next, and then anything else afterwards. In fact, you should consider all body parts of equal usefulness. The only thing that determines which part to use, is your current position, motion and ability. I like to use my legs, and it surprises me how few people are comfortable sparring someone who gives equal preference to arms and legs. However, by using my legs as well, it means that I double my number of weapons, and give my opponent twice as much to think about. Thus, I'll often be sparring, and an opponent will be so focussed on avoiding my legs, that I can get through with the simplest of punches.

More importantly, if you restrict yourself only to hands, then you can only realistically strike an opponent above the waist. In a real fight, you endanger yourself by sinking low enough to deliver a groin punch for instance. As soon as you start using your legs, you open your opponent up to the possibility of foot sweeps, knees kicks, groin strikes, knees to the thigh, shin and toe stamps, and more besides; all of which can be delivered without compromising the strength of your own defensive position.

Some kicks can be delivered as fast as a punch, but many are quite slow, and thus need to be disguised, either by preceding them with other techniques, or starting out with one technique, but changing to another mid-way through. It's also far easier to grab a foot or leg, than a fist or arm, so you need to either pull your foot back quickly, or use enough power so that an opponent is incapacited or too far away to grab you.

If you do find your leg grabbed, you have several choices:

1. You can lean over the top of your leg, quickly grab your opponent's lapel to stop them pulling you around, then hit them with the other hand.
2. You can pull your leg towards you then powerfully thrust it back towards your opponent, aim to pull them off balance, before kicking them in the face with a stamping kick.
3. You can immediately jump off your other leg towards your opponent, trying to get your body above your caught leg - you can then use your entire body-weight to break your opponent's grip as you land.
4. You can let out a blood-curdling scream, perform a back somersault, kicking your opponent under the jaw on the way round, before landing back in perfect long forward stance. Note - this is not for white belts... :-)

It might seem like a simple part of your body but your foot has at least seven striking surfaces (ball of the foot, ball of the heel, sole of the foot, back of the heel, top of the instep, outside edge and inside edge). This makes it a versatile tool that can be used like a precision instrument or a blunt club. As a precision instrument, (using the side or ball of the foot), it focuses a lot of energy into a small area, providing penetrating power to cause pain and injury. As a club, you can use it to bash an opponent away from you, or to smash them, breaking bones or damaging internal organs. Needless to say, we're not talking about sparring in the dojo here! :-)

Remember, even out on the street, violence is your last choice, not your first.

All kicks that you practice as part of your basics, start with you lifting your knee, either to the front or to the side. As you do so, you may find yourself having difficulty keeping your balance. You can help to maintain your balance by bending your other leg. You'll also find that if you focus your attention on a fixed point ahead of you, that it may help

Incidentally, it's great to be able to kick high with perfect form - it means that lower kicks will be quicker, with greater power. However, do not make the height of your kicks, your main objective. It's far better to kick lower, with good form, than to throw your leg as high as possible but with bad form. Kick height comes with time, stretching and practice, but you'll need to develop good form for it to count for anything.

Stretching to improve your kicks

Although there is of course, a large element of technique involved in delivering a good kick, your physical abilities directly affect your performance. Sure, stretching before kicking loosens your ligaments and reduces the likelihood of injury, whilst increasing your range of motion, but determined stretching also increases your overall range of movement in the long term. You've doubtless discovered that round kicks are difficult because your hips don't naturally move that way. Women's hips are more flexible than mens, and children of both sexes seem as if they're made of rubber, but we can all train ourselves to be able to kick higher and more comfortably. Butterfly splits are a great exercise, but there are many others that also help. So when you're stretching off, by all means groan because of the discomfort, but don't relax to the point of no discomfort. Discomfort is a sign that you're pushing your body beyond its normal range of movement, and that's the only way that you're going to improve your flexibility.

Having said that, you should be in discomfort, not excruciating agony. I've stretched to the point of injuring myself, and I'm sure many others have too. It's great to be disciplined, but foolish to cripple yourself. You must be your own trainer and doctor. Nobody else knows your body as well as you, nor does anyone else have to live with any injuries.

In GKR, we have a saying, "You're in karate for the long term, not just today." In other words, there's no point hurting yourself to do one great kick if you spend the next three months injured, unable to do any kicks, great or otherwise...