Advanced Kicks and Slow Posting
February 21, 2007 by Bob Patterson
So old Bob is as busy as a one-legged takwondoist in a room full of kicking shields. OK, that was really bad. Anyhow, my posting has slowed and it’s likely to be that way ’till this summer.
Mainly due to graduate class, work, and all the darn extra things I’ve gotten myself involved with.
On to taekwondo:
Our curriculum teaches basic and intermediate fundamentals (blocks, punches, kicks, etc) at certain belt ranks. These are pre-selected by our board of masters so we have to teach them and be proficient in them.
What’s cool is once you reach the advanced ranks (3rd gup aka brown belt and beyond) the “advanced fundamentals” are totally up to you and your instructor. Selection is based on what you’ve shown promise in, what you’d like to learn, what your instructor thinks, and your physical limitations. (lets face it: not everyone can do a jumping twin side kick!)
As part of intermediate fundamentals I can now execute a jumping round and jumping side kick. Neither will ever be Chuck Norris-like but I can hit at mid-section with some power. Anyhow, one of the advanced kicks that I am working on is the jump turning side kick:
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The above photo catches the kick in mid-turn. You start by facing your target in fighting stance. Then it’s a rear-leg kick executed after a 180 degree body rotation while airborne. You can jump straight up, slightly forward, or slightly backwards.
One very important thing to remember is that for a brief second you lose sight of your opponent. So you have to take care to turn your head as fast as possible and get your eyes back on your opponent. (note the guy in the photo is not watching his target! Bad, bad, bad!)
This one is really good for sparring or even combat. Our founder was very good at this kick and would use it all the time if we charged him. The end result usually was students in the prone position looking up at his smiling face.
I’ve just started to learn this kick and can execute it against a target. I can hit at mid-section level, usually on target, with some power. However, I’m a few months away from incorporating it into my sparring. I can usually tell which kicks are going to give me problems (i.e. the jump turning round house kick) and which are not. This one shows promise so I’m excited.
The variation to this which I’m also practicing is the jump pivot (or reverse) turning side kick. Starting from fighting stance you lead and pivot with your rear-leg knee, then jump, and continue to turn. So, if your rear right leads you end up kicking with the front left. This one is more complicated because it has a few more steps. However, it’s essentially the reverse of the above described kick.
When it comes to sparring under taekwondo rules my biggest problem is what to do once my opponent gets past my long legs. So I’m constantly looking for ways to get a charger off me and back at range where I can kick. (in a non-tournament setting I know what to do but it’s all illegal!)
My staple is the spin side kick. Second to that is a straight punch combo/jump back side kick. I’ve also gotten my inside crescent kick to board-breaking power and at head level. However, I can only pull it off when semi-crowded so it doesn’t always work.
Finally, at tourneys (not at my school) I’ve been known to work within the “rules.” To avoid penalties you are encouraged to block with forearms or closed fists. However, I prefer open hand slap blocks or the occasional knife-edge block. Part because they come natural to me and part because I can cause more pain to a padded leg or or arm (at least with the knife edge block). The end result is chargers tend to keep their distance from me because it hurts. The down side is that sometimes I get fouled because a judge will think I’m grabbing which is illegal. (I have never once grabbed but have been fouled for it because a judge thought I was trying for a grab.)
Same goes for punching. In tko we can only use straight punches to the chest in a tourney setting and it’s very rare to score points. However, I love to punch and based on boxing/wing chun I’m pretty good at it. So, I love to let go with a flurry because the opponent often blocks. If you block I can still bruise a padded arm so the result again is that a charger backs off me. Pain is an excellent motivator.
;–)
Speaking of working in the rules…
Many schools that I’ve seen who participate at tourneys (including our founder when he sparred) are very good at an “accidental” push-step or low side kick. You essentially set it up to hit the chest guard but slide low and hit the thigh below the guard. People who are good at this can make it look like and accident and often times the judges think exactly that and don’t foul you. If it works you bruise their thigh and get very close (uncomfortably close!) to the groin which is illegal. So, it has that added psychological factor.
This one I do not do. At my very first tourney I saw a big ‘ole farmer take a front kick to the groin. He had a cup and it still dropped him. After that he spent time with the EMT on duty and yes, they stopped the match. So, that’s beyond what I’m willing to do insofar as “massaging the rules”. Bruising arms and legs happens all the time and even if you try to follow the rules to the letter.
Funny thing but when I had my summer beat down (search the blog if you want to read about it) my whirling dervish opponent slipped several low push kicks to my thigh. They did not bother me because I sparred against my founder who would also use the same tactic. What did bother my was my bad conditioning and the fact that he was 10 years younger.
Anyhow, regardless of all the sport rules when it comes to life-or-death there is no such thing as a fair fight or rules.
~BCP
[tags]martial arts, boxing, taekwondo, wing chun, kung fu[/tags]
