Offensive Choices

in class we focused on leg kicks. Kicks to the shin, knees and ankles, mostly. It’s a perennial favorite for us. The idea behind this strategy is if you can take away your opponents mobility, then you don’t need to fight them anymore because they can’t catch you.

In simple terms: if you kick them hard enough in the leg and get a significant reaction, you might have time to run away.

Now, of course, things don’t always unfold the way we want them to but that doesn’t invalidate the strategy. When we are talking self defense and not sport fighting in a ring, there is sometimes no need to continue to engage your opponent if you don’t have to.

Thanks to Sifu Jeremy for the reminder on the importance and effectiveness of low kicks in self defense.

On the flip side, good leg kicks are incredibly effective inside the ring as well. Take out the other fighter’s base and they can’t get close enough to punch you or grapple with you.