Question about proper kick timing

[Ghost]

further to what mike said if you are the kicker and leading with kicks it is wise to see what their defense is to the low kick, if they are accurate with the desctruction its better to not lead with round kicks but use them as a counter or when they are off balance and you chances of landing it are better.

its very effective and can hurt like hell but if you have conditioned shins its not that big a deal, catch it on the foot and yeah it can mess you up as per steven wakelings world title defense against kevin harper that lasted all of 10 seconds due to exactly this.
I personally dont worry about breakages, i do what i outlined above to try and avoid getting caught for no reason.

[bodhisattva]

I like to use the thigh kick and shuffle kick when sparring, but lately I've been having some trouble with my kicks getting destroyed. Most people are unaware of knee/elbow destructions, but lately I've been having trouble with people lifting their knees and pointing them at my shin when I throw the kick. If the kick were full power, the shin would be destroyed as a result. When a person has their weight shifted onto their targeted leg, it's not possible to lift the knee in time to destroy the kick. However, when their weight is shifted to their rear leg, they can easily lift the knee on the targeted leg to destroy the kick.

So my question is, is there a rule of thumb to predict when their weight is shifting onto their targeted leg, other than the obvious? In other words, is there a preferred "time" to throw a kick to prevent this problem?

Thanks

Dont' just "time" it, but rather, set it up.

If you throw a hard left at him, and he bobs under, kick him as he weights his lead left leg. He won't be able to move it out of your way, because the bob weights it.

Likewise, when a guy is backpedaling it's a great time to really sink a full power thai kick into his thigh. When he's backpedaling, he can't shoot in on you for a takedown, nor can he close the distance to jam the kick.

Another good time to throw a kick - after you score with your cross, throw a right thai kick immediately. The cross tends to blind him to the kick.

[bodhisattva]

Knee destructions are fine against the average kicker - but against a guy with a really really strong thai kick, people have split their patella and walked badly for a month as a result.

I'd just jam the kick and throw a right cross before I'd do any of that other stuff. It's a great answer, and really easy to develop as an instinctive reaction.