Leg kick timing and usage

[Towel88]

So, I sparred this kid a few times, and he is just amazing at using leg kicks to disrupt everything I do and keep me from finding my timing. We spar light so it wasn't even like they were killing me, they just fucked up my balance and timing and shut down a lot of my offense.

I was wondering if any guys who use a lot of leg kicks can tell me a little more about how they use them. like do you time them with the punches of the other person, in order to catch them when they are pivoting and more off balance??

thanks, any links to anything good on this would be great too.

 

[shincheckin]

So, I sparred this kid a few times, and he is just amazing at using leg kicks to disrupt everything I do and keep me from finding my timing. We spar light so it wasn't even like they were killing me, they just fucked up my balance and timing and shut down a lot of my offense.

I was wondering if any guys who use a lot of leg kicks can tell me a little more about how they use them. like do you time them with the punches of the other person, in order to catch them when they are pivoting and more off balance??

thanks, any links to anything good on this would be great too.

i leg kick alot, the only thing I can really say is that when the leg is "out" there, I kick it. it really just comes down to a timing thing I suppose. practice checking kicks. you also might want to check your stance. a more square stance makes it easier to check kicks. you can see my thread about stance, which was largely debated by a few keyboard warriors at length of the advantages and disadvantages to square vs sideways stance. MMA guys (or anyone) that is heavy on their lead leg tend to be easy to leg kick.

 

[j123]

Yeah its one of my ways to interrupt their combos. I usually do leg kick, 3,2.

I was taught to time it on the step if I wanted to interrupt immediately.

Spoiler

Nobody stands in your face and bangs it out, you stand right outside of the reach and need a step in to land. So on that step, I time it.

But most of the time I do it during their combo around the 2nd or 3rd strike. When they're throwing hands seriously I know they're planted and they ain't gonna check, so I can throw a strong strike without repercussion.

You can't throw a leg kick alone though, needs to be a combination otherwise they'll eat it to land upstairs.

You can parry as you leg kick, the parry goes into the arm swinging down for counter balance. Be careful with it though, you do it too much and they'll fake to set up something big.

Now if you're really losing balance is sounds like it was an inside leg kick from a SP. Or your stance isn't firm and is "tightroped".

 

[Borass]

Some fighters, because of their stance and posture, are really difficult to hit with low-kicks because of the high risk to be checked. In that case, i think that low kicks don't worth it... If your opponent his very low on his stance and/or very heavy on this lead foot, low kick is a really good weapon. Against a good muay-thai esque opponent, it s a very bad idea to look for this combo finish... I would advise to really avoid them in that case. I only spar with shin pads, but i consider a failure to have a low kick checked, the pain can be terrible without protection. When you watch Muay-Thai fights, you see that there are less low licks than in KB because in KB, many fighters rely more on punching with a lower stance.
And of course, never throw isolated low kicks. Of course, you 'll find exceptions...

 

[freaky]

Timing or use my punches to hide my kicks.
I time it when you're coming forward, when you're throwing a punch, etc. Timing it is more like a defensive usage. Doesn't really work if you're throwing fakes.

 

[Towel88]

Nobody stands in your face and bangs it out, you stand right outside of the reach and need a step in to land. So on that step, I time it.

Thanks, it so simple and obvious yet such good advice

 

[CoolKnees]

OP I recommend you check out Joseph Valtellini. The dude is a master with low kicks, both offensively and defensively. He also has tutorial vids where he discusses different setups and angles.

I only spar with shin pads, but i consider a failure to have a low kick checked, the pain can be terrible without protection. When you watch Muay-Thai fights, you see that there are less low licks than in KB because in KB, many fighters rely more on punching with a lower stance.

Not that I disagree with your overall post, but I just want to point out that in MT scoring system low kicks are worth jack-shit which is why most of them don't bother using it.

 

[fluffball]

One thing I've really drawn inspiration from is "propping ankle" in Judo.



Watch your opponent's balance and then fuck it up.

 

[RichardN7]

So, I sparred this kid a few times, and he is just amazing at using leg kicks to disrupt everything I do and keep me from finding my timing. We spar light so it wasn't even like they were killing me, they just fucked up my balance and timing and shut down a lot of my offense.

I was wondering if any guys who use a lot of leg kicks can tell me a little more about how they use them. like do you time them with the punches of the other person, in order to catch them when they are pivoting and more off balance??

thanks, any links to anything good on this would be great too.

I don’t use low kicks much personally, unless the guy gifts it to me by making a mistake.
The leg as a whole isn’t a priority target for me unless his defense upstairs is really tight and I need to threaten the legs/body first.
To counter leg kickers, what I do is:
1) Brace for their low kick (even try to catch it sometimes) and retaliate with a cross/forward blitz after each of their low kicks.
2) Keep a front teep going if you’re both the same stance. It’ll keep your leg up and make it hard for him to time a low kick. It’ll also push him to the ground if you catch him while he’s swinging the low kick.

 

[Yodsanan]

One thing I've really drawn inspiration from is "propping ankle" in Judo.



Watch your opponent's balance and then fuck it up.

reminds me of pakorn.

 

[ARIZE]

When i fight in MT rules, against experienced fighters, i don't really bother with low kicks. They wont do damage, they wont score points, they wont unbalanced him, or stop his attack. I may throw some to mix it a bit, or if i see a very good opening.
But when i fight in KB, i love to use them... Specially if he is not a good checker, or if he is very heavy front footed. I also like to use the inside leg kick to the calves to unbalance them when they press forward. Same think if they throw a lot of slow telegraphed roundhouses... a quick timed low kick to the rooted foot will do wonders to negate the opponents kick.
Other time I like to throw lows, it's when they have lots of lateral movement and/or if they bounce around.

So if you want to defend against them, my advice is to:

-Learn to check properly, specially early on in the fight. It will discourage your opponent to have it as a main tactic.

-Don't be heavy on the front foot.

-If you move around a lot, bounce, etc, be sure to be in a safe distance from the lows. Or to be fast enough to avoid them. Spend some time in the first round to bait him, to learn the safe distance.

-Every time you eat a low, make them pay with something heavy. Make them be afraid of the retaliation.

-If you like to stay in the outside, learn how to teep the hips with your front foot. if he is in a distance to low kick you, you should be in a distance for the fast front teep...