Heel kick with the rear leg

[KC Elbows]

Do any of you guys try to stop an opponent's kick with a heel kick from the rear leg? I'm working on it, but I always seem a little late. Is there a common error I am making, or am I just being too slow?

[shaolinboxer]

Tae Kwon Do players have this technique mastered. Look to www.taekwon.net

[MightyB]

Try it with your front leg and use a inside to outside crescent kick instead of a heel kick.

[JWTAYLOR]

Let me see if I get what you're talking about here.

He kicks at you with say a front kick off the front leg toward your groin. You are trying to kick his kicking leg with your heel before his kick reaches your groin?

That sounds like you would have to be pretty friggin quick?

JWT

[Badger]

Are you talking about a knee level Oblique kick?

[shaolinboxer]

Actually, my understanding the this:

You're opponent throws a rear leg roundhouse, you step away from the round house (towards the opening side of your opponent) and plant your heel in his gut, beating the kick. Same goes for a front counter. You don't kick the kick, you kick your opponent in the gut or face before his kick gets off or by placing yourself beyond his kick's effective range fast enough.

[fa_jing]

All stop kicks as far as I've ever seen are with the front leg, or the leg closest to the target. Please explain.
-FJ

[Jaguar Wong]

Shaolinboxer is describing a nice little technique that I've seen work. I've also seen a sort of hopping (you hop to the side, sort of off angling) rear leg thrust kick to the gut while the opponent's kick is still arcing it's way over.

If you're talking about what JWT is talking about...Let's just say you would be better off adding some "pepper" to your front leg jams. A good way is to practice some quick sharp front leg thrust and side kicks on a heavy bag, and when you can do that without feeling any balance loss whatsoever (including the times where you don't hit as solid, but don't fall forward), then practice the same thing against an partner, or a focus pad to develop the accuracy.

Better than trying to gain some god-like speed to beat a kicker who's already launched his attack.

Another thing is, even if you're trying to use your rear leg heel (a knee level oblique kick, like Badger is asking for example), you can't wait to see which kick is coming, you have to attack when they shift their balance for ANY preparation to attack you, whether it's a punch, or a kick.

I have a much harder time with the oblique kick, because my jams work better from the outer gates (kicking range). The oblique kick is great for inside, but that's where I'm trying to switch up to clinching (for knees...elbows if we're not going all out), or punching.

[shaolinboxer]

A typical scenerio for this counter kick:

Both oppoents are in orthodox stances. One guy launches a rear leg roundhouse. The other guy knows whats coming. The kick is traveling in either an arc (for knock out power) or is coming straight in and curving sharply as the knee raises (almost like a front kick, for speed and deception). The person countering moves with the roundhouse kick, to the guy's now opening side, popping his rear leg heel kick either straight off of the floor or raising his knee and then launching the kick to get his leg over his oppenents (depends on the height and speend of the round house). The tricky part is you have to be able to read your oppenent and react in a fraction of a second.

Again, watch some TKD vids....you will see insanely fast counter attacks, and this is one of the most common.