Low Kicks For Realistic Self-Defense
I love doing high and fancy kicks. High kicks in martial arts are fun and exciting to watch. Doing high kicks is also good for fitness as it works on flexibility and it’s a better workout than just doing boring low kicks during my own martial arts workouts.
Having said all that, even as a huge fan of high kicks, I would not suggest any high kicks in a realistic self-defense situation. Instead, I use very basic self-defense techniques for these scenarios out in the streets. And that’s okay because in my opinion as a life long martial artist, realistic self-defense is basic self-defense.
Basic Self-Defense Low Kicks Usually More Powerful
As soon as you lift your leg above your waist, your kicks will not be as powerful as kicking below the waist at most times. Although many martial artists can kick pretty hard high, their low kicks are probably even stronger.
This is good news for many people who are not martial artists and do not have strong legs. It’s easier for them to use a basic self-defense low kick for realistic self-defense that will be effective. Low kicks are also very hard for the attacker to defend which is an important point. Attackers rarely see low kicks coming and when they do, they are very hard to avoid. High kicks if executed slow, can often easily be defended against and an attacker might be able to grab your leg.
Basic Self-Defense Low Kicks Require Less Balance
Basic self-defense low kicks also require less balance. It the ground is slippery, one can easily lose balance and fall during a high kick. And if one is wearing tight pants or a skirt, there’s no way that one will be able to do a high kick anyway in a realistic self-defense situation.
Low Kicks Target Basic Self-Defense Sensitive Vital Points
Low kicks target basic self-defense sensitive vital points on an attacker, namely the shins, knees and groin area. Well placed low kicks to these areas will be very effective in a self-defense situation enabling one to escape from an attacker.
So although low kicks are not fancy to watch, they are extremely effective for realistic self-defense. This is why I teach low kicks to all my students during my effective self-defense training seminars as well as in my self-defense instruction DVD video program.
