Page 40 - Pat O'Keeffe Combat Kick Boxing

Combat Kick Boxing

The legs are the most powerful weapons available
to the fighter. They are longer and stronger than
the arms and with practice also become faster. Kicks
should be thrown to the body and legs because they
are bigger targets and are not as mobile as the head.
In the ring the experienced kick boxer can afford
to throw head kicks because the rules do not allow
grabbing or throwing. In the street however you
will be grabbed, kicked in the groin and thrown to
the ground (possibly all at once!) if you attempt to
throw high kicks, especially ‘cold’ high kicks.

There are always exceptions to rules and the
exceptions are:
1) When you have used an effective lower level kick
to set up the high kick.
2) When your assailant has been weakened and his
guard is down.
3) When you are an exceptional kicker.

To remove all doubt should any still remain, I
strongly recommend that you only use high kicks
not when one of these conditions prevail, but when
they all do. The floating ribs and the kidneys, on
approximately the same line, are the highest targets
at which you should normally aim. Remember, the
penalties for getting it wrong are severe and possibly
permanent.

The Knee
So obvious is the knee’s use as a weapon that even
untrained street fighters will readily use it to the
groin and head, but it is only with training that this
‘natural’ short-range weapon reaches its full
potential.

The three methods of attack are:
1) The forward knee kick
2) The roundhouse knee kick
3) The rising knee kick
The target areas best suited to the different kinds of
knee kick are shown alongside the respective
explanations of how to execute them. One target
area deserves a special mention – the leg. (Diagram 2) Diagram 2

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