Are high-kicks really useful?

**tao.jonez** · Posted On: 2/20/2009 3:14pm

High kicks are definitely good. Just not something you can / should throw a lot.

If you commit and throw really hard kicks most opponents will cover or dodge. Throw lots of low kicks and occasionally a high one, and your opponent will have to consider the possibility that the high kick is what's coming EVERY time. I think that's the real use of high kicks.

Or you could get lucky and get the KO. Either way it's like any other strike - applied effectively it's useful. But there are significant risks when used incorrectly.

**TxSanshou** · Posted On: 4/06/2009 5:28pm

depends on what kind of "fight" your talking about in a fight under mma rules no head kicks are not very useful because a good grappler can screw you over.In a street fight high kicks are actually very useful because your average joe who does not train in martial arts does not see it coming. I hear people say all the time that grappling and submissions are the way to go in a street fight but actually if you run in and try to grapple a guy there is a very high chance he will pull out a knife and stab you and if that don't happen while your on the ground trying to submit him his buddies are gonna run over and stomp your head into a bloody pulp. So in a fight under mma rules no in a street fight or a striking based tournament provided you can do them correctly yes.

**Vorpal** · Posted On: 4/06/2009 7:15pm

I vote useful (sometimes) YouTube - nyctd10/12/2008

**TxSanshou** · Posted On: 4/06/2009 7:46pm

Originally Posted by Vorpal

I vote useful (sometimes) YouTube - nyctd10/12/2008

good point this video is a good example me being a little guy like the smaller dude I would not try to kick someone taller than me in the head thats to risky I would just use leg and body kicks

**kultist** · Posted On: 4/09/2009 7:58pm

Originally Posted by TxSanshou

depends on what kind of "fight" your talking about in a fight under mma rules no head kicks are not very useful because a good grappler can screw you over.In a street fight high kicks are actually very useful because your average joe who does not train in martial arts does not see it coming. I hear people say all the time that grappling and submissions are the way to go in a street fight but actually if you run in and try to grapple a guy there is a very high chance he will pull out a knife and stab you and if that don't happen while your on the ground trying to submit him his buddies are gonna run over and stomp your head into a bloody pulp. So in a fight under mma rules no in a street fight or a striking based tournament provided you can do them correctly yes.

Don 'The Animal' McYoung always carried knives, in sheaths, and practiced quickdrawing them in under a second. He said that in the several time in his life that someone pulled a knife on him, he was only able to pull his own out once. If you can do a well performed big outer reap on someone with a knife who hasn't pulled it yet, what are their chances of managing to rustle around in their pockets and find the damn thing before you snap their arm?

**Zapruder** · Posted On: 4/09/2009 8:15pm

Originally Posted by kultist

Don 'The Animal' McYoung always carried knives, in sheaths, and practiced quickdrawing them in under a second. He said that in the several time in his life that someone pulled a knife on him, he was only able to pull his own out once. If you can do a well performed big outer reap on someone with a knife who hasn't pulled it yet, what are their chances of managing to rustle around in their pockets and find the damn thing before you snap their arm?

Why not just carry a gun to a knife fight? Or...insert tired old argument here.

**TheMarquis** · Posted On: 4/10/2009 5:48am

Like most things related to striking long-distance targets, it's a balancing act... (no pun intended)...
Yes they can be really useful.. if for example- an opponent has committed to a 'hard advance' and you have the physical skill to get your foot to connect to the side of their head, or neck(either is pretty good a making them reconsider going onwards)... it can have the stopping power of a well aimed house brick... (on average legs have approximately 3 times the strength of the arms).

Having said that, there's an obvious issue (which many others have most like stated already)... That you're picking a target that is pretty much the farthest away from the striking method used you can practically get.... Which means that in comparison (to something like a front snap kick aimed at the mid section for example)... it's just going to take a little bit more time to get there...

And as often said, like comedy ... timing is pretty important in a fight.

think tao.jonez summed it up when they said, "Either way it's like any other strike - applied effectively it's useful. But there are significant risks when used incorrectly."

Which is pretty much how I see it anyway...

**TxSanshou** · Posted On: 4/10/2009 10:44am

Originally Posted by kultist

Don 'The Animal' McYoung always carried knives, in sheaths, and practiced quickdrawing them in under a second. He said that in the several time in his life that someone pulled a knife on him, he was only able to pull his own out once. If you can do a well performed big outer reap on someone with a knife who hasn't pulled it yet, what are their chances of managing to rustle around in their pockets and find the damn thing before you snap their arm?

very high believe it or not especially if they know they are about to fight you

**TEA** · Posted On: 4/13/2009 6:22pm

Originally Posted by Zapruder

Why not just carry a gun to a knife fight? Or...insert tired old argument here.

Yes, gun > knife > high kick in a self defense scenario. If you are really worried about self defense, carry a gun. I carry a knife, but more as a general purpose tool than out of self defense concerns. Still, it's better than nothing. If the CHL on campus bill passes (and it looks like it will), I am going to have to renew my effort to lobby my wife for permission to get a handgun and a CHL.

Edited to add:

I like kicking people in the head and am fairly good at it. Is it useful? Depends on the context. "Content without context is pretext." (Jesse Jackson)