The kick is a basic technique, whether you are an experienced practitioner or an absolute beginner. Many techniques use the feet, from the normal kick to the 720° jump kick, typical of Korean martial arts.
Using your feet may seem instinctive. What could be easier than kicking? Actually, it requires good motor coordination and balance to be effective.
In street fighting, high kicks (above the belt) are generally not recommended, as you may lose your balance due to stress, which can determine the outcome of the fight.
In general, self defense disciplines recommend only two kicks: one that goes up to the genitals, another circular one to the thigh.
The higher the level of the practitioner, the more he can kick higher (side kicks, in particular, targeting the torso). This requires excellent stress management, which normally only develops with time and repeated confrontation to conflict situations. This is the case with law enforcement who over time have control over themselves.
Kicks to the face should be avoided whenever possible, unless the aggressor’s size allows you to lift your leg without difficulty. For instance, if the aggressor is 5’10” and you are 6’1″. This is rare!
Fortunately, attackers rarely have the same presence of mind as experienced practitioners who are also rarely fighters. So, they often use techniques they don’t master, and can quickly lose the advantage in a fight.
Their inexperience can work in your favor, especially if they reproduce techniques seen on TV that are totally unsuited to street fighting, especially side kicks to the stomach.
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Deal with distances and dodges
As reckless as the attacker may be when it comes to choosing his techniques, the fact remains that a well-placed side kick can hurt you, so you’d better learn to manage your distance, your environment, and especially your dodges.
To do a side kick, an attacker will have to stand at a certain distance from you, roughly equivalent to 2/3 of his leg height, which will allow him to raise his leg well and hit you with a reserve strike allowing him to cross you with the remaining 1/3.
To manage your distance well, you must be able to quickly analyze the attacker’s strike part and your safety distance towards him.
In hand-to-hand combat, he will not be able to do a side kick, but this is not the safest combat distance. So don’t try to close the distance between you and the attacker to short-circuit his attack. Not only does this require an excellent gaze (which is complicated in street fighting because stress slows down your reaction time), but you are always in the striking range.
Hand-to-hand combat is very dangerous, as it quickly becomes a fight which means you can quickly get stabbed. Strikes are much more difficult to perceive at this distance, and even more difficult to intercept.
That’s why ideally you should dodge a kick either by stepping to the side or by making a retreating movement.
The disadvantage of the side dodge is that it must be done at the last moment so that the attacker does not change his trajectory and reach you anyway.
Stepping back gives you the best chance to dodge, but it is also the most instinctive reaction. It is normally the first reflex you will have to deal with a roundhouse kick. Nature knows best!
The counterattack phase
Stepping back may not be enough if you have not managed your distance well, which is very likely under stress. It may happen that the aggressor manages to close the distance to hit you. Then, in addition to dodging, you will have to secure the situation by a defense.
Here again, the gesture is quite instinctive: a double impact on the foot or ankle with both hands.
Of course, it is not necessary to use your fingers but the palms of your hands, one on top of the other to have more power.
You must therefore strike the foot or the ankle in order to deflect the blow, either to the bottom or to the side. Be careful not to deviate the foot towards your front leg if you opt for the first solution!
Once you’ve done this defense, we are back to the classic counter-attack, self defense type, with one or more impacts allowing to incapacitate the aggressor and to cover his escape. After a deviation of the kick, some targets are more exposed, notably the popliteal fossa, the thigh or the genitals. Take advantage of this as long as you can!
