Inside Low Kicks - Hajime Kazumi (Kyokushin Technical Breakdown)

[Hotora86]

Absolutely brilliant post, so much detail about a very rare, underutilized technique. Like Jukai already noted, power coming from the rear leg makes it so devastating and effective. Mixing up low kicks and inside leg kicks sounds like a great plan for confusing the opponent and destroying his legs from all possible angles! The Gifs blew my mind, Kazumi is simply amazing.

 

[Hellcat93]

Nice post.

I used to not be a big fan of the inside low kick. Then one sparring session my coach told me to just keep throwing it out like a jab and it will add up. This also makes the opponent weary of putting weight on their front leg. After a round or two of throwing the kick much more frequently, my partner was visibily limping.

I also use it alot just as a set up, usually for the right hand.

In the video you posted he seemed to also kick alot to the opponents rear leg both inside and out, i thought that was cool

 

[plakat]

I belong to the short stocky fighter and I have 2 issues with inside low kick.

1.) eating a jab after doing an inside low kick. Sometimes my opponent would just bum rush me after taking 1 of my inside low kick and I would be in a bad position to defend.

2.) feet hitting the knee instead of inside the leg, not being able to strike the inside of the thigh.

is it me? or are is inside leg kicks not suited for short stocky fighters?

 

[DivineComedy]

I belong to the short stocky fighter and I have 2 issues with inside low kick.

1.) eating a jab after doing an inside low kick. Sometimes my opponent would just bum rush me after taking 1 of my inside low kick and I would be in a bad position to defend.

2.) feet hitting the knee instead of inside the leg, not being able to strike the inside of the thigh.

is it me? or are is inside leg kicks not suited for short stocky fighters?

If you threw the inside low kick calf height and down, at least properly it should completely wipe out someone's balance.

 

[Discipulus]

I belong to the short stocky fighter and I have 2 issues with inside low kick.

1.) eating a jab after doing an inside low kick. Sometimes my opponent would just bum rush me after taking 1 of my inside low kick and I would be in a bad position to defend.

2.) feet hitting the knee instead of inside the leg, not being able to strike the inside of the thigh.

is it me? or are is inside leg kicks not suited for short stocky fighters?

It has nothing to do with your height. It's an issue of angling, set up, and defense that I'm sure everyone struggles with when learning to use the technique.

Keep a tight guard when you kick, and angle off after the kick lands. You can even angle off and throw another kick in the process, punishing them for trying to counter you. The beautiful thing about countering counter-punchers is that if you get them too scared to counter, you can just tee off like you wanted to in the first place.

 

[plakat]

If you threw the inside low kick calf height and down, at least properly it should completely wipe out someone's balance.

that made sense...so the aim is to go for the calf and not the thigh? but it seems like those devastating leg KO always goes to the inside. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[quatin]

Let's not forget this gem. Dan likes to setup his bomb with inside kicks as well.

 

[ZGSON]

I like that, hold the head down while throwing the kick. Helps you with distance and keeps you covered up a bit while throwing.

 

[Azam]

Originally Posted by plakat
I belong to the short stocky fighter and I have 2 issues with inside low kick.

1.) eating a jab after doing an inside low kick. Sometimes my opponent would just bum rush me after taking 1 of my inside low kick and I would be in a bad position to defend.

2.) feet hitting the knee instead of inside the leg, not being able to strike the inside of the thigh.

is it me? or are is inside leg kicks not suited for short stocky fighters?

1) The key to good inside low kicks is positioning & stance, if you want to be able to do an inside low kick well, you have to be able to fire rear inside low kicks & then position yourself to fire another off - when you fire them rapidly from the rear it's difficult for someone to bum rush you - I never or I should say rarely ever fire an inside leg kick of from my lead, I always reposition myself to heiko-dachi if I want to fire off a lead inside leg kick. Lead inside leg kicks have very little power so most guys will just walk through it or wait then bum rush you if they want to do that.



2) This is a problem with your distancing - I recommend more practise. Another thing you could do if you want to land them cleanly, is wait for guys to come to you & then fire them off. Also a tip that will help alot is to fire rear inside leg kicks to the lead leg & not the rear - it makes a huge difference, your less likely to catch knee. If someone is too close & you think you'll catch knee, use a jab to create distance & then follow up. There are many things you can do to open up someone's stance so you don't catch knee, like jabs or feinting. Angling & hand positioning make huge differences to how vulnerable you are to attacks, whenever I throw my inside leg kicks, my lead hand is always near my face with my head very very slightly off-centre, when I'm close to someone I sometimes I clinch & follow up almost immediately with o soto gari or o goshi.



I'm 168cm & 70kg, they work extremely well for me, so much so that some people in my dojo say it's one of my signature moves lol.

that made sense...so the aim is to go for the calf and not the thigh? but it seems like those devastating leg KO always goes to the inside. I must be doing something wrong.

Best place is the side of the knee or inch or two above & below it.

 

[plakat]

1) The key to good inside low kicks is positioning & stance, if you want to be able to do an inside low kick well, you have to be able to fire rear inside low kicks & then position yourself to fire another off - when you fire them rapidly from the rear it's difficult for someone to bum rush you - I never or I should say rarely ever fire an inside leg kick of from my lead, I always reposition myself to heiko-dachi if I want to fire off a lead inside leg kick. Lead inside leg kicks have very little power so most guys will just walk through it or wait then bum rush you if they want to do that.



2) This is a problem with your distancing - I recommend more practise. Another thing you could do if you want to land them cleanly, is wait for guys to come to you & then fire them off. Also a tip that will help alot is to fire rear inside leg kicks to the lead leg & not the rear - it makes a huge difference, your less likely to catch knee. If someone is too close & you think you'll catch knee, use a jab to create distance & then follow up. There are many things you can do to open up someone's stance so you don't catch knee, like jabs or feinting. Angling & hand positioning make huge differences to how vulnerable you are to attacks, whenever I throw my inside leg kicks, my lead hand is always near my face with my head very very slightly off-centre, when I'm close to someone I sometimes I clinch & follow up almost immediately with o soto gari or o goshi.



I'm 168cm & 70kg, they work extremely well for me, so much so that some people in my dojo say it's one of my signature moves lol.





Best place is the side of the knee or inch or two above & below it.

No reason for it not to work for me then. I'm 168cm and 76kg. can't wait to try this out in my next sparring session. 1 more thing though how do you "fire rear inside leg kicks to the lead leg & not the rear" ??

means kicking with rear leg into opponents inside lead leg? Can't really figure out how that happens.

 

[GoatyP]

I'm cool with all these moves but I'm scared of cracking my partner in the nuts.

Any tips on avoiding that?

True Story, bro

 

[DivineComedy]

I'm cool with all these moves but I'm scared of cracking my partner in the nuts.

Any tips on avoiding that?

True Story, bro

Kick across and not up.

 

[T Hab]

I belong to the short stocky fighter and I have 2 issues with inside low kick.

1.) eating a jab after doing an inside low kick. Sometimes my opponent would just bum rush me after taking 1 of my inside low kick and I would be in a bad position to defend.

2.) feet hitting the knee instead of inside the leg, not being able to strike the inside of the thigh.

is it me? or are is inside leg kicks not suited for short stocky fighters?

I'm short and stocky (5'6" and 155 pounds fight weight). Inside low kick is one of my favourites.

1) If you are eating jabs after, it's possible that you haven't set it up properly with a combo (as a short fighter, I don't recommend opening with it).

2) There's nothing wrong with kicking inside the knee, inside the thigh, or inside the lower leg. All three are effective. Work on accuracy to pick which one you want to throw at any given time.

 

[KarateStylist]

Let's not forget this gem. Dan likes to setup his bomb with inside kicks as well.

Why it works? The opponent goes passive in the face of strong aggression....

The aggressor is left unimpeded. Curious, that someone who has low kicks expressly trained in their style, doesn't know what to do when on comes in....

KarateStylist

P.S. The boxing standard of adding space & covering up = useless defense. didn't someone just say that lyoto having his hand(s) down invited a KO? Well, here's where leaving you hands up invites a KO.... Go figure MMA coaches....

 

[Jukai]

P.S. The boxing standard of adding space & covering up = useless defense. didn't someone just say that lyoto having his hand(s) down invited a KO? Well, here's where leaving you hands up invites a KO.... Go figure MMA coaches....

Wrong. And unsurprising.

Leaving his hands up did not 'invite the KO.' Shogun had several things working against him at once--- his head was being pushed down, and his inside calf was kicked right at the lowest (and weakest) point where it touches the knee; this effectively broke Shogun's stance, forcing him to readjust both his vision and his base. At that split second where he had to adjust himself, he was clocked with Hendo's cross. Shogun's hands weren't actually on his face and by the time he looked up (recovering from having his head pushed down for that split second) Dan had already made his move.

If anything, Shogun's keeping his hands glued to his face allowed Dan to close that distance, but it had nothing to do with the actual punch connecting.

Your inability to grasp simple concepts in fighting makes me wonder if you even train TSD. I think you just read books and don't understand them.

 

[SAAMAG]

Why it works? The opponent goes passive in the face of strong aggression....

The aggressor is left unimpeded. Curious, that someone who has low kicks expressly trained in their style, doesn't know what to do when on comes in....

KarateStylist

P.S. The boxing standard of adding space & covering up = useless defense. didn't someone just say that lyoto having his hand(s) down invited a KO? Well, here's where leaving you hands up invites a KO.... Go figure MMA coaches....

Seriously...you don't even practice Karate so you can stop tossing the Karate salad. I've got rank in both TKD and Karate and still don't talk the same smack about it relative to Boxing and Muay Thai (which I also have done for 20 or so years). Frankly, even with all the differences, they have a lot of similarities as well.

The reason that technique was successful was because a number of things. The kick was hard enough to jar his entire foundation stunning his opponent for a second. If you watch closely, you'll see that he then capitalized on the momentary DROP of the guard and punched him with the right. The other guy could have simply stepped his lead leg back and counter kicked to the body. But he didn't, because he chose to just freeze up and cover. He made that choice/mistake. Boxing didn't do it nor did MMA. HE DID.

A couple of other things you're having trouble processing...having your chin/jaw exposed invites a KO...not having your hands up or down. People get knocked out in either instance. You can have a guard up and someone can thread through it, you can have your guard down and someone can beat you to it. Either way if it's on the button you're going down. And if you don't know enough about boxing to understand it's defensive measures (which are second to none) I would advise not speaking of it like you do. There is no "standard of adding space and covering up". If anything, the standard is simply not be where they're hitting, and that can be done a myriad of ways with just footwork alone irregardless of the hand position being used.

 

[KarateStylist]

Wrong. And unsurprising....

Leaving his hands up did not 'invite the KO.' Shogun had several things working against him at once--- his head was being pushed down, and his inside calf was kicked right at the lowest (and weakest) point where it touches the knee; this effectively broke Shogun's stance, forcing him to readjust both his vision and his base. At that split second where he had to adjust himself, he was clocked with Hendo's cross. Shogun's hands weren't actually on his face and by the time he looked up (recovering from having his head pushed down for that split second) Dan had already made his move.

Luv your technical rendition which was incompetent (mostly) as usual.... Let's see, ",,,his head was being pushed down..;" yet he [Shogun] had his hands up on his face.... think I'll stop there on that one...

Wrong. And unsurprising....

If anything, Shogun's keeping his hands glued to his face allowed Dan to close that distance, but it had nothing to do with the actual punch connecting.

Yes, you are completely accurate in your statement and completely 1-dimensional by your boxing perspective... as incompetent (mostly) as usual....

Wrong. And unsurprising....

....I think you just read books and don't understand them.

I do read books, and don't always understand them, you're right again!

Wrong. And unsurprising....

Yes you are that AND MORE (See below).

Wrong. And unsurprising....

Your inability to grasp simple concepts in fighting makes me wonder if you even train TSD.

Well one things for certain about you & training TSD, you SHOULDN'T. You by all accounts grasp simple concepts in fighting which you then have gone out and tried to pound them into other people.... with some success so you tell through the BIG NAME....

Beyond grasping simple concepts, that's where your ability ends....

KarateStylist

P.S. kick the woodpile and the termites pour out--SOOOOOOOOO predicitable.....

 

[SummerStriker]

Another thing you could do if you want to land them cleanly, is wait for guys to come to you & then fire them off.

Best place is the side of the knee or inch or two above & below it.

For part 1) This is totally true. When kicking in MMA, you have to have reason to believe that your opponent will not come in on you while you are throwing the kick, unless your grappling / infighting is so good you don't care. Catching him while he is stepping, either towards you or away can help. Hitting him with a jab first so that his weight goes back also can work. Hitting with a flurry of punches so that he doesn't see the kick coming is good if you are smooth and fast. All of these things can fail though. Sometimes people don't rest back when you swing at them. Sometimes, they don't get distracted by punches.

For your second comment I quoted, I do not like hitting the side of the knee. I think it is too easy to turn the knee in, even by flinching, and wreck your shin on it.

 

[under]

Luv your technical rendition which was incompetent (mostly) as usual.... Let's see, ",,,his head was being pushed down..;" yet he [Shogun] had his hands up on his face.... think I'll stop there on that one...



Yes, you are completely accurate in your statement and completely 1-dimensional by your boxing perspective... as incompetent (mostly) as usual....



I do read books, and don't always understand them, you're right again!



Yes you are that AND MORE (See below).

Well one things for certain about you & training TSD, you SHOULDN'T. You by all accounts grasp simple concepts in fighting which you then have gone out and tried to pound them into other people.... with some success so you tell through the BIG NAME....

Beyond grasping simple concepts, that's where your ability ends....

KarateStylist

P.S. kick the woodpile and the termites pour out--SOOOOOOOOO predicitable.....

I don't post a lot, but I just have to, especially after reading your post man.

KarateStylist, have you ever, once in your life, sparred, full-contact, with clinches and punches to the face with a boxer/thai boxer?

 

[KarateStylist]

NOW DON'T GET UPSET, IT STILL WAS A GOOD POST:

Seriously...you don't even practice Karate so you can stop tossing the Karate salad. I've got rank in both TKD and Karate and still don't talk the same smack about it relative to Boxing and Muay Thai (which I also have done for 20 or so years). Frankly, even with all the differences, they have a lot of similarities as well.

"...Stop tossing the salad;" seriously... is this how you impart wisdom to your future gym members...? lol

The reason that technique was successful was because a number of things. The kick was hard enough to jar his entire foundation stunning his opponent for a second. If you watch closely, you'll see that he then capitalized on the momentary DROP of the guard and punched him with the right. The other guy could have simply stepped his lead leg back and counter kicked to the body. But he didn't, because he chose to just freeze up and cover. He made that choice/mistake. Boxing didn't do it nor did MMA. HE DID.

DID HE--WOW!!!! ROE JOGAN IS ON THE LOOSE FOLKS.... I did enjoy your read.... seriously.... No, seriously.... Now who's fighting Rua's battles for him from a computer console...? {SEE NOTE **}

A couple of other things you're having trouble processing...having your chin/jaw exposed invites a KO...not having your hands up or down. People get knocked out in either instance. You can have a guard up and someone can thread through it, you can have your guard down and someone can beat you to it. Either way if it's on the button you're going down. And if you don't know enough about boxing to understand it's defensive measures (which are second to none) I would advise not speaking of it like you do....

Processing...? Sounds like a computer background, I'm impressed.... Let's see, "Either way if it's on the button you're going down---YET---"And if you don't know enough about boxing to understand it's defensive measures (which are second to none)...."

Think this falls into the, "STRINGING 2 THOUGHTS TOGETHER CATEGORY." Hey, I could be wrong.... :icon_lol:

Speaking of it like you do. There is no "standard of adding space and covering up". If anything, the standard is simply not be where they're hitting, and that can be done a myriad of ways with just footwork alone irregardless of the hand position being used.

Let's see (I've got to stop saying that....), There is no standard of adding space---YET---"...and that can be done a myriad of ways with just footwork alone irregardless of the hand position being used."

So Shogun shuffle step slides back, but that's not footwork (is it then, handwork?). Still takes a solid shot to the head, knocks him down. Despite the hands-up guard in proper position at this time. So boxing footwork which should work as a defense alone, and aided by the boxer's hands up guard, together a defense 2nd to none--results in a knockdown....

Hey, SAAMAG, it's where you're loyalties lie....

KarateStylist

** P.S. Yes, nice coaching call. The question is would have Hendo's forward momentum and speed carried the power right into Rua anyhow?