Sidekick

[dodger87]

http://www.bullshido.net/modules.php?s=&name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=44

I notice that in this clip when the guy throws the side kick he bends his knee a little. I tried doing the side kick with my knee bent a little and i find that I'm more stable but my kick doesn't seem as powerful.

How do you guys do it?

[Judge Pen]

My support leg is bent a little, but my kicking leg extends through the kick. Even though this guy went across the room, it seemed that the kick didn't have the hip involvement that I'm taught to include and could have been more powerful.

[EarthDragon]

I agee with judge pen, The cross over side kick shown in the video was not very powerful at all!

When you are kicking properly in a side kick your body should twist, snap and lock upon impact. No bent knee....... Your heel, back, shoulder blade and hip should all be in a straight line and again lock upon impact. If he had a good kick the oppponent wouldnt have gotten up. Rather poor fighting for a black belt

[shaolinboxer]

I never lock out my joints. It leads to injury.

[Judge Pen]

There a difference between staighten and "lock out" I straighten my leg and puch it through the target while snapping my hips into the kick, but my joints aren't locked and the leg is bent prior to contact.

[Unmatchable]

crescent kick and spinning back kick are cooler.

[rogue]

Finally got to watch the video and I'm laughing my ass off. One of my training partners is Kyokushinkai and he fights like those two. He's big, tough, hits hard and either walks into kicks or forgets to move out of the way. And the dumb tough ******* bounces right back up.:D

[dodger87]

JP could you explain the "snapping the hips" part a bit more? I'm a newbie and have no idea what it means.

[Judge Pen]

Originally posted by dodger87
JP could you explain the "snapping the hips" part a bit more? I'm a newbie and have no idea what it means.

Torqueing the hips into the direction of the side kick so that your heel of the kicking leg, the bones in that leg and the hip are all lined up and supporting each other structually. The result of this torque is to also have your support leg's heel turned toward the kick so that the heel is "pointing" toward your target. Some natually flexable people can cheat these steps a little and still generate good speed, angle, and power, but their kicks would be even more powerful by paying attention to these mechanics. At least in my experience.

[shaolinboxer]

When learning this kick, a good way to test your structure is to "push" on a wall with you kick. You should be able to open you hips and align yourself to really push hard without falling away from the wall. Judge's advice on the heel and hip is on point. Just remeber that the as the leg straightens and the bones take over, the pressure on the cartilidge around your joints increases significantly (since the muscles are no longer bearing the force). Cartilidge damage never really heels because of lack of blood flow in the joints. Sometimes its good to sacracfice a little power at first to avoid losing a lot of power later on.