Kicks.

by Sensei Christopher Cassar

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Many people nowadays don’t know the importance of learning good kicks. Perhaps for many beginners kicks may seem amazing and in some way they are right. Many higher belts think that kicks are of no use in  street situations and therefore no need to waist time training them especially those that they call fancy kicks. Well in my opinion who thinks in that manner is really mistaken.

Let’s take a fighting scenario. Your hand has been cut with a knife and you can’t use it. Then you have one weapon missing. If you don’t know how to use kicks efficiently then you have another two weapons missing. So now you have remained with nearly one weapon, which is the one arm left.

So what about the benefits of learning well kicks and even ‘fancy’ ones? Practicing high kicks, which are rarely used in street fighting, will improve your balance. Therefore this will also help you in your overall style. When you can kick only low you have limitations. When you can kick high you have no limitations. You can kick wherever you like. This is the first advantage. Obviously knowing how to kick high is not enough. Your kick must be also fast while kicking high. This means that you should be flexible but also strong at the same time.

Practicing high kicks will improve your hip power and your flexibility which both are needed to master any art. Hip power means stronger punching and throwing; on the other hand you can’t have power if you have no flexibility. In a few words, power is made up of mass and speed (I am not referring to internal power), and to have speed you need flexibility. Try tensing up your muscles and then try to punch. You won’t be able to punch because your muscles are tense and therefore no flexibility. The same applies to footwork. More flexibility equals a faster footwork and fast footwork is needed for fighting. The same applies for fancy kicks. They require more power and coordination of your body movement to do, therefore the benefit is greater.

Going now to the practicality side of kicks in the street; as Bruce Lee said kicks are the best weapon against a good opponent. Kicks have the advantage in their own nature because the legs are the longest and strongest weapon our body has. One good kick is enough to immobilize your opponent. Obviously as explained before kicks must be done in a fast manner and therefore one must practice very hard to achieve this standard. Therefore, never use kicks in the street if you are still not confident with your own self. You must also know that your basic kicks are enough to beat your opponent but you will still have limits if you don’t know spinning kicks.   

You might be asking yourself, ”Why should I practice them if I will never use them in the street?”. Actually you might use them. Imagine you have an opponent in front of you and another coming from the left hand side. Kicks are not expected in a fight because not many know how to use them. So you feint a jab to your opponent’s face, and kick his kneecap with a half moon. You continue to flow with your kick and give a spinning back kick to your opponent rushing to you from the left hand side. The back kick effect will be devastating, as you will be using momentum plus your hip power!

All I have to say to conclude is:  practice, practice and practice. No man is able to climb up a mountain in one day. Everything begins by rolling small stones. Your kicks will improve only if you persevere. Patience is the key to success and you will be happy with your achievements. Your kicks will surprise your opponent; you will improve your fighting style, improve flexibility, improve hip power and shift outwards your limits boundaries. Have fun training hard!