Your thoughts on Side Kicks?

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LoneWolf237

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I personally think Side Kicks are one of the most underrated and most devastating attacks in any martial arts. The problem is that they are too hard to pull off and way too awkward making it a hassle more of a weapon sometimes.

You see it alot in San Shou. (Cung Le used it very effectively against Frank Shamrock, and Sakmongkol does it sometimes, but he jumps foward while doing it)

I was practicing my teeps one day when I thought, "Hey, what if I rotate my knee clockwise during teeps to make kind of like a teep and side kick mixed together"

It seemed much better, gave alot more "push" but took a bit longer to pull off (you want teeps to be fast because they are used to push oppenents away before they make contact).

Side Kicks are great when you are in a sideways stance but otherwise they are too awkward to pull off in my opinion, you can set up for it though.
 
I think one of the biggest problems with side kicks isn't the kick itself its that most people dont practice them. I've seen a few guys that put a lot of work in them and they are devestating to the ribs and stomach. They can be done extremely fast, you just have to put in the work, and most people, myself included, dont.
 
Sidekicks?

robin1.jpg
 
I thought you meant the T-Mobile phone.

But yeah, that could probably work.
 
I was practicing my teeps one day when I thought, "Hey, what if I rotate my knee clockwise during teeps to make kind of like a teep and side kick mixed together"

It seemed much better, gave alot more "push" but took a bit longer to pull off (you want teeps to be fast because they are used to push oppenents away before they make contact).
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im glad to see you found something that works for you, however, thats not how you use a side kick. a side kick is supposed to be an impact strike not a pushing strike. you are supposed pull your leg in close to you and then snap it out instead of just putting your foot on your opponent sideways and pushing
 
i think they work well if your partner/opponent is coming after you and your using it as more of a defensive kick. It's hard to generate a lot of force if your going after someone with it because your back foot really needs to be planted for it to hit hard.
 
I think they can be very powerful, but in my experience they are hard to land.

I did some kick boxing, muy thai and TKD and we never used them.

I have a strong sidekick (which I never land significantly in sparring) that I developed in kung fu when I was at the age in which one thinks kung fu is effective, i.e. no later than 14 years old.

I agree it's an underrated kick, but not without reason.
 
lord_kader said:
im glad to see you found something that works for you, however, thats not how you use a side kick. a side kick is supposed to be an impact strike not a pushing strike. you are supposed pull your leg in close to you and then snap it out instead of just putting your foot on your opponent sideways and pushing
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Doesnt matter, fighters still use Side Kicks to push their opponents away all the time
your not gonna get any power off a front legged side kick anyways
 
KBE6EKCTAH_CCP said:
I think they can be very powerful, but in my experience they are hard to land.

I did some kick boxing, muy thai and TKD and we never used them.

I have a strong sidekick (which I never land significantly in sparring) that I developed in kung fu when I was at the age in which one thinks kung fu is effective, i.e. no later than 14 years old.

I agree it's an underrated kick, but not without reason.
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they are hard to land and it is very awkward...

you have to shift to a sideways position before throwing it, making it a hassle...

i like sparring in sideway stance... you get to hide your rear hand behind you so your opponent cant tell if you are going to hit low/high/or middle range and you get to keep him away with your front hand..also its MUCH easier to throw a side kick when you are already in a sideway stance..

i would never fight in the sideway stance though, it just makes for some fun sparring.
 
Another thing about the side kick.
It doesnt feel natural...
I dont care how good the move is said to be or how many pros use it, imo youre always better off going with what feels natural...otherwise youre doing too much work to land a strike and not worth it.
 
I use it as a stop kick sometimes. I throw a lot of straight kicks and it catches people of guard, they are always expecting round kicks. Some times I will fake the round kick with my rear (left) leg and throw a side kick. I use it rarely but it does work some times. it is a hard kick because it requires a lot of space and timing.
 
If you've ever sparred with someone who uses them well, you can understand that they are effective. I for one, am not as proficient but, i do incorporate them some. I would honestly like to become better with them, and kicks in general. I may devote some time here soon to work on these.
 
They are very Range Dependent.
Try to throw one from too close and you will get taken down.

They are only good if you can APPLY them.
You can only Apply them if you practice them a lot.
It could be argued that that time could be better spent working on something else.

As a lead Stop Kick they can be great.
And I can knock people off of their feet kicking with my front Leg.

What I DON'T like about them is that they don't 'load' me up well for followups.
Back when I used to use the Sidekick a lot I would often followup with a Lead Backfist as I lead leg came down.

If I am just going to do a Push Kick, I prefer to just go ahead and stay square.
I don't find any advantage to turning over...
 
I use the after checking kicks or after missing with a roundhouse. The latter is my favorite, because you'll miss and a lot of guys will start moving into you and you can just nail them with the side kick.
 
on the samelines as above but actually throw a body/high kick but fake it and switch it to a side kick and use your heal to the ribs of your opponent. u'll find alot of people don't train to counter this and is very effective. this is for muay thai i know nothing about mma.
 
i used to use them frequently when i was younger and did shotokan. in tournaments i would always start off in a sideways stance to try and pop one off in case my opponent tried rushing in at the start of the round.
 
Ive used it in competition and its good for stopping an oponent, aswell as breaking his ribs.:icon_lol:
 
I wouldnt side kick someone whos throwing a leg kick. Last time someone did that to me, it threw me back but caused my leg to come up right into his nuts. A doctors visit and a month off later and he could finally come back to class. Though I will say it was one of the hardest blows to the stomach ive felt.
 
JKDEastNashvill said:
They are very Range Dependent.
Try to throw one from too close and you will get taken down.

They are only good if you can APPLY them.
You can only Apply them if you practice them a lot.
It could be argued that that time could be better spent working on something else.

As a lead Stop Kick they can be great.
And I can knock people off of their feet kicking with my front Leg.

What I DON'T like about them is that they don't 'load' me up well for followups.
Back when I used to use the Sidekick a lot I would often followup with a Lead Backfist as I lead leg came down.

If I am just going to do a Push Kick, I prefer to just go ahead and stay square.
I don't find any advantage to turning over...
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great point about the no follow up...theres no "flow" to it...
you can add a spinning back fist to make a combo but not much other options
 
LoneWolf237 said:
great point about the no follow up...theres no "flow" to it...
you can add a spinning back fist to make a combo but not much other options
Click to expand...

You can follow a good side kick with:

1) Same hand backfist
2) Opposite leg front kick
3) Opposite hand straight punch.

I'm not a fan of the spinning backfist as a follow up because it takes too long to complete.
 
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