Lead leg round-house

[Rene "Zendokan" Gysenbergs]

I usually spar with standard MMA rules so ball kicks are not allowed.

There's some great advice in this thread and permalost gave you the mechanics.

It's used a lot in Savate, my personal favorite usage is

- coming in with a jab-jab-cross to the head, doesn't matter that it will be against his gloves.
- step back and out with my hind foot (not too much: just one step is enough) at the same time that I pull my rightarm back into defensive position after trowing the cross.
- shift my full weight on my hind leg, it's the continuation of bringing my rightarm back
- up comes my lead foot in a chambered kick directly on the side of his head bypassing his gloves.

The motion of retracting arm/moving all the weight on the hind leg + rotating the hip from rightside coiled (from the cross mechanics) to leftside coiled (leftleg roundhouse mechanics) + chambered kick + sensetive target (side of the head or liver) = TKO/KO kick.

I would suggest looking at some Boxe française - Savate clips on Youtube. There are some with great examples and explination outthere.

[Lampa]

The switch leg kick is also a great way to mess up the timing of an opposite-stance fighter who tries to pump out the jab.

Also, you know, being able to throw a kick off of a punch from your power hand in combination.

If you include a full switch-step or step in if the guy is backing up, the lead kick isn't really any weaker than the power side. I really don't get why there are two "how do lead foot roundhouse" threads where people say it's too weak to matter.

Edit: Oh, and forgot the most obvious one, hitting a guy just outside of your range that keeps circling towards your weak side.

[Bneterasedmynam]

A switch kick though is a bit different than just throwing a round-house off the lead leg. Would a liver kick really be worth the chance of getting caught in a single leg when it lacks the same power as a back leg round-house??

[Omega Supreme]

Ok so I am going to ask a really stupid question so I figured this was the best forum to get flak for it. So here it goes, is there any point at all to a lead leg round-house?? I know personally I completely ignore them when sparring, and it just seems to me that the time it takes to practice it would be better spent practicing a kick that has power. But maybe someone here with more experience than me (shouldn't be that hard to find) can explain the point of that kick.

Is there any point of the jab?
Is there any point to the lead leg front kick?
Dude, there are no such thing as a stupid question, just ones that haven't been well thought out, which kind of makes it stupid. Just saying.

[Rene "Zendokan" Gysenbergs]

A switch kick though is a bit different than just throwing a round-house off the lead leg. Would a liver kick really be worth the chance of getting caught in a single leg when it lacks the same power as a back leg round-house??

Your kick has just to be powerful enough to overcome the threshold from where a liverkick goes from an "can take it" to a painful TKO.
A lead foot roundhouse goes over that threshold.

[WhiteShark]

is there any point at all to a lead leg round-house??

Yes.

I know personally I completely ignore them when sparring

Then the people you are sparring against suck at lead-leg kicks.

it just seems to me that the time it takes to practice it would be better spent practicing a kick that has power.

Thats because you don't know what you're talking about and you don't know how to throw or use the kick.

But maybe someone here can explain the point of that kick.

To hurt and distract your opponent. At the end of the day that is the point of every strike.

You are probably not throwing combinations so the distraction aspect is unclear to you. Combinations are designed to elicit a specific response from your opponent so that you can take advantage of the opening that your combination creates.

My favorite use for a lead leg round house is jab-cross-lead leg kick. It is very simple and the kick can be thrown as a switch kick to the head or a heavy leg kick. In the case of a switch kick the cross covers your movement and in the case of a leg kick the jab and cross can make the person shell up and not protect their leg.

[Omega Supreme]

My favorite use for a lead leg round house is jab-cross-lead leg kick. It is very simple and the kick can be thrown as a switch kick to the head or a heavy leg kick. In the case of a switch kick the cross covers your movement and in the case of a leg kick the jab and cross can make the person shell up and not protect their leg.

I use mine as a sweep too.

[WhiteShark]

I should work on that. I usually sweep with my back leg.

[Omega Supreme]

I get them as they advance.

[Permalost]

It's also a good kick for hitting someone in the ding ding, as demonstrated in GSP vs Hughes.