It seems to me the most effective way, if you're fighting MMA style, to use kicks AFTER having worn the opponent down with a good number of punches, as to capitalize on the exhaustion and fatigue the opponent most likely has succumbed to. Everytime I try a kick at the beginning of a fight, it seems the opponent is able to counter and catch the kick and typically take me down, and as I'm a far better striker than wrestler this is usually bad news for me.

What do you guys think? Do you feel the same or do you have your own use for kicks?

Well to a certain extent I agree with you that you may leave yourself open to start throwing kicks at the beginning of a fight, besides the fact that kicks will tire you out more. I think the latter is a bigger factor on why more people don't use them early on.

I personally don't shy away from using them at the beginning of a fight, and don't have too much of a problem getting taken down whilst doing so. At first I tend to use the push or teep kick alot, muay thai war horse style, and when thrown properly it is not easy to deflect. Also, there is benefit in throwing kicks to the body in your combinations so that you will open up their head to attacks.

Also, there is benefit in throwing kicks to the body in your combinations so that you will open up their head to attacks.
QFT. Every good kicker at some point turns into a head-hunter. This is what people will expect if you try to take off their head with your first kick, and someone who's sparring defensively to protect their head is a lot harder to KO then someone who's chest is killing them and distracting them. Gotta get your opponent unhappy about how your kicks feel on his ribs/legs so that when you start your kick he's avoiding a body shot or blocking a body shot, opening up his head for a kick.

In my experience starting a match out with kicks tells my opponent too much about my ability and game plan. I think it's better to lead with hand strikes and follow with kicks.

Also punching can mask the beginning of your kick's telegraph which i'm sure you know. This is the real problem with kicks in general: you see them coming from a mile away if they are thrown outside of combinations. I think i see this a lot in TKD because for some people a head kick takes a LOT of effort, too much to smoothly integrate in even a basic punch-punch-kick combo.

As for how exactly I use my kicks? I like to save my kicks for when someone is moving away/towards me. whenever someone gets momentum in one direction or another is a good time to try and land a kick because it will force them to rely on blocking instead of evasion, which will wear them out much faster in the unlikely event that blocking works. keep in mind i'm 6"2 and I have 36 inch legs so I can't just flick kicks out like a little korean dude, I gotta hide them to land them. Which I do. A lot.

I dunno what you have in MT for defensive kicks, but a lot of my best kicks are dodging backwards spin back or hook kicks. These particularly dominate people with momentum coming towards you. roundhouses/front kicks go without saying. or they did til i just said it.

I love to go from body punches, to a head kick. They really never see it coming. You know, step in and throw combos, blast them with straights to the gut and hooks to the ribs. Then wait for them to jump back, or just push them off and kick them right in the brain while they are covering up.

What I meant in my first post moreso, was that the kicks to the legs/body open up their head to punches, elbows. Not just headkicks.

I would say it depends on the style/rule set you are fighting.
If low kicks are allowed, go for them, slow your opponent down. Give his legs a good time and he won't be able to move out of your "high kicks" as fast as he used to. Don't go for high kicks in the beginning, he well get used to your low kicks and start to focus on protecting his legs, this is the time you go for his head.
An other option would be to set up a series of punches and when he tries to avoid/move out of your range follow up with a good kick to the centre of the body (people will most likely shield/protect their head and open up their lower abdomen area).
Also the Mhuy Thai front (jab) kick can be a pain in the ass but you have to pull back quick since he will try to catch it after a few times.
You can also try to kick his upper arm for several times, it will get sour and start to cramp, he won't be able to get it up to protect his head (watch out that you don't hit his elbow, this will hurt you more then him). You can support this tactic with blows to the collarbone area. (WTF TaeKwonDo tactic that works for me when they try to block my kick to the head)

Yah, hitting the elbow fucking sucks. Will keep you out of comission for awhile if your not conditioned enough.

i reckon kicks are a great way to transition between ranges. when on the outside a low kick or teep can keep your opponent busy enough to prevent them attacking you while getting into punching range..

i also find that kicks are sometimes a great way to open people up, for example an inside leg sweep nearly always makes people drop their hands as they regain their footing.. perfect for a well placed uppercut as they normally drop straight onto it..

of course this might not work for everyone but i like to get in close and do most of my damage with punches

I would say it depends on the style/rule set you are fighting.

He's talking about MMA. He said so in the first sentence. What the **** is up with people not reading the OP's these days?

Anyway. I think you should set up kicks with punches and set up punches with kicks. Keep mixing **** up. What I have found works is to throw low-high combinations. For example, throwing a left body hook, and then a high kick has shown lots of results for me.
Also, if you can catch your opponent turning, then you can blast away with body/head kicks.

I only throw body kicks when I think they are going to land, because they are easily caught. Also, as was mentioned before, you can catch an elbow. I throw head kicks very often, because they worry the **** out of people, and they are very hard to catch. I can then fake the head kick and follow with a superman punch.

That legkicks are necessary goes without saying. They are low risk and high percentage. Throw them a lot.

He's talking about MMA. He said so in the first sentence. What the **** is up with people not reading the OP's these days?

Did you read my post at all? I was saying the exact same thing you said but hey, "tomato vs. tomato" :XXbunny:

He's talking about MMA. He said so in the first sentence. What the **** is up with people not reading the OP's these days?

Anyway. I think you should set up kicks with punches and set up punches with kicks. Keep mixing **** up. What I have found works is to throw low-high combinations. For example, throwing a left body hook, and then a high kick has shown lots of results for me.
Also, if you can catch your opponent turning, then you can blast away with body/head kicks.

I only throw body kicks when I think they are going to land, because they are easily caught. Also, as was mentioned before, you can catch an elbow. I throw head kicks very often, because they worry the **** out of people, and they are very hard to catch. I can then fake the head kick and follow with a superman punch.

That legkicks are necessary goes without saying. They are low risk and high percentage. Throw them a lot.
This thread is done. This is all you need to know.

That legkicks are necessary goes without saying. They are low risk and high percentage. Throw them a lot.

So many people need to understand this it hurts.

i punch like a fucking girl so i pretty much just kick all the time

Everytime I try a kick at the beginning of a fight, it seems the opponent is able to counter and catch the kick and typically take me down, and as I'm a far better striker than wrestler this is usually bad news for me.

This is my situation. I rarely kick at all because I'm deathly afraid of being taken down. My advice would be to work on your takedown defense (obviously), which is what I'm doing too.

It would also be a good idea to feint the kick when you know they want to counter, then hopefully they'll leave themselves open for your hands.

Too many strikers rely on their kicks too early. Even if you suck at punching, throw a few and then follow up with kicks at the end of your combos when it's harder to look for and catch them.

That legkicks are necessary goes without saying. They are low risk and high percentage. Throw them a lot.

This is pure arm chair quarterbacking from a guy who has never done Muay Thai or kickboxing in his life, so take it as you will:

It seems to me that leg kicks can leave you open for a reverse punch/right cross counter if you don't set them up with a jab or something (and sometimes even if you do.) Look at Wanderlei Silva's last fight, he took Jardine's leg kick square on the thigh, didn't even try to check it, just ignored it and went full bore ahead with looping punches.

That's because Wandy has legs like fucking rebar and concrete. Unless you are comfortable with taking a baseball bat to the thigh you should not fight like Wanderlei.
This whole thing frightens me. The Question is being both sensible and incredibly correct. I'm starting to wonder if he's truly as big a troll as he appears to be or if it was all just a trick.... Sneaky bastard.