High kicks are a large part of training we at times encounter, but there is something that is easily forgotten about high kicks. For tournament sparring or dojo training it’s a great way to improve kicks and work on balance, and let’s face it, they look very good.
However, there are some things to be learnt about high kicks and whether or not they are useful in self-defence. There is a danger of using high kicks in self-defence; purely because of how far the leg has to travel, losing power in the process.
Often as we try with all of our might to lift the kick with all its power we will give away our guard, expose our groins and potentially give away a solid balanced base.
It is something that is expected and thought of to be effective, but even watching some Olympians strike out with high kicks and watch glance off the side of the head, has alluded me to think of how to use our kicking far more affectively. How in self-defence can we use our feet and legs as weapons in a way that would work well, or we do abandon the idea entirely.
Instead it became clear that the focus of kicks can be both powerful and extremely affective if well placed and trained for the right targeting. For instance, it is maybe important to remember to focus on the knees or legs, and this does also change foot form to some extent.
Such in these pictures, the student chooses a high guard but low kick to control the situation quickly, the next step being to run.
A high kick may have been difficult and dangerous, considering the distancing of the attack, and how much it would have taken to prepare for such an attack while wondering if the attacker is not also going to strike again or more quickly than the foot could move. Although not impossible, it may better to finish the situation quickly and escape rather than getting into a situation where you are now in a full fist fight.
It may also be better to aim for target that are accessible, reachable and also sensitive with low kicks, such as knees, or using the nerves in the thigh or even a well-trained groin kick becomes preferable, or even choosing a strong front kick to part of the ribs that causes major damage.
This does create a conundrum, as we are often trained to lift kicks so high, maybe the question that should be posed is why and where the idea came from. Even reading older books wrote by the very founders, they initially kicked low to accessible targets.
Yet it was the introduction of the western cultures that kicks became higher and flashier, even though I still teach it in techniques myself, it is still not my most favourite for self-defence purposes.
It was once as a short female that it became too obvious that another plan must be made. Suddenly options of using the knees or ankles as targets become viable, often something I teach children.
Even still within Kenpo the principle of low kicks remain, the influence from White Crane Kung Fu still present in the Ryukyu Kempo that would later evolve into the forms we all readily recognise. Sometimes our history showing us the way back to a better self-defence application for today.
I would like to thank Kohai Avineet in his help with the photos for this article. Avineet has been a student at Sanchin Kempo Karate for seven years and we look forward to his further progression.
References
Funakoshi, G. (2001). Karate Jutsu: The original teachings of Master Funakoshi. Kodansha International Ltd: Tokoyo.
Materra, C. (2011). 10 Kenpo Principles all martial artists should know. Black Belt Magazine.
