Comments on: The Side Kick; Will it Work in a Fight?

By: Matt Klein

Matt Klein — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:59:23 +0000

Love the side kick! It is one hell of a technique on the street and in the ring. The beauty of it in point karate is you can score to the body if your opponent is in the open or closed position (right or left foot forward). The wheel kick(front roundhouse)you can only score in the closed position because it is illegal to kick in the back. You can use the side kick as a jab to set your opponent up for a backfist or reverse punch. A slip side kick is super fast, very difficult to see coming, and packs a lot of power as anyone who has sparred Terry Crook can attest. I remember Trey also had a really good slip side kick.

On the street combine it with a shuffle and you get knockout power. I ‘ve used it to end fights as most people do not expect it or see it coming. The Kenpo crossing rear kick can be adapted into a side kick with phenomenal power. I have seen full contact tournament fights end with a spinning side kick (very close to a spinning back kick) to the solar plexus or stomach.

It has one weakness–if you leave your leg out there too long, just like any other kick, a good fighter can scoop kick you right in the jewels.

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:29:05 +0000

Great points Doug!
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I don’t think the style matters either… good fighter’s pickup or borrow good methods from any source.
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Terry’s side kicks are famous… take one of those babies and you are down for the count.
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I always used to wonder about full-contact and now MMA… in the boxing world, you did not find skill level mismatches as much as in the MMA world. My guess has always been there are just way more tools and stuff to go wrong than just using two arms in fighting (like boxing).
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It is amazing how the caliber of UFC has increased from the 90′s but it still has a way to go I think.
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My side kick is my secret weapon as most people on the street do not know what it is capable of… I can keep someone off of me or attack with it without committing too much (if they have a weapon).

By: Doug Arcidino

Doug Arcidino — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:12:06 +0000

I have always thought that it is never the style but the person behind the style. I remember “Chicken “talking about how point fighters would blame the referee’s when they lost. He explained that it was never really valid. I realize that there were some real bad calls. But with the right determination you could overcome even bad calls. That is why there were some fighters that always won and some that did not. I have tried to live my life with that thought. I could not imagine anyone being able to continue a fight with a well placed (Terry Crook) side kick to the thigh. In MMA I have only seen wheel kicks and front thrust kicks. Guys that do the Tai style of kicking Most kicking I have witnessed has been telegraphed. MMA is really developing also so many of the fighters so well rounded and they do seem to stand up more and trade blows. Now I am quite bias since I love the sidekick. But no matter what type of fight it is boxing, karate, MMA, or even a street fight. I believe it is always about distance, timing and commitment to the attack.

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:25:24 +0000

Yep… rules are everything… Self-defense is wide open but hard to practice (or you might run out of sparring partners).

Thanks for the comment Tom.

By: Tom Gerace

Tom Gerace — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:23:37 +0000

My thoughts exactly regarding the side kick. I think that the dominance of MMA has made some techniques seem ineffective because they do not work within the rulesets of that form of competition. If kicking to the knee was allowed I believe that we would see different opinions on the matter.