AOKK Basic Kicking Techniques:[Keri-waza]  Rev.1

Kicking techniques are weapons used in the first range of combat. If the kick is properly placed, a fight can end in this range. There is no absolute one punch or one kick solution to every fight, so the karateka must be skilled in all ranges of combat and have a large arsenal of kicking techniques. The axiom for kicks is, when compared with punches, they’re longer and stronger.

 One of the problems with kicking is the time and energy it takes to deliver the blow. Another draw back is as a kick rises above the belt line it loses power and speed, thus giving one’s opponent time to move or capture the leg. High kicks open up another problem besides being slow they expose the support leg. A kick to the face is an invitation for a sweep. All kicks must be withdrawn as quickly as they’re thrown.

The Koreans began to focus on elevating their hip line to maintain the kick’s power and speed, but this modification comes at a price. Jumping compensates for the loss of power by moving the karateka’s hip line above the opponent’s obi. The ability to use jumping and flying as delivery methods for kicks takes many years of training before these kicks can be mastered, but the end result is powerful kicks. In the Korean’s zeal, for the more powerful kicks, they also created a few problems. One of these problems is with leaving the ground. A basic law of gravity is, “What goes up must come down.” While the karateka is in the air, he/she is more vulnerable. A small redirection of the kick can place a karateka in an awkward position. Still another problem with elevating kicks is that as a karateka grows older these kicks become more difficult and less affective. Age slows reflexes and weakens joints. Years of pounding the joints in the practice of the elevated kicks can result in permanent knee damage. The Korean kicking techniques became more powerful, but as with all things they too have flaws.

Okinawan kicking technique is more practical and less impressive than the Koreans. They believe that keeping your feet on the ground is a better way of insuring that the karateka controls their balance in a fight. If one lands wrong after executing an elevated kick, the karateka may find himself/herself on the ground with a twisted ankle, and at the mercy of his/her attacker. Most places where combat occurs are not perfectly flat surfaces as in the dojo. It is easy to misjudge where one might land, so by maintaining balance the skilled karateka can use undulating surfaces to his/her advantage. Maneuvering an opponent until his/her feet are backed against a curb, branch, chair, or rock allows the object to trip the opponent as you deliver a kick. Staying in a balanced stance with feet on the ground cannot prevent tripping, but it does give the fighter a better chance of staying on his/her feet.

Kicks can be delivered from the side or forward stances. When the karateka only fights from a side or horse-stance, he/she limits their weapons to the lead arm and leg. To use the rear leg or arm the karateka must turn one hundred and eighty degrees. This takes time and gives the defender time to counter the kick. Thai boxers and American boxers, and even Mixed Martial Arts grapplers all fight from a hip squared forward stance.  If the hips are square, all four weapons can be brought to bear more quickly. Fighting from a side or horse stance developed when point fighting became vogue. A side stance limits your vital target area as well as your weapons making it harder to score points to those areas in competition. To be a well-rounded martial artist one must be able to move in and out of both stances utilizing the best stance for the circumstance, so repetition training in kicking techniques must be done from both stances as well.

Kicks should be practiced to various target areas. The thighs, bladder, groin, solar plexus, and face should all be focused targets. Okinawan karateka have a saying,” They would no more kick you in the face than punch you in the foot.” The Koreans say, “If you can kick to the face accurately, you can easily attack a target below the obi (belt).” The truth is if a student can deliver a kick to the face, they should be given this weapon, so vary the target’s height as well as the area. As the karateka grows older the ability to kick to the face becomes a less affective tool in their tool chest, but what does not work for the old should not limit the young.

Many Okinawa stylist claim the side-kick is not an original Okinawan technique. It does however appear in Japanese and Korean karate. The Okinawan instructors claim a side-kick is a kick to the opponent’s side. Musashi said to know your enemy. To be a well-rounded martial artist the karateka should study all manner of kicking techniques, so they are not surprised in kumite.

The philosophy of how to deliver a rear leg kick can vary. Traditionalists believe that the rear leg front kick and the rear leg side kick can be delivered from a similar motion, but the rear leg round kick is executed in a completely different format. The rear leg side kick looks like a front kick as the knee moves forward and at the last second the hips rotate, and the strike is made with the heel while the toes point on a downward angle. A round kick however is taught to break the plain of the front leg horizontal to the ground. In fact, students are told to execute this kick as if there was chair if front of the rear leg. Some schools physically place a chair in front of the student forcing them to kick over the object. All rear leg techniques are slow, but to execute a round kick in this fashion places the fighter in a position of not only delivering a slow kick, but one that jeopardizes their balance making a sweep of the supporting leg easy. My philosophy is that the rear leg front, side and round kick should be delivered in the same kicking motion. The knee should move forward like the front and side kick, yet a hip rotation can turn the motion into a round kick. By keeping the motion, the same for all kicks the intended strike can be a surprise to an opponent. If your opponent is trained the moment, you move the back leg they will move to counter. Using the same forward motion, will disguises your technique.

When practicing any strike or block, emotion must be removed from the equation, Anger or fear impedes your movement. These two emotions must be controlled in fighting. The mind cannot focus on two tings at once. If you’re angry or afraid, you’ve placed the brakes on your defense. Anger slows you down. When executing any block or strike, the body must be relaxed until the moment of contact. Hip rotation and every movement must be timed to stop at the same time for maximum transfer of power. This is true of the mind as well.  Your mind must remain in a relaxed state to minimize resistance to performing any strike or block. As the old adage goes, “Be like water” or flow and adapt to any situation.