Coaching Do you turn your foot over when throwing a calf kick?

[freezer]

I train at a traditional Muay Thai gym that doesn't teach state-of-the-art techniques like calf kicks. I practice them on my own due to their effectiveness in kickboxing and MMA, but I don't know if what I learned by watching tutorial videos was correct. I have a few questions:

1. Which part of the foot / leg should you land the kick with exactly? I see some people kick with the inner side of the foot, where a bone protrudes out near the toe, such as Alex Pereira. In such a case, the foot is not turned over, and the toe is pointing slightly upward. Then I see some people kick with the lower part of the shin close to the ankle, or even the instep. In this case, the foot is turned over so that the toe is pointing at the ground. Which way is correct or better？

2. the calf kicks usually aim at injuring the nerve running down the side of the leg, so a lot of people land the kicks close to the opponent's knee. But I find it very risky, since if your opponent turns his knee slightly outward, the kick is gonna land on the knee, which hurts a lot. I once tried a calf kick on guy who didn't know how to defend against it, and it landed on his knee. My ankle swelled immediately, and it hurt for a month. So how to throw a calf kick more safely?

3. Are calf kicks more effective than traditional Muay Thai low kicks in taking away your opponent's mobility? It seems to me that most fighters can take far less calf kicks than traditional low kicks before they start limping.

4. Are calf kicks effective on the street, when you are wearing shoes and your opponent trousers?

 

[Trabaho]

You ask to many quesitons be a savage and pratice those calf kicks. Learning by doing. You want to destroy legs. So make your legs hard and kicks powerful. Hit them where it hurts. They always can block. It´s experience. To know how and when to kick and not get it checked. Train hard. It hurts everywhere you kick. Kick with your lower foot and shin. You can try both and any parts of the leg out and you will see for yourself what fits your style. Make your own teachings, learn, you can throw it all at the gym.

 

[DoctorTaco]

1. Either or. As long as you’re not injuring yourself then it won’t matter.

2. Aim as absolutely low as you possibly can. If they turn out to meet you it won’t be as bad. If it lands it still does a good job damaging the leg.

3. Yes. But they’re riskier.

4. Sure.

 

[Trabaho]

1. Either or. As long as you’re not injuring yourself then it won’t matter.

2. Aim as absolutely low as you possibly can. If they turn out to meet you it won’t be as bad. If it lands it still does a good job damaging the leg.

3. Yes. But they’re riskier.

4. Sure.

do you think it hurts people now that I started calf kicking them in sparring with both persons having shin guards on ? Nobody has calf kicked me yet. Also nobody complained.

 

[Vil7]

do you think it hurts people now that I started calf kicking them in sparring with both persons having shin guards on ? Nobody has calf kicked me yet. Also nobody complained.

The general unspoken rule in sparring is to throw how hard you would like your opponent to hit you. If they are throwing around 50% power then you would throw 50% power too.

Of course there are some gym heroes who will start off sparring initially throwing hard punches & kicks like maniacs but hopefully you won't run into them.

 

[Trabaho]

The general unspoken rule in sparring is to throw how hard you would like your opponent to hit you. If they are throwing around 50% power then you would throw 50% power too.

Not my question

I asked if calf kicks hurt trough the shin guards. I never been calf kicked, or didn´t notice if I was.

I throw them pretty hard cause I´m thinking it´s shin guard to shin guard

Of course there are some gym heroes who will start off sparring initially throwing hard punches & kicks like maniacs but hopefully you won't run into them.

I´m a pro when it comes to sparring, probably got + 1000 rounds behind me

 

[biscuitsbrah]

You just kick them in the calf don’t overthink it. Don’t slam them though