Which part of the shin do I kick with?

[Minime230]

Hi I just joined the forum because I just recently got back into martial arts. I recently started Muay thai with instructional videos. I already have TKD background but the kicks are very different. I have been changing my form and started kicking with my shin and not my foot. I sometimes train with a guy who has been doing MT for more than 5 years and he says my kicking form is decent.

However, I am having a few problems.

In the videos it says to use the "inside" part of the shin.
I'm not really sure how to do that well because whenever I try, I either kick with my ankle area or the "outside" of the shin meaning I actually hit with the muscle right next to the shin (not the calf). When I actually feel like I am kicking with the inside of the shin, the ball on my ankle makes contact with the heavy bag and gets swollen.
Am I actually supposed to kick with the inside? It seems pretty hard to do... could it be because I have short legs (5'3) ? lol

Another issue is the sometimes I feel like I made a good kick with the inside of the shin but my foot wraps around the banana bag and makes a whipping motion. This causes my toes to "whip" really fast into the bag causing swollen and bruised up toes.

Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?

sorry if this was already a topic before I couldn't find it in the search box.

 

[mjw1]

Different people have different body types, use what works best for you.

As WSL basiclly said be the master of your art, not a slave to it.

 

[Centaur]

YouTube - Duke Roufus, Muay Thai, Full Contact Kickboxing, MMA Kicks

Good vid on it. Go to the 55 second mark.

 

[The Zerg]

I think not hurting yourself while your punching / kicking the heavy bag is mostly an experience thing. The more often you hit it the less likely you'll hurt yourself, just try to be careful and do what feels right / safe for you.

 

[Sweet Lew]

Conditioning is also quite important in MT. For the first few weeks/months you will swell up and bruise in different places. This'll get better with time.

 

[Pro Killer]

You should connect with the front of the shin, Most important things are to turn your hips over so your shin's front is connecting with the target first i.e. asif you were going to kick them with the laces of your shoe but further up!! So your laces should be facing the target. The other important thing is to connect high on your shin almost asif you're going to knee the target!!

So remember high on the shin near the knee and turn your hips over so your shin is connecting at the front!

 

[theSkeptiks]

From the above post...I always use the lower part of my shin when connecting with a roundhouse kick and never the foot...the 4 inch area of my lower shin.

By using the upper part of your shin (near your knee) you are closing the distance between you and your opponent...when I kick I want to use the distance advantage because every inch counts.


To the OP...do you belong to a fight gym? If so, just ask the Muay Thai instructor and you'll have your answer.

 

[Minime230]

thanks for the replies! I do not go to a gym with instructors. I practice with a guy who does and he told me my kicks looked fine. I do swell up in lots of places but if that's normal then its fine. I just gets to the point where the ball of my ankle gets swollen and its too painful to kick. it seems like most of you guys are saying that i just need to keep doing it until i have stronger shins. did anyone else have this kind of problem when they first started out?

 

[theSkeptiks]

if the bone of your ankle is hurting from kicking the heavy bag or kick pad then you are not connecting with your shin, you are connecting with that curve between the top of your foot and below your shin.

That will make a very nice SMACK sound on the bag, but that is not a very nice kick. You will break your foot if someone checks that with their shin.

Keep up the practice and just aim for mid to lower shin to connect.

And yes, the bruising and soreness will go away in time. I still get some nasty bruises through my shin guards all the time.

 

[greyberry]

I am pretty sure everybody has the same problem when they first start kicking things hard.

 

[FC008**]

the inside of your shin? how do you get power from that? no wonder your toes hurt, I use the front of my shins but it requires more hip rotation and more preasure on your planting foot and ankle, but its better that screwing up your kicking foot

 

[EffeKt]

Use the inside of your shin because its soft and more likely to break on impact with someone's outside shin.

 

[CodyD]

Like everyone else said, just kick with the lower part of the shin, just above the foot, but make sure not to kick with your foot.

 

[greyberry]

I guess in Muay Thai you don't kick with the foot in a roundhouse but it can be useful to connect your foot to somebodies head with a roundhousekick.

One thing I hope you learn is about driving your elbow into the foot on the kicking leg if you are in a position to do so. You would want to get your aiming right because a shin to the elbow can suck sometimes.

It is an easy way to break someones toes with the force of your elbow meeting the force of the kick in the most fragile area.

Some of you sherdoggers might try to call bullshit on this but, It broke bones in my foot and in another one of the students at the Dojo I train at.

 

[theSkeptiks]

Yes, blocking the roundhouse with your elbow perfectly timed can do major damage to the person kicking.

Kind of a dirty move, but hey...it is a fight.

The problem is practicing this and doing this while training...NOT COOL to do this with your training partners at all. You don't want to be pulling out dirty tricks with your gym buddies.

 

[Centaur]

Gan Norte fought a Belarussian (not Alexy Ignashov, someone else) in K-1 that used his elbows to 'block' Norte's shin.

Gan's leg was fucked up from it something fierce.