The beauty of the side kick.
Alot of martial arts have the side kick. From a Moh perspective it is most commonly trained as a low and powerful kick designed to break a knee. Alternatively it can strike the bladder area for devestating results. To be effective a student trains to develope good snap and thrust. As the muscles in the legs strengthen the kick strengthens. The kick becomes a very dangerous weapon. We do not kick high with our side kick because we do not wish to expose our groin to possible counter attack. NOW, all that aside I want to post something following the new line of thinking that I follow. The side kick can be a beautiful technique. A low powerful snap is practical but not always beautiful. (A common theme in Moh.) Now I like to train my kicks to be high, fluid and with every minute detail showing complete control. I am not training the kick as I would use it, I am training it to develope flexability (Balistic stretching) and to be beautiful at it. I cannot kick straight up into the air above my head yet with this kick but I am working on it. It gives me something to aspire towards. To be able to kick above my head and hold the kick fully extended is my goal. Again it is not practical, but I believe I already have a solid grasp of the practicality of the side kick. Another point worth mention is how training this way effects my practical side kick. Some people might think that I am developing bad habits or that I am going to lose ability in the practical department because of lack of practice. In reality my side kick has become more powerful. The stronger muscles to support the kick and the greater flexability gained from training it has given my low side kick more snap and a more solid thrust. My injured knee wobbles sometimes from the pressure of supporting me when the other leg is kicking, but it is strengthening from the practice. And I am not thinking about hurting people when I train, I am just challenging myself to get that foot a little higher and make that technique a little smoother. Even though I know I could spend years if not the rest of my life training this kick, I am happier to practice it now because it has meaning again. I knew I could break a knee with my kick before. Now I am not bothered with that. I just want to improve myself and my own body with no thought about anyone else be it an attacker or whatever. This philosophy was a result of reading Shi Yan Mings book I have mentioned before, but I cannot stress enough how much more excited and energetic I am about my training now that I am coming at it from an entirely new angle.

Hello North, What a neat post! I have always liked the side kick. Until a few years ago I kept it low for practical reasons (as you mentioned). As my back got worse and before I got into therapy for it, it became impossible to kick high. This didn’t bother me as much as it might because I have a fast and powerful kick. I had someone critique my side kick a couple of weeks ago. He mentioned that I kick with my arms down. He commented that my balance would improve if I held them higher and in more. He was not only right but his comment made me analyze my other kicks. I had gotten into the habit of kicking with all of them with my arms too low. This also had the effect of isolating them from my hands. I usually practice kicking at hip height these days. I also practice in the air as well as against a heavy bag. It isn’t as much about making the bag swing as what you posted. Doing it so it looks good! I am inspired when I find others who train with a solid balance of artistic integrity and street savvy. Thanks! Regards, MrE2Me2

Hello North, I came across this quote tonight; "Kempo is for the street first; everything else is secondary."---Professor William .K.S. Chow Just to play devils advocate for a moment here. You posted the idea of art first from your readings of Shi Yan Ming’s books. This would seem to be in direct contrast to the above quote. Yet I’m not so sure it is. It’s been my experience that art can be practiced in many attitudes. I’d say that the idea of putting the art in street fighting is what Kempo is all about. Being unable to defend myself is bad. And to be unable to defend myself when I am a martial artist is really bad. Yet I find that I must remain true to the art from principles that I train in. Things like open and closed techniques and forming a proper fist are essential to me. And then there is contact and the minor injuries that come in training. If I never get hit (even a little) then I’ll never know what it’s like. This is precisely the problem that used to happen with grappling and the ground game. And we all saw what the results of that were. Wrestlers who were quick enough to close the gap would take it to the ground. It takes a concerted effort to stop a rusher and that has to be driven home in training. All that being said; if we train with only a brutal mentality, then we become brutes. Balance in art and combat is the key to effective and long term training. Regards, MrE2Me2 Without prejudice E&OE

I think those of us who continue to train for a lifetime hit a point where we know we can defend ourselves against the typical random attack. 2-3 untrained attackers without weapons. 6 guys pulling swords on you is going to make it so it doesn't matter how much training you have. 2 guys with knives or 1 guy with 2 knives also takes away alot of the power the MA gives us. So no matter how hard we train we will always be vulnerable in one form or another. If we are prepared for the typical scenario, and if we know how to inflict brutal harm very quickly then we are running at a high level of effectiveness. The above quote is true, that Kempo is for combat first. But I am approaching things from multiple styles and thus what comes first or second is entirely up to my own design. I think I will choose to have "Fun" come first, artistic expression second, and let combative ability be the byproduct of it all. I have a lesson to teach in 15 minutes. The student is a smaller woman. I could go out there and do stretching, side kicks and make it fun and artistic. In this case though I am going to do defenses from the ground, grip strengthening and hand conditioning. It won't be fun, and not very artistic. This lesson is for combat purposes. So even though my personal focus will be to have fun and express myself I must give my students what they need to be able to defend themselves first. I can defend myself. My student...well she probibly could also, but I want to sharpen that weapon just a bit more with her before we get focused on other things. Her Kempo skill is very good and is the dominent style in the way she moves. I probibly could move on to other things, however I want to be certain she knows how to deal with every situation she might encounter and I know she has not covered her defenses from the ground as much as she should have. Despite what I want to train for myself, when teaching I have to be objective and put the needs of my students first. In this case, "Kempo is for the street first; everything else is secondary." ;) Thanks for the conversation MrE2me2. Tell me, with your students do you deviate from the hardcore fighting techniques once you know they can handle themselves? Or do you just keep drilling over and over to perfect the instinctive reaction of the student?

Hello North, You asked, “…do you deviate from the hardcore fighting techniques once you know they can handle themselves? Or do you just keep drilling over and over to perfect the instinctive reaction of the student? That’s an interesting question. I do a lot of drilling of basics (and applying them as hardcore fighting techniques). I also deviate form these hardcore techniques. More, I’ll do it and teach it with both beginners and advanced people too. I have found that by doing this, I am able to increase my student’s knowledge base, as well as their confidence and fighting ability. Showing them advanced and unusual techniques can inspire them and increase their passion for all martial arts. This is also partially in reaction to the old secrecy agenda I was taught. I once taught a woman who had a dangerous job in the criminal justice system (at that time). I didn’t have long to work with her and the standard intro program I had used in the past, wasn’t going to cut it. So I concentrated on some decent basics against a variety of attacks. And at one point, I got fairly creative. Basics, by themselves and without advanced principles can be too limiting and can result in inefficient students who are overconfident. I was at a tournament a long time ago where there were several older men who had been practicing with each other (only) for a long time. They were obviously very impressed with their own abilities and it showed. When a younger (and better) stylist showed them up, not only did they not have an answer for what he had done, they didn’t recognize a lot of it. While I concentrate on basics to a very large extent; it is only with advanced principles and an open attitude that fuller use of these basics can be achieved (by me and mine). As a matter of fact, I still am open to learning knew things all the time. In order to do this I have found it essential to have my basics good enough that I am able to deviate from them. Regards, MrE2Me2 Without prejudice E&OE