Round kick: what to do with arms?

[ekohc]

it was said to me very well by a legendary fighter in thaland
"arm stops... power stops"

[William Holland]

But Thai Fighters are sport fighters. They aren't worried about kicks to the groin or grappling takedowns. And they are not skilled at counter punching, so they aren't as concerned about being a little more vulnerable when they launch their kicks.

My opinion only.

Kawabunga

[Thai Bri]

T'is true. Sporting rules will always weaken the fighter if he sticks to them. The arts need adapting to work best.

heres a tip. Loo at the rule book of your art. Under that big list of things you're not allowed to do? Train those.

[Ikken Hisatsu]

And they are not skilled at counter punching

how so? is this based on experience or just a delusion?

as far as swinging the arm back goes, it depends. I generally won't for a leg kick because im too close and the extra momentum isnt worth it. I will swing the arm back a bit for body shots and head shots though- but you have to be careful to keep your shoulder tight next to your face and your other arm up. and to not swing it TOO wide. oh and whoever was going on about the torque being a fallacy- why dont you go tell that to people like Dekker, Buakaw, hell pretty much every thai fighter there is. Im sure they would love to know how you came to such a conclusion where they are all obviously wrong.

[alexjxaver]

how so? is this based on experience or just a delusion?

as far as swinging the arm back goes, it depends. I generally won't for a leg kick because im too close and the extra momentum isnt worth it. I will swing the arm back a bit for body shots and head shots though- but you have to be careful to keep your shoulder tight next to your face and your other arm up. and to not swing it TOO wide. oh and whoever was going on about the torque being a fallacy- why dont you go tell that to people like Dekker, Buakaw, hell pretty much every thai fighter there is. Im sure they would love to know how you came to such a conclusion where they are all obviously wrong.

i think i like this guy
another guy that come to mind is samkor
he fights all the big japanese fighters
who are good boxers
and JUST kicks them
with his hand flying all over
but i see what yall are saying about the whole sport / art thing

[alexjxaver]

oops sorry i thought i was at another site

[HiryuHien]

as Mike Brwer said I might be restating an opinion
I am not a jkd practicioner but then i only kick higher than the waist/abdomen when practicing for balance and stretch

and then I mostly do kicks to the groin, thigh, knee

either way I keep my hands up in semi boxers style...like medium length apart with elbows guarding ribs and midsection

[ThebruceX]

Have you ever been kicked in the groin, been pearced in the eyes, elwbowed on your troat and headbutted? I'm sure that will hurt. p.s. is it allowed in a UFC or cagefight?

Why a roundhouse kick?

[Plato]

I wouldn't use this kind of kick on the street anyway, it leaves you open too much. Sure it's a powerful kick but whats the use of it if someone side-steps? Go for simple low kicks, like from Muay Thai if your studying JKD. This is a solid kick aimed for the knee cap. Your aiming to kick through your oponent with this kick so they're going to go down and I find I can hide it very well.

If your just using it for training and don't plan on using it as part of your arsenal on the street then great. Keep your hands up in my case, thats the way Iv been taught via Sifu Rick Faye. I have sen it, as others have said, where you protect your groin but I prefer to keep em up

[Tom Yum]

Have you ever been kicked in the groin, been pearced in the eyes, elwbowed on your troat and headbutted? I'm sure that will hurt. p.s. is it allowed in a UFC or cagefight?

Why a roundhouse kick?

I think he's trying to say that only dirty moves are effective and that a roundhouse kick isn't the most effective (because its not a dirty-death move). Headbutting happens in muaythai and boxing. Watch some of Tyson's old fights. The moves you talk about are pretty dangerous no doubt, but how often do you get a chance to put the moves in real life practice. Its a trade off - you work on moves that may or may not work in a real situation, but are deadly OR you train in a spontaneous situation with impact using moves that you know you can land, will seriously damage them but may not kill them immediately.

Why a roundhouse kick? Considering the question, I can only assume you've never sparred full contact muay thai style. The muay thai kick packs A LOT of power.

[El Mastero]

I usually try to keep both of my hands up while kicking. Perhaps it's my TKD background because in sparring we were only allowed to kick above the waist. So protecting one's face was the most important thing to do since many of the kicks were stomach to head level. I've never been kicked in the groin while sparring, even against newbies who weren't great kickers. So I guess I've been lucky. I'm sure it would be a different story if I trained in an art where the other person threw alot of leg kicks or actually attempted kicks to the groin while sparring.