View Full Version : kicks in kumite
saracenkyokushin
02-18-2009, 01:49 PM
Osu-EN1
I know this my not be something that can be definitively answered and will vary by the fighter. I am starting to really get into kumite, and my punching ability is really good. However, in hard sparring i find really difficult to use kicks, especially mawashi geri. I have good flexiblity, and when its comes to pad training my kicks are more then fine. However, when it comes to kumite i feel limited. Any tips, or approaches to sparring.
Paedde
02-18-2009, 02:19 PM
Are you a smaller guy? I have a good reach and find kicks easier than punches.
You have to set the kicks up (combinations) and circling does help too.
Osu
saracenkyokushin
02-18-2009, 02:24 PM
I am 5'8" and 200lbs. I am shorter than alot of the other guys i train with
kakatootoshi
02-18-2009, 02:43 PM
Osu-EN1
I know this my not be something that can be definitively answered and will vary by the fighter. I am starting to really get into kumite, and my punching ability is really good. However, in hard sparring i find really difficult to use kicks, especially mawashi geri. I have good flexiblity, and when its comes to pad training my kicks are more then fine. However, when it comes to kumite i feel limited. Any tips, or approaches to sparring.
By "flexibility" are you referring to some specific types of kicks?
And by looking at the statistics you provided I would boldy ask if it is a problem of speed.
OSU!
meguro
02-18-2009, 02:44 PM
You're flexible and kick well during bag training but not in kumite. . .could be a balance/mobility issue which might resolve itself with more sparring. You might try and address this issue by asking your training partner holding the pads/air shield, large mitt to advance on you (retreat, turn, etc) as a kumite opponent would while you try and throw combos/kicks at the target.
sandman
02-18-2009, 02:53 PM
Perhaps its a matter of timing. One thing I learned in my last kumite competition was that I wasn't being proactive enough with my kicks. I was waiting to let my opponent take the initiative, thinking I would counter. But instead he kept me off balance and I wasn't able to land enough effective strikes. I'm now working on trying to get my kicks off first - to beat him to the punch (or to the kick, as the case may be ). With your size you can probably be an effective counter-puncher, but to land effective kicks, it may be a matter of getting off the block first. Of course with that in mind you'd want to kick and punch in combination, using one to set up the other as Paedde mentioned, use fakes and switch foot techniques, etc... especially since you mentioned you are generally shorter than your opponents.
BigAl
02-19-2009, 06:45 PM
I am 5'8" and 200lbs. I am shorter than alot of the other guys i train with
You sound right about my size. I too tend to be a puncher, but since punching brings you closer you'll be in perfect range for hiza geris and gedan mawashi geris. By working on those first and foremost, you'll improve those kicks in kumite and your confidence, and should be able to experiment with others. Since we're a bit stockier than people our size, stretching became a lot more important to me and might help you out too.
Gheorgei
03-24-2009, 07:35 PM
Does anyone have a good follow up to a juicy mae geri jodan/chudan?
powerof0ne
03-24-2009, 07:46 PM
Your problem with not using kicks in kumite could be something as easy as just not feeling comfortable with them yet. Force yourself to kick in kumite until it becomes natural. The problem many people have is the timing and distance of actually landing a kick, too but that all comes with experience...which pad work and partner drills help with.
What I said is easier said than done but is really the only way to solve the problem, at least in my experience until we can "plug into the matrix" and have everything "loaded" into us ;)
smoothsake
03-24-2009, 07:49 PM
To the OP, more likely than not it's a problem with understanding your opponent's distance. Osu
kakatootoshi
03-24-2009, 09:05 PM
Does anyone have a good follow up to a juicy mae geri jodan/chudan?
For Jodan, if the kick is juicy, the other person should be down. Anything less than that the person should feel dizzy, you might consider doing a strong attack to the ab or sweeping him to the floor.
OSU!
Does anyone have a good follow up to a juicy mae geri jodan/chudan?An easy but effective follow-up would be chudan/jodan mawashi geri.
harukaze
03-25-2009, 05:51 PM
Does anyone have a good follow up to a juicy mae geri jodan/chudan?
Tobi hiza geri with the opposite leg off of a chudan mae geri can have some viciously satisfying results, especially if your opponent has a penchant for walking forwards after eating a hit :D
Does anyone have a good follow up to a juicy mae geri jodan/chudan?
What happens when you're connecting with the kick? Does the opponent bent forward or is leaning backwards?
Martin H
03-25-2009, 10:24 PM
Maybe it its a matter of range.
Usually when we train kicks we do it at long or medium range, but when we start sparring hard, the range creeps down to short or very short range. Shorter than we are used to. Most people are not comfortable kicking at short ranges because that is closer than how they have practiced kicking.
harukaze
03-26-2009, 02:57 AM
Maybe it its a matter of range.
Usually when we train kicks we do it at long or medium range, but when we start sparring hard, the range creeps down to short or very short range. Shorter than we are used to. Most people are not comfortable kicking at short ranges because that is closer than how they have practiced kicking.
A very good point! Allow me to continue this line of thought by suggesting hiza geri when the distance becomes that close! :)
hanszr11
03-26-2009, 03:38 AM
may i ask something too? during kumite i often try to use hiza geri in short distance, but the hiza that i throw was really weak than when i use it in traning, and sometimes that hiza hit my opponents groin b'cause he bent forward when i was going to use that hiza geri...
i got two "kinteki kogeki" cause of that...
kakatootoshi
03-26-2009, 04:05 AM
but the hiza that i throw was really weak than when i use it in traning
Pad training or Kihon/Ido?
Throw in your hips more, or try to switch and kick with the back leg.
and sometimes that hiza hit my opponents groin b'cause he bent forward when i was going to use that hiza geri...
i got two "kinteki kogeki" cause of that...
If he bends forward, kick upwards to his face.
If you are doing a hiza geri to the front, raise your knee to the correct level and throw in your hips, instead of kicking from the bottom. If you kick from the bottom, it will neither be a hiza geri shooting upwards nor a hiza geri going forward.
harukaze
03-26-2009, 05:57 AM
may i ask something too? during kumite i often try to use hiza geri in short distance, but the hiza that i throw was really weak than when i use it in traning, and sometimes that hiza hit my opponents groin b'cause he bent forward when i was going to use that hiza geri...
i got two "kinteki kogeki" cause of that...
When practicing hiza geri on the pads, aim as high as you can so you can become accustomed to throwing high knees. The benefits are twofold: 1.) You may just be able to knee opponents in the head consistently if your body becomes accustomed to it, 2.) Even when kneeing the body, there's less chance of hitting your opponent in the groin.
Also, a few more things to consider (mostly tips from Muay Thai):
1.) Hiza geri can come in multiple angles, not just in a straight upwards motion. Try cutting upwards from the outside in at 45 deg., throw the hiza geri at a mawashi geri angle, "slap" with the knee, etc.
2.) On your kicking leg, make sure your toes are pointed downwards to tighten all important muscles: this will make your hiza geri more powerful and accurate
3.) Throw your hips up and into your hiza geri
4.) Tip toe into the hiza geri with your non-kicking leg
Good luck and osu!
homer_simpson
03-26-2009, 09:16 AM
I had similar problem with using kicks before. I think the problem was the range. I had problem with kicking in mid-short range.
Being able to kick with your lead leg helps a lot. In addition, a good mae geri (to ward off the opponent and get some distance) and learning how to use distance effectively helps a lot.
Gheorgei
03-26-2009, 06:18 PM
What happens when you're connecting with the kick? Does the opponent bent forward or is leaning backwards?
they tend to lean back!:)
they tend to lean back!:)
Then follow up either with a low kick on the fron leg, preferably on the inside, or a very low chudan gyaku 'falling' onto them with your entire bodyweight before you put the kicking leg down.
Alternatively - snap your front kick more and kick sharper and lower (just above the belt would do, you don't have to go for the solar plexus) and get them to lean forward for close range techniques.
Gheorgei
03-28-2009, 08:00 AM
Thanks DKKC:D
Osu!
For Jodan, if the kick is juicy, the other person should be down.
I think that seems fair! :D
And I think that sliding Gedan Mawashi is an ideal follow up for either kick.
Osu!
powerof0ne
03-29-2009, 07:55 PM
may i ask something too? during kumite i often try to use hiza geri in short distance, but the hiza that i throw was really weak than when i use it in traning, and sometimes that hiza hit my opponents groin b'cause he bent forward when i was going to use that hiza geri...
i got two "kinteki kogeki" cause of that...
Are you following through with your hip on your hiza geri? I ask because I notice people that don't tend to knee to the groin more often. There is a difference between a fast knee and a powerful correct knee which you may or may not know but the key is in using the hips.