In Uechi Ryu, we use sokusen geri (big toe) for kicking, and go as high as the lower abdomen. High kicks only really show up sparring, and really aren't that common. On the other hand, we encourage leg kicks and do a lot of shin and thigh conditioning, much like Muay Thai
High Kicks or Low Kicks Which one do you have more in your style? 🥋FREE TRIAL + 24% OFF NOW｜Online Group Lesson🥋 Program Details: karateintokyo.com/ Any questions or concerns? → Email me at ynkaratedojo@gmail.com Episode #1: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-peiCbxU_D6g.html Yusuke In Okinawa Playlist: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jc0Zudzvk6E.html
When it comes to practical application of kicks: never kick higher then what your oponent can grab! Or in other words: never higher then your oponents belt. Otherwise you invite your oponent to outmaneuver and counter you.
I practice taekwondo, so in my case I practice a lot of high kicks, be them frontal, lateral, spinning or backwards. But as @@ralfhtg1056 said, lower kicks are safer from my point of view. I mean, modern taekwondo, apart from being a martial art, is also a sport with ruled competitions, and there you can (and should) use high kicks. Also as a form of training, I really like high kicks. But high kicks should be used with more caution than lower ones, they need a more special occasion to be used safely and efficiently, so I like training them to be able to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes, but I think there are very few occasions when a high kick is the solution. Still, there are such occasions, so better train both. 👍
Low kicks. In the Goju Ryu dojo I practiced last used to say, don't use legs to kick when your hands can do it. So never emphasized on kicks above waist. Even though they teach you middle and high kicks of all variants, their poi nt is that high kicks are very unlikely in a self defense fight or street fight.
In Wing Chun there are only the low kicks, only the throat kick from a very close distance is an exception for a high kick. I personally prefer all kinds of kicks from TKD and low kicks from Kick-Thai boxing on a sportive event with rules. But on the street I never use high kicks, because there are no rules. The safest way to kick in a self defense situation are only low kicks in my expirience. If you use too many high kicks on the street you get catch up or get kick between your legs very easily. So, old Okinawan Karate styles and Wing chun have a similarity in low kicks. There is one kick from Kyokushin "The kansetsu geri", it is very effective against high kicks and in Wing Chun almost every step forward is a "kansetsu geri" applied to the opponent's knee, between legs or stomach. The old masters from Okinawa formed the old karate kicks for real situations, not for sport-karate. So they minimized the risk on the battlefield or in the street.
My dad was a welder/millwright. He made me a bo, jo, and tonfa out of pure steel bar. It made using my wood weapons in competition extremely easy. I broke my bo over my hip many times performing Matsu Haga no kon in competition. It made for quite the spectacle in the 90’s!
As of last year (due to the lockdown/quarantine here in the Philippines), I've found myself returning to my Karate roots since our Kali-Arnis training has come to a halt. Inspired by the likes of Noah Legel, Iain Abernathy, Jesse Enkamp, and the Karate Culture team... I started looking around my property and realized I had almost all the tools I needed to train with, both for Karate and Kali-Arnis. These include gardening/agriculture tools, an old steel baseball bat, and the like. On the topic of being an inspiration for training, you can count yourself among them Sensei Yusuke. 🙏😁 My girlfriend and I enjoy your videos very much. We often watching them before, during, and after training here at home as of late. Stay safe and Mabuhay from the Philippines! 🥋👊🇵🇭
My grandfather had me and my brother practice lots of low kicks on each other's legs and against other surfaces, but not many high kicks despite working on our flexibility frequently. Also I use old protein whey containers as nigiri game.
Ahh, I remember a story about IOGKF Chief Instr UK who was told by a rude challenger coming to his dojo that Goju didn't kick the head-he said "let me show you our head kick"......and guy squared up for a head kick, got kicked in the groin.....bent over, then IOGKF CI kicked him in the head...."that's how we do it, you wanker", he said, or something like it......true story, his students assured me.
@@matthews1082 : sounds to me like an anecdote about my UK teacher or his teacher late Gary Spiers who both have been students of Morio Higaonna at his dojo of IOGKF (later my teacher moved to Ei'ichi Miyazato as original before Morio's). :) That would be a true story as my teacher Bob Honiball also teaches the very first punch to the head and a first kick to the groin. "Because Goju, that's why!" :)))
While training in Chinese Wushu, they teach in the basics a punch with your left hand and front ball kick with your right foot and leg, then vice versa with the right hand and left leg, then a palm heel strike with your left hand in a palm strike with a right leg front ball kick, then vice versa, then rising heel kick toward your forehead with either leg. A hook kick stationary or slight spin either leg. A high roundhouse kick either leg or a low kick. ALSO roundhouse kicks either leg. So in Wushu it varies with mid range to the body or high to the face or neck, low to the hips, thigh, crotch or shins and feet with kicks.
Recently I have started introducing chi ishi, sashi, nigiri game and kongoken training to my karate. I have found it beneficial to my strength. Great video and a few new ideas to add to my routine. Thank you 🙏
It's not true that different styles kick differently, in the sense that all styles will kick with toes/ball of foot/heel, but the emphasis differs with different levels of training. It's like saying which style punches using knuckles, which jabs with finger tips - we all do both but the choice of attack is up to the individual and depends on his training and skill.
Love this episode. I do Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan myself. Kicks depending on the purpose. Regular practice is more Chudan and Gedan, but competition we train more Jodan for the purpose of looking good.
I practice shaolin northern kung fu, we have low kicks but most of them are on the waist and above the waist height Also during training we used an old paper holder ( a thick wooden cilinder) from a paper shop, we used it to train the strenghten in our fingers, ( by lifting one of its ends with the tip of our fingers or holding its mid section with the tip of our fi fingers and throwing it up) our wridt resistence ( when it fell we catched it with our wrists)
That was great. As for kicks, in Kata I generally keep it towards the middle , or where I’ve seen Kanazawa, Ohta, Shiina, Osaka & a few others execute them. Then for sparring I practice at different levels, as for self defense mid to low is where I practice to aim.
Ooh we train the toe kick in my dojo, I'm working up to having that conditioning. We do more low kicks for practicality but in training we'll do high kicks to develop mobility. The highest point we specifically aim for with our kicks is the sternum, but that's not for everything.
Great video, Sensei Yusuke. Sometimes I lift some of our 7 liter distilled water bottles then do some front kicks. I didn't know it's also a classic karate concept to use whatever you have in your house as training tools. I trained in shorin ryu karate for a few years but that was like 20 years ago. Now a family man with no dojo near me, I hope to join your online class soon. 🙂
I understand fighting..and to see this karate master. He is real deal. His transfer from the foot up, the snap to his strikes, yet not rigid. I was born with a heritage in muay thai, but I have also adopted the chamber kicks ot Tae Kwon Do, and utilize all hard parts of body as a weapon, just the 9 limbs. Even my finger tips I practice like they do their toes.
Being of TKD roots, kicks all a combination of height and direction. However, I found for myself, I found keeping front kicks was best for mid to low strikes(except axe & hook kicks, generally) and side kick I preferred a step/skip in technique for the trunk of the body. Through repetition of side skipping with minimal foot movement, I found skipping sideways into someone's inner circle would allow me to quickly connect to any part of their face, neck and pressure points. And the step in would surprise as it's easier to be seen coming full frontal than a side skip to invade your opponent's space. I'm not sure about using my toes. I can't any use for toes unless you're aiming for soft places like the eyes. For conditioning my body, I had to use what was at home. I was still in high school and couldn't afford equipment, so I would hit myself. Open hand against my body, progressing to fist. Learning to breathe and tighten muscles just before the strike. When I started working out of school on a low youth wage, I purchased 100 wooden fence palings every month to practice. There's no right or wrong but different and what works and doesn't work. What is effective and what isn't.
In the early 1970s I was training with a very traditional Japanese Sensei who was a disciple of JKA's Yoshida Sensei. We practiced Ashi-Nukito which was a front kick with the toes. We learned foot compression. These kicks "were" part of Our old school Shoto-Ryu. Maybe not in today's Shoto-Kan karate.
I usually use ankle weights but that foot brick lift is something else man ...very cool.I'm sure it's great for the core too. Low kicks for me due to the fact that they can be more powerful and easier to return to a ready position. They are also harder to see coming in close guard. Awesome video ...liked as always
Kick height: In Shuri-Ryu we practice high kicks only to increase strength and flexibility. We view the high kicks as dangerous to execute in practice. In kata or kumite we do only waist level and below kicking to close distance. We are heavily influenced by Xing Yi Quan kung fu, so our emphasis is close range hand striking and grappling.
We also use the chishi in my dojo. Ours are made of iron and steel welded together. As far as kicks go, we mostly aim belt height or lower for self defense. To increase power, stability and flexibility we aim as high as possible. Though it is strongly recommended to only use lower Keri in applications in self defense.
In real life, to include myself and people that trained me or who I met. EVERYONE who hits with the toe trains the toe by using various sand bags and things, and also sometimes standing on the toes (used to do that as a kid after reading Shigru Ogamis books). If you don't train the toes, you'll jam them at the very least.
I have made similar tools like a cinder block with lassos of patio stones for various weight. I also use the environment like cold and hot outdoor temp
I use Wing Chun bags, 1 filled with sand to warmup and the other filled with gravel. I also strike my knuckles with hard sticks, strike my shin areas with hard sticks also. I like the idea of rolling on the shins I will do that more often. I use a kettlebell and put my feet inside it to make my legs stronger. I also have a wrist strengthener as well.
AWESOME!!!...I just discovered your channel and subscribed. Very cool to see this explanation of traditional Okinawan Martial Arts and how they use training (Hojo Undo) to make it more practical and real. I also love how kicks were presented. I have heard before that "Roundhouse kicks" were not even present in traditional Okinawan styles. Neither were high kick's. This shares similarities with Southern Chinese styles (Wing Chun) and Indonesian Silat. Yes you will see high kicks and such in Southern China and Indonesia, for exercise, show or just wanting to do it. It's just the theory is to never kick above the waist...YOUR OWN WAIST....as your balance is compromised if you do. For those styles, YOUR balance and upsetting YOUR OPPONENTS balance was CRUCIAL to those Arts. As far as kicking with the toe and toe conditioning? I have heard this also obout Okinawan and also certain Kung-Fu styles. It literally transform's your front kick from sledge hammer to a bullet....that can seriously injure or kill. At first when I heard this I thought that it might be one of those "Bullshido" legends that are not true. Who kick's with their toes? Why would that be even effective? Then it was explained as making the surface area MUCH more concentrated and could actual do extremely destructive damage to internal organ's. Much like being kicked with steel toe shoes? Perhaps this is why French Savate practioner's are one of the few styles that use shoes when kicking and traing? Because it was meant for French Police fighting gangs in the early 1900's? Sorry, if I am rambling now, but I am very glad I found your channel. I already saw your "Using the foot to slide in" series. You obviously know what you are doing and talking about. I can't wait to watch and listen to more of your video's. Much respect, Thank you again.
In the late 60s , I started kyokushin karate . our kicks were from kin geri to jodan.. during that time, other styles eg gpju worked kin geri mostly... now its impossible to distinguish the style of the practitioner.. its a good thing.
I can tell you in Ryukyu Kempo/Ryute we practice high kick for Flexibility, The kihon that is drilled into our heads is "Hands take care of the waist up, Legs take care of the waist down". I think that is why the stances are higher, this allows for mobility and the capability to block, punch and kick simultaneously!
I trained many years ago in Uechi-ryu. Remember that if you have anything other than cheap sneakers, kicking with the ball of the foot is not going to happen. Best to get used to kicking with the toe tips because that's going to be the way it is IRL. Of course, you COULD spend your time barefoot at the beach.
The traditional training tools can be emulated with modern tools. Chi Ishi = Dumbell with weights on 1 side. ishi-sashi = Ankle weights nigiri game = grip a hex dumbells with your fingers
kicking with the toes digging into the liver has become quite popular in kickboxing, especially in GLORY. there are a lot of KO finishes from a kick to the liver where the toes dug in.
Oh yes, a toe kick into the liver, or any part below the rib-cage will ruin anyone's day. The essence of karate is in the training and conditioning - toe kicks and finger jabs are mainly down to conditioning.
I use the tables of my bed to condition my hands like a makiwara. And since it’s a bunk bed, I use it to practice a Muay Tai kind of elbow usually used to attack the neck or the head
I train with a weighted vest, weighted wrist weights and ankle weights weighted. When I do pushups and slight hopping to increase speed, agility, muscle mass and some power in my training.
In Shorin Kempo we only kicks just above the waist at the highest, although a couple of our younger, more flexible students can kick well above their heads.
In my opinion higher kicks became the trend because they are more flashy and projects the image that you are flexible and can deliver powerful kicks. I will still stick to low kicks if I'm going to defend myself as higher kicks requires a little bit longer time and will usually throw you off balance if not delivered in the correct timing. that is why you can see people in MMA usually tend do groundwork once the opponent throw a high kick. not to belittle other martial arts but I have endured kicks to my arms and my ribs without so much damage that I still managed to score a punch directly to the face
I teach more lower kicks, but do have some high kicks if needed. most of our forms are low kicks. This protects from getting leg sweep or caught in a throw.
when you are on shoes the toe kick applies as you use the toe of the shoes as impact point. That is how I do. The ball of the foot is a very convenience way to kick because you just raise all the toes and the ball of the foot is there for impact and it is not hurt to train it unlike the toe that it get hurts at first.
In my school because it's mostly Goju Ryu mixed with wado. We don't do high kicks they are used to hit low from chudan down. For this reason we drive the power through the heel, not the ball of the foot or toes. As for making my shins more resistant I use a glass bottle and role it over my shins.
I started practicing kyokushin recently, but I think there are more high kicks as it's the only way to hit the head, as punches to the face are not permited. As I'm new im not 100% sure, but as my master told me that high kicking is allowed. I'd say that these are the most common kicks. Love your channel, awesome work🤗
In my Shito-Ryu dojo we do all our kicks in kata at either mid level (solar plexus, ribs) or lower, and kick with the ball of our foot. Some of the more limber students will throw high kicks in sparring or when doing kihon, but everyone is taught if it's self-defense kick low. I studied Uechi-Ryu as a teenager and the kicks were pretty much all low, with the toes for striking. Striking with the big toe never really worked for me because it is significantly shorter than the toe next to it on both feet (pointer toe?) which would get jammed a lot.
We used to train for head high kicks when we were with JKA and ISKF but since I formed Jun-Shotokan karate do we have been concentrating on lower kicks for practical reasons. Original karate from Okinawa only trained for low kicks it wasn’t until Japan sort out other countries to help in military training that high kicks became part of Japanese karate.
I don't really even trust enough to kick with the ball of my foot. Unless it's a thrust kick. Or if I'm weaing my steel toe work shoes. I sometimes wear the steel toe shoes to train kicks. The extra weight is very helpful, and they don't slip around like ankle weights do.
@@KarateDojowaKu I'm not in Karate gi and steel toe work shoes. Interesting thought. I have a quiet place and work to train a little, or at home in street closes.
In goju ryu is the same thing about high kicks and mawashi As i know, these kicks appeared in goju when muai thai practitioners brought these techniques to sports. If you want to defent aganist something, you must know this, so now mae geri and mawashi geri are the first kicks you learn in dojo, but we do high kicks rarely (in my dojo only those guys who actively take part in kumite competitions use high kicks, rest of us kick not higher than the solar plexus)
High kicks in karate was a french influence, from savate. I believe it was Funakoshi's son who adapted this to karate when he saw a Savate demonstration. As the master said high kicks are not wrong but just different.
It's good to be able to kick high for range of motion and training purposes, but for combat and kata/self-defense application, it's more practical to kick low-to-mid level. Kicking high in a fight is always gamble, it's just a matter of how much you're willing to take that bet.
I think I’ve mentioned in your comments that one of our SKA Seniors long ago introduced “Chinese Iron Ball” training to the SKA. In the ‘70s, I read a magazine article he had written that mentioned it. I worked nights in a Probation Camp at the time and started practicing it at work. You get the largest shot put that you can hold in your hand. For me that’s an 8 pound shot put. I just got in the mail a shot put for my Texas house. It trains your muscles obviously, but you learn so much more. I never had any official training in it, but just experimented on my own. In the ‘90s, I took a Brown Belt of mine to train with the Senior that introduced the iron ball. It was a Bo class and, after class, I talked to the Senior about the iron ball. I told him that at first I thought it was for training exterior techniques, but discovered that it was for “internal” techniques. He confirmed that my discovery was right, it for internal techniques. I learned a lot about hips using the iron ball. I used to dream about throwing a Chudan upper cut. LOL
@@InGrindWeCrust2010 It means more close to the body, rather than extending out toward your opponent. You can think of it as in holding your opponent’s hand/wrist close to your body and twisting your hips as you torque your opponent’s hand/wrist with your hands to apply a wrist lock.
@@donelmore2540 Awesome, thanks, that makes sense! By a chudan uppercut, do you mean like in western boxing or a shita tsuki in Kyokushin? I can see how that exercise would help!
@@InGrindWeCrust2010 I’m not familiar Shia Tsuki so I can’t comment as to that. And I’m not too familiar with the upper cut in boxing. What I learned from the Iron Ball was how to really connect my hip with the upper cut. It looks a little like Mike Tyson’s punch to the body which he follows with a Jodan upper cut. I’ve got to get another copy of “The Dictionary of the Martial Arts” for my Texas house. It’s a small book, but it has almost everything I need to look up in it. Oh, when I had my Dojo in CA back in the ‘90s, I showed my adult students the Iron Ball training and how it applied to the upper cut. After, I was practicing it with a student who, after watching the Iron Ball demonstration, was really afraid I was going to break his ribs. LOL. I tried never to abuse my Juniors, but his reaction cracked me up.
Interesting, our shorin ryu, kin-geri is with the toes forward, but the big toe isn’t the impact point. We have Mae-geri with the ball of the foot. But I’m interested why no Mawashi-Geri, because we do train mawashi-Geri. I wonder if this is because of various teachers from uema sensei?
When I was young I kicked high, now that I’m older, I kick low. I still have full flexibility, but my balance limits the height of my kicks, and I really don’t find it necessary to kick high to defend myself.
I do Shotokan, but not too much emphasis is put on the height, our Sensei prefers having proper technique than height. The only time we practice height in kicks is for kumite, and even then he adapts the requirements based on individual ability.
I’d say traditionally their low kicks but when we’re doing kata my Sensei says if you want to kick high and you can do it but obv for katas like naihanchi it’s low
@@KarateDojowaKu With all those low kicks, by the time you get to shodan, your legs are like logs. By the way, thanks for all the amazing content! Greetings from Canada. OSU!
The best training for kicking with the toes, is grabbing some fabric from the floor with the toes. Do that several times until your grab is so strong nobody can pull the fabric from you
All respect for what you do - you turn your elbow out too soon when punching. It should be the same as when you pull the hand back, the elbow being close to your body as much as possible and turning out just before or upon impact. This makes the punch straighter, faster, and harder to see. Arigatou gozaimasu!
Interesting that he (the sempai) pushes his knee back when he does guiaku zuki... I think this reduces the amout of power delivered during the movement....
Both but for sparring my kicks are chudan and gedan to not feel so exposed/vulnerable to a counter. Great series. Can you please go through the difference in bunkai for naihanchi/tekki
Also i had a goju friend of mine land a kick with his toes on inside of my thighs and wasnt a hard kick but was enough to deaden the nerves on inside thigh and hurt for days.
Old masters kick low because they did not fight competition, and lower kicks to groin bladder and knee did more damage. However the kata changed due to competition and I believe they did this to increase athleticism and difficulty. I prefer to kick low.
I guess it works best for a beginner when a beginner tries on a toy kick while wearing shoes.Otherwise if will hurt a lot if a beginner tries barefoot.
I think that the old masters didn't kick high or above the waist because in competition, even if you slip from kicking too high, the ref would just stand you up. But in a self-defense scenario, no one's gonna let you stand up once you fall. Yes they might knock out the attacker with one head kick, but there's a chance they might slip and fall, so they played it safe and went for lower kicks instead.
As for kick height in Isshin-Ryu, being an Okinawan style it is low--typically below the waistline, especially favoring the knees and groin (weak point). Of course you cannot attack joints in practice / competition. The highest kicks we might have in our ordinary fighting repertoire are round-kicks to ribs (not native to Okinawan karate--absent from Kihon & Kata--probably borrowed from Thai boxing) and hook kicks to the ribs if an opportunity opens and the time is right. Over the past 2 decades there has been an increase in kick height--I have always assumed it was due to the widespread Tae Kwon Do practicing such kicks and people doing what looks athletic / cool, or trying to score points with Kata competition. There is nothing wrong with practicing high kicks--good for flexibility and cardio, but they might be of limited usefulness in an actual fight for your life. Isshin-Ryu places emphasis on efficiency of motion, speed of execution, and not giving away your technique ahead of time. The higher the kick, the more difficult this is to achieve. Also, as to most (all?) Okinawan styles favoring low kicks, you need look no further than the Bubishi. All kicks illustrated in the Bubishi are low kicks (also, the person kicking always loses--an implication that hand techniques are considered superior--at least to the author(s) of the Bubishi).
IMMEDIATELY noticed just as the video began he did the 3/4 twist punch instead of the full twist punch. Dillman talks about that extensively, and I think Isshinryu people either do that or the full vertical punch.
I could be wrong here but I think ishinryu practitioners use a vertical punch. In shorin ryu it really depends on the ryu ha or the practitioner. I always preferred the not fully rotated punch no matter my school does a regular tsuki, I mean with the full rotation of the punch. Now you can see the same thing for his shiko dachi. Not all shorin school do it with parallel feet
We’re taught that contact should be made at 3/4 rotation if the fist,and the full horizontal fist results when you punch through the target , continuing the rotation.
How interesting. I've actually "converted" my dumbbells to simulate a chishi and started the wrist conditioning. I wish I know what to use as a replacement for that vase. Seems ideal for finger conditioning. Thanks for another great video! Can't wait for the naihanchi video! Are you there in okinawa right now?
the toe kick s not supposed to be done ontough targets like a well developped abs, altho its target s supposed to be the throat, like that you wont dislocate your toes.
I train Kobayashi Shorin Ryu and is not common to do high kicks, the highest part of body is the abdomen, my Sensei usually says that kicks higher than this point become dangerous when we treating about karate self-defense.
Way to go to break your toe! :) Just like in real fight you don't punch, which is sure way to break your finger joints and bone, you use palm strike instead.
