The Front Kick!

 Today we'll be taking a look at one of my favourite techniques, the front kick! The front kick is a relatively simple technique,  generates a ton of power, and can be applied on a number of targets for various reasons. Unless you practice a strictly grappling or punching based art, then you've most likely learnt some form of the front kick. Today we'll be taking a look at how to effectively perform the front kick and how to use it in competition or self defence.


 How To Perform "The Front Kick":

 It would seem simple enough to perform a front kick, after all how difficult can it be to lift your knee and kick something in front of you? Yet, while it's true that it's not hard to lift the knee and throw a kick that is done in front of your body, it can be difficult to throw that kick correctly and with the most potential for damaging your opponent.

 First things first! Hyper extending or breaking the toes is a common injury during the front kick. For this reason you need to "pull" the toes back and point them towards your own nose when throwing the kick. Toes to your nose, remember that. This way you'll be able to effectively strike your opponent with the ball of your foot. By striking with the ball of the foot (as opposed to the heel) while your toes are pulled back, you'll increase the distance you're able to strike the opponent at the same time as you reduce the risk of injuring yourself.  

The Ball Of The Foot (toes pulled back)

Another common mistake is to simply throw the kick by raising the leg up into the air without an extension from the hips. By throwing the kick in this fashion you reduce the distance in which you can strike your opponent and you'll be missing out on any effective way to "hammer" the kick into the body or face of the opponent. In order to make the kick land with some real power and drive it through the opponent, you'll need to lift the knee, and as you throw the kick extend from the hips! What do I mean "extend from the hips", well when the kick is being thrown out you'll actively give a quick thrust from the hips and a slight lean back all at the same time as the kick is being extended. This can be quite awkward at first. Most people have trouble coordinating the hip drive and the extension of the kick, but with time and practice it will all come together. 

 WRONGE! No hip extension, toes not pulled back, no contact with ball of the foot!

RIGHT! Good hip extension, toes pulled back, ball of the foot strike!

Putting It Together:

 Now that you can avoid some of the basic mistakes, we'll look at the steps that allow you to throw the front kick.

1.) From a fighting stance, lift the back knee straight up in front of your body to around waist height with the toes curled back so the ball of your foot is exposed.

2.) Begin to extend from the knee and at the same time give a quick/sharp thrust from the hips

3.) Drive the ball of the foot through the target, at the point of impact you should look exactly like the animated picture of the little animated man above! 

4.) As soon as impact occurs, don't leave your leg hanging out there and don't just let it drop down in front of you. Quickly pull it right back in to the back leg position it was fired out from. 

 Things To Avoid:

 - Kicking with the toes not pulled back. A great way to break your toes!

 - Pushing with the kick instead of hammering the kick into the opponent. These are two different types of kicks. 

 - "Flicking" the kick out lightly instead of firing it out with power and sharp hip extension. 

 - Not raising the knee before throwing the kick. Reduces the amount of power behind the kick and its ability to drive through the opponent. 

- Pulling the knee out to the side before throwing the kick. The knee should be kept straight during the entire technique. 

- Not pulling the leg back in quick enough or just letting it drop down in front of you after contact. 

How To Apply The Front Kick:  

 Now that we've covered the basics, it's time to discuss how to actually apply the front kick. The most common target for the front kick is the torso, mainly the lower abdomen or solar plexus areas. The face is also a common target, but requires more timing, flexibility and set up than a kick to the torso.

  Using the front kick to strike the torso while on the defence is great for keeping the opponent at a distance. The front kick when thrown correctly is a fast and direct kick that can be hard to see coming and difficult to catch. It also hits quite hard and causes more damage than a push kick. If you were to apply the front kick during an offensive attack, you could lead with the front kick to have the opponent momentarily distracted at a lower area and then come in high with a combination of punches or a follow up high kick. The reverse can also be done, lead with high techniques such as a combination of punches, and as the opponent is backing up slam a front kick into their mid section while their guard is high. 

 When throwing the front kick the face, there is a greater degree of difficulty. Not only do you need to be quite flexible and have above average balance, you'll need to know how to time the kick correctly and know when to throw the kick for it to be truly effective. The front kick to the face is best shot on an opponent who is in a hunched position with their head tucked down and leading forward. An opponent standing in this hunched position (rather than an upright fighting stance) is set up to receive the maximum force of the kick. The front kick not only slams through the opponent, but also hits through in an upward motion. If the opponent is hunched and the kick lands, they'll receive all the power of the kick (upward and through) directly to the face. The hunched stance also makes the opponent a little shorter allowing you to kick them in the face with greater ease. If the opponent was standing straight up, it would be much harder to connect with their face and even if you connected the kick would be missing a bunch of the power. 

 Here's a video clip of Anderson Silva landing what is most likely the most famous front kick of all time knocking out Vitor Belfort. As you can see, he throws from the back leg, knee straight and lifted, snaps the kick out at the same time as he thrusts from the hips. He lands the kick with the ball of the foot to Vitor's face. Also note how Vitor is standing the a hunched stance, making him an excellent target for a front kick to the face! Now that's putting it all together! 

 Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little break down of the front kick. 

- Tim