Comments on: Martial Arts Kicks; Form vs Substance?

By: Zara

Zara — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:28:47 +0000

Many thanks for that great compliment John but I’m afraid I’m not qualified to give others advice (not yet anyway) and I should be pretty busy soon so I doubt I’d keep it up. No use starting something you can’t finish, maybe someday.

Our kick defenses almost always consist of avoiding the kick followed by a swift groinkick followed by throws, locks and/or punches. In a real fight where your health and safety is in danger you take him out asap and kicking someone in the groin is generally one of the best ways to do this: even if it fails for some reason it’s likely his hands will go down to protect that area, giving you a clean shot to the face. Another great tactic is the same avoidance but with a sidekick aimed at the knee: he who can’t stand can’t fight and since his leg will generally be in the air or on the way down he has little chance of avoiding it if you practiced diligently and act without hesitation. Catching the kicking leg is also good aslong as you don’t expose your head to punches in the process and you take him down asap. From there I’d avoid grappling but instead punch or kick him to finish the fight or maybe apply a lock if you think you can get away with it.

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:33:42 +0000

Anthony! – I used to spar with a guy that would nail me with a groin kick every time I tried to kick him high… pretty soon I learned. If I fight a good kicker – I tend to make them pay for their high kicks with groin kicks of my own, as a great mitigating strategy.

Thanks for your comment.

By: Anthony Wagner

Anthony Wagner — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:23:43 +0000

I have to say, when kicking that high,its not a good thing.

My instructor used to tell us never to kick above the waist. it just provides nothing but a good appearance.

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:52:41 +0000

hey John – yep, lots of benefits, not the least as self-discipline.

hi Edward – we are all there… improving by practice! Thanks for stopping by.

By: Edward

Edward — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:53:46 +0000

As always, this is another excellent read. I enjoyed reading all the thoughts written in this blog. Well martial arts is something I do or training for self defense. For the few months I’d been training I can say that I have learned something and that I am improving.
Edward recently posted..Do What It Takes To Defend Yourself

By: John

John — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:31:26 +0000

Martial has always been a very useful self defense kinds of art which can be tried by everybody. It is one way of learning self discipline and exercising at the same time. Apart from those benefits, it is also one way of minimizing crimes. Thank you for sharing this blog post
John recently posted..The Little Engine that Could

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:23:00 +0000

Hi Matt!

I agree that leaving it at the door is the right way to workout… Vitali was one of the guys I really respected coming up… he does not look like a fighter but he could kick some serious butt.

Hey Steve!

I with you – substance is first… nothing wrong with form as one might become more effective.

Howdy Tomas!

Yep, In the end – picking the right game plan is everything! Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi BJ!

Agreed!