“You never kick above the waist in a street fight.”
“High kicks don’t work because they are slow. They take more time to get to their target.”
“High kicks aren’t as powerful as low-line kicks.”
How many times have you heard these statements when someone talks about sports fighting versus street defense? We have heard them countless times and disagree with all of them. Yes, you read that right: We disagree. Do we recommend using high kicks in a street fight? Yes and no. We recommend using the most appropriate technique for whatever specific situation you find yourself in. Though this seems like an evasive answer, it’s an “It depends” issue. Sometimes a fancy kick above the waist saves the day. Other times when you try to do it, your opponent crushes your testicles into a bloody mess with a well-placed front snap kick. Since things aren’t always black and white, just keep in mind that sometimes it makes perfect sense to use a high kick. Here are a few examples:
• Demeere once used a high kick in a brawl to knock out his adversary.
• He knew a fighter who would learn a new technique and then go out and pick fights in bars to test it. He successfully used a variety of high kicks.
• One of Demeere’s friends used to work as a bouncer. After the owner of the establishment had prohibited him from punching or head butting troublemakers, he switched to kicking them, using the lead-leg roundhouse to the head, as used often in point fighting. He would lean away from the rowdy customer, make a placating gesture to hide his weight transfer and then violently whip his kick into the man’s head. Every kick resulted in a KO.
• Another bouncer acquaintance of Demeere’s approached a group of rambunctious drinkers at a table. He tried negotiating, but it became clear they were interested only in tearing up the place. So the bouncer decided on a pre-emptive strike. He said, “Look, you guys gotta go,” while leaning towards them with both hands on the table to stabilize his body. Then, so fast that no one could react, he whipped a roundhouse kick over the table, virtually in a full split at the completion of its arc, knocking unconscious a troublemaker who was about to jump him.
By no means do these stories prove high kicks are the best techniques for a street self-defense situation. But it does prove that some people can make them work in some situations. Each individual in these examples saw an opening and then used a technique they had trained on and had confidence in. Their actions defined the word “timing” as they took steps to overcome the inherent weakness of the high kick, in particular the lengthy travel time to get to the target, and then executed it perfectly through a window of opportunity.
The first bouncer leaned away from the threat and gestured with his hands as if to deny wanting to use force, a ruse designed to draw the man’s attention away from his preparation to deliver the kick. The second bouncer placed his hands on a table and leaned in to close the distance with his target and camouflage that he was positioning his leg for the kick. By the time his kick launched over the table and was seen by the unruly customer (the lighting in the bar was poor, too), his leg was moving so fast that all the customer could do was get hit.
One other aspect, and one that is as important as perfect timing, is that all fighters had worked to develop knockout power with their kicks by training extensively on heavy bags and shields, and at full-contact sparring. This is in contrast to many flippy-dippy high kicks that earn points in non-contact tournaments, thrown by fighters who train mostly in the air, and only occasionally on the bags.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you launch a head-high kick in the street:
• How well can you execute a high kick? Are yours great or average? Don’t lie to yourself now and then have self-doubt get in the way in a real situation. You need to be totally convinced that your high kicks are superior before using them in the real world.
• Are you extremely flexible? High kicks demand great flexibility. If you aren’t flexible enough to perform high kicks when your muscles are cold, you should never use them in a real situation. There is no time to warm-up and stretch out when that thug is coming at you.
• Does your kick have enough “juice?” Throwing a quick and snappy point-fighting roundhouse kick might not do the damage needed to stop an attacker. Even if you are flexible, you must have power in your stretch to drive your foot, ankle or shin deep into the target, more power than is required for those controlled kicks used in point competition. This requires thousands of full-impact reps on the hand-helds and heavy bags to get the feel of your kicks and to understand your capability. If you can’t deliver a powerful high kick, don’t even think about using it to defend yourself.
• Are your kicks accurate? Most fighters can aim better with their punches and strikes than with their kicks, especially high kicks. You need to be able to consistently kick the neck, jaw, temple area, and ear as easily as you can punch them. A high kick that misses or glances off due to poor targeting can get you a laugh from the bad guy and then a sound trouncing.
To reiterate, you need to be able to kick high with blistering speed, hit with the impact of an elephant’s stomp, possess impeccable timing, and have the confidence of Muhammad Ali in his prime. There is no room for error here. If you don’t posses these qualities, then keep your kicks low.
We know it’s controversial to say that some sport-fighting techniques are street applicable. To those who shake their head stubbornly and refuse to hear the argument, well, maybe they shouldn’t dismiss a technique just because they can’t do it. In this context, a person’s inability to adapt a tournament technique to the street doesn’t make it worthless for self-defense. We stand by our assertion that within the context we have discussed in this chapter and with all the qualifiers, many tournament techniques can be made to work in the real world. We have done it and we have seen others do it. However, doing so necessitates high-quality training, analytical study of what you are doing, confidence based on real skill, and a deep understanding of timing.
This article was adapted by Wim Demeere from the book “Timing in the fighting arts” by Loren W. Christensen and Wim Demeere.
You can reach Mr. Christensen at www.lwcbooks.com and Mr. Demeere at www.grindingshop.com