Front Leg Side Kick

The Front Leg Side Kick is perhaps the weakest of all the side kicks, but still a very effective kick. This kick is executed by shifting your weight onto your rear leg while bringing your front knee up directly in front of you. With practice, this can be one of your fastest side kicks in your kicking arsenal.

While facing my opponent, sometimes I like to use the Front Leg Side Kick because I can drive my opponent back farther than with the Front Kick. This is one of my favorite kicks. The following example is for a Front Leg Side Kick using the right leg.

1. From a fighting stance, raise your knee at least waist high. Your foot should already be in the correct position to strike your opponent.
   
2. Your base leg foot should have moved approximately 90-degrees counterclockwise by pivoting on the ball of your foot.
   
3. Turn your body counterclockwise so that the kicking leg side of your body is now facing directly towards your opponent
   
4. Your kicking leg foot is slightly in front of your base leg and as high above the knee as possible while being tucked in close to your groin.
   
5. The outside (knife) edge of your kicking foot is pointed down towards the ground.
   
6. As you begin to kick, your base leg foot should have moved approximately 20-degrees counterclockwise by pivoting on the ball of your foot.
   
7. As the heel edge of your kicking foot makes contact with its target, your base leg foot should now have moved 25-degrees counterclockwise by pivoting on the ball of your foot.
   
8. Your kicking foot, kicking leg (knee slightly bent), hips, back, shoulders and head should be in a straight line at the initial point of impact. Picture a pool stick making contact with a cue ball on a pool table. The heel edge of your kicking foot is like the tip of the pool stick.
   
9. Your kicking leg should return (recoil) along the same straight path of trajectory it followed from knee raising to impact.
   
10. Return to your fighting stance.

In my traditional martial arts days, I used to practice this kick by placing a chair beside me. It forced me to raise my knee high enough so that I was able to kick over the chair. I would also practice with a step ladder. I would practice kicking between each ladder rung. It helped with targeting my kicks.

If while sparring, you find yourself getting hit by a much taller opponent that is able to punch you while you’re executing a Front Kick, switch to a Front Leg Side Kick. It will put your head out of punching range while you’re delivering the kick.

Remember… for the street… no high kicks! Save those for your demonstration photos and movie stunt work.

Related Posts

• Krav Maga’s Basic Front Kicks