oh god, did like 8 yrs of TKD with Dr. Min at CAL.
during undergrad and after graduation, obviously.
wrote articles for Black Belt briefly way back when.
we used to have horrific tourneys with Byong Yu,
the rival club in Oakland. much blood.
ah, the memories.
what was the question again?
So is it best to practice this kick landing in the opposite stance, or should you throw the kick, re-chamber, and return to the original stance? I'd probably prefer the latter, if it's viable.
There is a nice thread on the "crescent kick" (mikagetsugeri, apparently) on Kyokushin4life for anyone who's interested in the technique.
This does appear to be the technique being used in the Cruickshank and Nogueira fights. That sneaky ball of the foot to the body is definitely something I'd like to cultivate. I can see why it's becoming a little more popular in MMA, with the longer range the fighters tend to keep between themselves making it harder to body punch. And in an interview Katsunori Kikuno said that he was originally inspired to learn the kick because he noticed that he couldn't read what kick was coming from the chamber. The angle is apparently quite deceptive. I can see that Martinez, in the video I posted, definitely thought Cruickshank was going for this kick just before he ended the fight with a head kick. Deceptive indeed.
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Last edited by Discipulus; 02-06-2013 at 12:53 AM.
I like to use my front kick with the lead leg as a counter strike when my opponent starts to throw a lateral kick. That way, not only are those pesky elbows out of the way, but more importantly, you knock him down on his unbalanced butt.
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I like to use my front kick with the lead leg as a counter strike when my opponent starts to throw a lateral kick. That way, not only are those pesky elbows out of the way, but more importantly, you knock him down on his unbalanced butt.
Teep, or front kick? I use my teep that way, when I'm quick enough.
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Great White Dope, dating Muay Thai and BJJ; cheating on them both with boxing.
So I've been playing around with throwing this kick. First of all, it's been some time since I've thrown one, and I forgot how tough snap kicks are on the legs! Especially throwing without a target, you feel this sucker on your hamstrings pretty quickly when you're not used to it.
Anyway, when I practice this kick on the bag should I be aiming to hit the side of the bag? When I do this, it feels to land at an awkward angle. Banged up my big toe a couple of times, which doesn't happen when I throw a normal front kick, but that could be an issue of toe flexibility. It does feel difficult to align my ankle in the front kick fashion, however, which appears to be how Narushima and Kikuda angle their feet for the same kick. I feel that I'm trying to make the kick too much of a round kick. Should I throw it at the angle but try to connect on the face of my heavy bag, rather than around the side?
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Great White Dope, dating Muay Thai and BJJ; cheating on them both with boxing.
Anyway, when I practice this kick on the bag should I be aiming to hit the side of the bag? When I do this, it feels to land at an awkward angle. Banged up my big toe a couple of times, which doesn't happen when I throw a normal front kick, but that could be an issue of toe flexibility. It does feel difficult to align my ankle in the front kick fashion, however, which appears to be how Narushima and Kikuda angle their feet for the same kick. I feel that I'm trying to make the kick too much of a round kick. Should I throw it at the angle but try to connect on the face of my heavy bag, rather than around the side?
For the crescent kick you'd want to aim at the side.
When I do the crescent kick though, my foot and ankle aren't exactly as they are in the front snap kick. I keep my toes pointed up, but I angle my foot inside. So if you were to just stand up and then roll your feet so that you're standing on the outer edge, or blade, of your foot, that's pretty much how I do it.
As for the angle, it's not like a roundhouse kick in the sense that you turn your hips over. It's more like if you threw a front kick, but someone grabbed you and spun you around as you were throwing it. There's little variations you can make as to how you do it or what you connect with so you'll just have to keep practicing it to see exactly how it'll work best for you.
Kwonkicker's videos are always great to learn or refresh:
He means a roundhouse kick that comes up at a 45/60 degree angle and snaps into the ribs with the ball of the foot. Didnt' Schilt TKO someone with it after it connected to their liver?
I believe he did. I know that Ghita has done the same. And of course Katsunori Kikuno uses it just about every fight.
It's confusing, though, because there are two kicks called "crescent kick" in English. This one is so called because I think the original name Mikagetsugeri means crescent moon kick, and Mikazukigeri just means crescent kick. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks for the advice, though, ghost scribble. Sorry for the confusion.
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Great White Dope, dating Muay Thai and BJJ; cheating on them both with boxing.
Are we referring to what would be called a mae geri in Karate? If so, you could try throwing the kick to land with the heel as opposed to the ball of your foot, so it lands in a stomping type motion. This way, if it does get blocked and your opponents pesky elbows get in the way, the damage to your foot is far less than if you were to catch an elbow on your toes. I believe Bas Rutten teaches it this way also.
Another method, although not in a sporting context, would be to throw this kick low to the groin area, it's unlikely someone will be able to get their elbows down there to block it.
