MMA leg kicks

Fire-Starter · #1 10-26-2008, 09:18 PM

I see this quite a bit in the MMA. Trying to kick the inside/outside of the leg of your opponent. I know there is a nerve in towards the back of the knee from the trainging I did in Kung fu. So I guess there must be one in the area they are aiming for?

Correct me if I am wrong, the upper leg has some of the biggest muscles in the body, seems like it would take lot to wear an opponent down by kicking at such a large muscle, so I am guessing their must be a nerve they are aiming for..yes?

Can they head butt in MMA like in my avatar?

hbarcat · #2 10-26-2008, 09:22 PM

Nerves be damned. The idea is to kick from inside to outside.

fitbass3p · #3 10-26-2008, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire-Starter

I see this quite a bit in the MMA. Trying to kick the inside/outside of the leg of your opponent. I know there is a nerve in towards the back of the knee from the trainging I did in Kung fu. So I guess there must be one in the area they are aiming for?

Correct me if I am wrong, the upper leg has some of the biggest muscles in the body, seems like it would take lot to wear an opponent down by kicking at such a large muscle, so I am guessing their must be a nerve they are aiming for..yes?

Can they head butt in MMA like in my avatar?

I was under the impression that the leg kicks were more to throw your opponent off-balance so that you could move in for a punch/grapple. I could be wrong, though.

benthughes · #4 10-26-2008, 09:53 PM

Get kicked in the legs nice and hard a few times. It hurt and it wears you out. Any nerves are going to be really deep and more towards the back of the legs which would be very difficult to hit in a person facing you.

Fire-Starter · #5 10-26-2008, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benthughes

Get kicked in the legs nice and hard a few times. It hurt and it wears you out. Any nerves are going to be really deep and more towards the back of the legs which would be very difficult to hit in a person facing you.

This makes more sense.

Baryonyx · #6 10-27-2008, 05:33 AM

The MMA leg kick is typically a sloppy attempt at a Muay Thai low kick. Given that I have been a Nak Muay for a while now, I'll fill you in on the details...

The leg kick can serve many purposes in a fight, but the place you'll mainly see it is in the first round of a muay thai fight. This is the "feeler" round, where combatants judge the other's reach, speed, reactions and counter offensive capabilities. It is also seen as something of a warm up round, with tenative jabs and low kicks being throw. The also serve a great purpose in the second part of the fight, which is damaging your opponents mobility and defence.

By repeatedly kicking the legs, they will hurt and feel heavy to lift. This makes it much easier to land a kick to the body without it being checked and blocked by the opponent. Body shots are where the real hurt comes in, broken ribs and liver shots will slow and opponent to no end, making the knockout/TKO victory by overwhelming offence available.

I train under a Thai master (the 9th Westerner to be granted the title by the Thai government) and not once has he mentioned hitting nerves in the legs. The leg kick gauges distance, successful leg kicks cause the muscles to seize and tense, lowering mobility. I remember one guy from my club won a fight when his opponents corner threw in the towel, after three round of leg kicks his opponent was in too much pain to walk on his battered limbs.

It can also serve as the base of a combo. I often like to go from a leg kick or a feinted leg kick into punch/elbow combination. Also, the "Hoost" trick of feinting a leg kick, waiting for the opponent to raise their leg and then swinging through to hit their only "post" leg is very useful indeed. Another cheeky little favourite of mine is to swing for a low kick but before impact, swing and re-angle the leg to perform a teep kick to the face-a massive insult in Muay Thai.

Yeah, there is a lot to leg kicks!

Tsal · #7 10-27-2008, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benthughes

Get kicked in the legs nice and hard a few times. It hurt and it wears you out.

Yep. Low kicks are heavily used in kickboxing and Muay Thai. They make it harder to keep up in a fight, so they are mostly used to set up a tactical advantage.

Getting a few hard kicks to a large muscle makes it pretty tender, and a after a few it starts to hurt, so you tend to start watching out for any more. More hurt and swollen the leg gets, more difficult it is to use that leg. It's even possible to get a TKO by a leg kick in a kickboxing match, when the opponent can't stand up properly.

If you plan to use this for self defense or to fool with friends, a kick to the thigh can cause some muscle damage, and if you happen to hit the knee there's a good chance of long term damage. This might become pretty expensive, if the judge rules against you.

Fire-Starter · #8 10-27-2008, 07:17 AM

Interestering info, one of the other reasons I mentioned nerves in the leg is I heard Joe Rogan during a MM fight comment on why one opponent kept going after the inside leg of the other, he mentioned something about a nerve on the inside of the leg that they aim for, something to that effect, I had never heard of such, so that was new to me. I figured he knew what he was talking about since he does seem to run in those cirlces and does commentaries on the fights.

**john turner** · #9 10-27-2008, 07:32 AM

back in my (limited) kungfu days, we'd also use kicks to weaken the knees (lotus/shin kicks to the joints). it would be a good leadin to a sweep, if you were fast (lotus with right leg followed by sweep with left heel), since the prime method for avoiding the kick would be to raise the leading leg, leaving all the weight on the hind leg.

that's probably not something you'd see too often in an mma fight though - there's easier and safer ways to take your guy down in such a situation than exposing yourself to getting stomped like that.

Baryonyx · #10 10-27-2008, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsal

Yep. Low kicks are heavily used in kickboxing and Muay Thai. They make it harder to keep up in a fight, so they are mostly used to set up a tactical advantage.

Getting a few hard kicks to a large muscle makes it pretty tender, and a after a few it starts to hurt, so you tend to start watching out for any more. More hurt and swollen the leg gets, more difficult it is to use that leg. It's even possible to get a TKO by a leg kick in a kickboxing match, when the opponent can't stand up properly.

Well, you won't see any leg kicks under traditional US kickboxing rules, but there is plenty going on in places like K1, especially from the guys with an orthodox muay thai background.

baalroo · #11 10-27-2008, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire-Starter

... I heard Joe Rogan... I figured he knew what he was talking about...

There's your problem right there.

Baryonyx · #12 10-27-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baalroo

There's your problem right there.

+1

Yeah, some of the things he comes out with are pure comedy.

bassist 4 life · #13 10-27-2008, 09:02 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzX_1Zcvcs

there you go.
if executed well, leg kicks can bring a guy down since he wont be able to move.

Georynn · #14 10-27-2008, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris2112

I train under a Thai master

you mean one of these?

I keeed...

I've seen a ton of leg kicks/sweeps, as a setup for a combo. It definitely forces you to check your balance, even when its a checked kick. If you go low to "reinforce" your stance. you're in face -elbow territory. If you raise a leg to force a miss, your posted leg is now a target for a sweep, as its your only source for support. If you throw your hands down to brace, opens your face up.
I find that a good defense for a leg kick is a leg kick, especially if you can get the dead center of the shin...

Tsal · #15 10-27-2008, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris2112

Well, you won't see any leg kicks under traditional US kickboxing rules, but there is plenty going on in places like K1, especially from the guys with an orthodox muay thai background.

I have to say I don't know much about US rules.. I've trained mostly under WAKO, where there's a low kick option under full contact rules. It seems to be pretty popular match form in Europe, in both amateur and pro competitions.

I think that European KB is more boxing oriented, so there's a lot of emphasis on high guard and most kicks are to waist or below, which would explain the popularity.

santucci218 · #16 10-27-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist 4 life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzX_1Zcvcs

there you go.
if executed well, leg kicks can bring a guy down since he wont be able to move.

I've seen this video before. Rutten is great. Thats pretty much the definition of a strategic fight.

Fire-Starter · #17 10-27-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist 4 life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzX_1Zcvcs

there you go.
if executed well, leg kicks can bring a guy down since he wont be able to move.

Wow...it looked liked he just grazed the guys leg around the quad. he must have had quite a bit of force behind it. Good post!

Baryonyx · #18 10-27-2008, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Georynn

you mean one of these?

I keeed...

What is this, some resistance based training implement? I have never seen on before!

McHack · #19 10-27-2008, 10:52 AM

I trained in TKD for a few years....

All it takes is one or two slammin kicks to cause a charlie horse in your thigh... Once that happens, your legs are now jello. Do they work, yep... do they work well? Nope.

Personally, I like heel kicks. Driving yer heal into a thigh is pretty nasty.

Beta · #20 10-27-2008, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire-Starter

Wow...it looked liked he just grazed the guys leg around the quad. he must have had quite a bit of force behind it. Good post!

Did you hear the second leg kick land? Rutten cracked that guy hard. The last one was almost a formality. Warpath couldn't avoid it, and couldn't really move around on the leg too well after the first two shots.

I was looking for a video where Remy Bonjasky hits Michael McDonald (not the singer, though I'd find that hilarious) with a bunch of leg kicks during the extra round in a K-1 match, but I couldn't find it. Bonjasky didn't get a TKO out of it, but it slowed McDonald down, and most likely won the fight for Bonjasky.

Chris, that thing is called a Thigh Master.