Kick
In the martial arts, a kick is an attack using the foot, knee or leg. This attack often used in hand to hand combat. Kicks are generally slower but more powerful than strikes made with the hands.Kicks play a great part in many martial arts, notably kickboxing and taekwondo, whereas some arts do not utilize kicks at all, such as judo and boxing. Other arts use kicks, but limit their use for attacks on the legs and lower body.
A great number of kicks exist, and many have names for themselves. Often the same movement will have different names in different martial arts.
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Most basic kicks are front kick, side kick and roundhouse kick. Other common kicks are kicks with knees and kicks to backwards. Kicks to the lower parts of the body are faster and easier to perform than high kicks. They are also more powerful, but higher kicks allow strikes to be made against more vital targets such as the head.
Balance and speed are the most important factors in performing a kick. Retracting the leg after the moment of impact is also normally very important, to avoid it being caught by your opponent.
Here, the basic forms of kicks are explained. Most kicks can be varied by using a different part of leg to hit opponent or targeting a different area.
Stand in basic fighting stance. Lift knee of your back leg. Extend your leg so that ball of feet hits your opponent to groin or stomach. Use turning of your hip to add power to the kick. Bend supporting leg slightly to maintain balance.
Front kick can be done with either front or back leg.
Front kick is called mae-geri in Japanese. Most common kicks
Front kick