How do you chamber a side kick?

[skribs107]

Thank you for the photos - i had a hard time figureing out what people meant lol
I use all three depending on many things: force, angle, speed, height, power, etc.
If you havent seen it Jesse the Karate Nerd had a great explanation video on side kick

Do you have a link to it, or a title of the video?

 

[Christopher Adamchek]

@skribs Here you go

 

[Danny T]

I think he means things that are done before a side kick. For example, use your leg to block, then counter with a side kick from that postion.

This^^^^

Or knee strike, and then if you miss follow up by extending into a side kick.

The knee could contact and the follow up be a sidekick to the knee or ankle.

I don't think he meant chambering for a knee strike.

Yeap...the chamber 'is' the knee strike.

 

[dvcochran]

Actually now I'm finding 3 versions:

Foot Up:

This is the position you see a side kick from in Pyongwon, among other forms. It is the crane stance, with the foot right in the centerline of your body (i.e. all of your weight is behind the kick).

This kick is going to the side. The chamber is done in conjunction with the ready hands (defensive posture) to setup for the hammer fist performed concurrent with the side kick. So the knee cannot go as high to make room for the horizontal defensive arm. This is a very different side kick compared to a front side kick. The knee is already up before the kick ever starts thus the driving power of the knee is not available for the kick. While a side kick primarily uses the gluts for power the driving force of the knee on a front side kick is a big contributor to power & speed. The imagination can run wild as to why this chambered position is in the form.

Knee Up:

It might be hard to tell from this angle, but his knee is coming up to his chest with his foot out in front of him. If he were looking at you, it looks like he's chambering for a front kick.

I still think this is a snap shot of a turning side kick, about half way through the kick. The knee and foot are in the appropriate position. What may look different to you is the guys body position. He it standing tall which good and probably means he has good flexibility. Most people tend to lean over while executing a turning kick.

Leg Up:

In this one, if his foot were pointed down it would look like he's chambered for a roundhouse kick.

His knee should be up higher if throwing a roundhouse. Because of how he is holding his left had I am guessing he in in the middle of doing a form. Hard to say. Is the right hand throwing a hammer first and why? Doesn't look like it would reach anything. The knee is horizontal, toes are down, and the standing leg heel is rotate. To me this might imply he is doing a side kick.

 

[skribs107]

His knee should be up higher if throwing a roundhouse.

Depends on the target of the roundhouse.

 

[dvcochran]

This kick is going to the side. The chamber is done in conjunction with the ready hands (defensive posture) to setup for the hammer fist performed concurrent with the side kick. So the knee cannot go as high to make room for the horizontal defensive arm. This is a very different side kick compared to a front side kick. The knee is already up before the kick ever starts thus the driving power of the knee is not available for the kick. While a side kick primarily uses the gluts for power the driving force of the knee on a front side kick is a big contributor to power & speed. The imagination can run wild as to why this chambered position is in the form.

I still think this is a snap shot of a turning side kick, about half way through the kick. The knee and foot are in the appropriate position. What may look different to you is the guys body position. He it standing tall which good and probably means he has good flexibility. Most people tend to lean over while executing a turning kick.

His knee should be up higher if throwing a roundhouse. Because of how he is holding his left had I am guessing he in in the middle of doing a form. Hard to say. Is the right hand throwing a hammer first and why? Doesn't look like it would reach anything. The knee is horizontal, toes are down, and the standing leg heel is rotate. To me this might imply he is doing a side kick.

***Note: The second photo could also be a spinning crescent kick. IMHO

 

[RTKDCMB]

I bend the knee directly in front, in line with the target, like for a front kick, and then roll the hips over as I extend the leg. The knee is moving forwards the whole time.

 

[Earl Weiss104]

Side Kick used for smashing

My side Piercing kick starting at .30. Video done to show post hip replacement mobility one hip as well as congenital hip alignment issue so example is not textbook.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Mine is pretty much knee forward. But I mostly only throw it after a roundhouse kick.
So I have sort of landed that way anyway.

Mine is similar, but for a different reason. Firstly, we only teach (for reasons I can't fathom) a rear-leg side kick. The knee carries the leg through into a linear kick that looks first like a straight kick, and pivots over into the side kick as the knee moves forward. This is a similar concept to our rear-leg round kick, which is similar to the "question mark" kick some have posted about here in the past.

But I can't recall ever using it in a combo of kicks. Probably I'm just not a solid enough kicker for that.

 

[Danny T]

Firstly, we only teach (for reasons I can't fathom) a rear-leg side kick.

So, though you disagree with only the rear leg side kick you don't teach or practice a front leg side kick?

 

[dvcochran]

Mine is similar, but for a different reason. Firstly, we only teach (for reasons I can't fathom) a rear-leg side kick. The knee carries the leg through into a linear kick that looks first like a straight kick, and pivots over into the side kick as the knee moves forward. This is a similar concept to our rear-leg round kick, which is similar to the "question mark" kick some have posted about here in the past.

But I can't recall ever using it in a combo of kicks. Probably I'm just not a solid enough kicker for that.

Do you do any kicks from the front leg?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

So, though you disagree with only the rear leg side kick you don't teach or practice a front leg side kick?

I don't have one to teach. I've started working on one, but I'm not very good with it - not even good enough to understand where it would fit into my curriculum and tactics. If I ever get it serviceable, I'll likely add it to my curriculum.

I'm actually hoping I might get some help from the Karate folks at the new dojo I'll be teaching at.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Do you do any kicks from the front leg?

The only front-leg kicks we have are a snap kick (from an L stance) and a front-leg round kick.

 

[Danny T]

I don't have one to teach. I've started working on one, but I'm not very good with it - not even good enough to understand where it would fit into my curriculum and tactics. If I ever get it serviceable, I'll likely add it to my curriculum.

I'm actually hoping I might get some help from the Karate folks at the new dojo I'll be teaching at.

What happens when you chamber your rear leg between yourself and your opponent...it has just become your front leg!

Have you never use your front leg to knee or shield with?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

What happens when you chamber your rear leg between yourself and your opponent...it has just become your front leg!

Have you never use your front leg to knee or shield with?

Shield, yes. To knee, only when attached to them. I don't feel like I have the weight transfer (into the kick) right to do anything with a side kick from that position - just no power at all. It's probably a small thing I'm not doing well, and might simply be nothing more than a lack of repetitions.

 

[dvcochran]

Shield, yes. To knee, only when attached to them. I don't feel like I have the weight transfer (into the kick) right to do anything with a side kick from that position - just no power at all. It's probably a small thing I'm not doing well, and might simply be nothing more than a lack of repetitions.

That is exactly what I was going to say. It is probably because of repetition but I know my front side kick is stronger than my front roundhouse. But we use them strategically very different.

 

[dvcochran]

I don't have one to teach. I've started working on one, but I'm not very good with it - not even good enough to understand where it would fit into my curriculum and tactics. If I ever get it serviceable, I'll likely add it to my curriculum.

I'm actually hoping I might get some help from the Karate folks at the new dojo I'll be teaching at.

When do you use the other front leg kicks? It should help you draw a line to using a side kick.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

When do you use the other front leg kicks? It should help you draw a line to using a side kick.

The snap kick, I rarely use. At best (for me) it's for interrupting someone's kick. It just doesn't have any power to do much more. Front-leg round kick is also pretty weak, so doesn't see much use, at all. I use it some as a feint (I change sides a lot, so someone who hasn't sparred me will take a couple of kicks to realize it isn't a threat).

 

[CB Jones]

The snap kick, I rarely use. At best (for me) it's for interrupting someone's kick. It just doesn't have any power to do much more. Front-leg round kick is also pretty weak, so doesn't see much use, at all. I use it some as a feint (I change sides a lot, so someone who hasn't sparred me will take a couple of kicks to realize it isn't a threat).

Jacob uses a front roundhouse a lot. He likes to throw it after a reverse punch that way the rotation of the hips in the reverse punch loads his hips up to generate the power in the front roundhouse. By doing this he can add a little bit of pop to it.

 

[dvcochran]

The snap kick, I rarely use. At best (for me) it's for interrupting someone's kick. It just doesn't have any power to do much more. Front-leg round kick is also pretty weak, so doesn't see much use, at all. I use it some as a feint (I change sides a lot, so someone who hasn't sparred me will take a couple of kicks to realize it isn't a threat).

I too change side, usually based on what the opponent is doing. A lead leg faint is a good tactic. We often practice a double kick where the first kick is essentially a feint or setup for the second kick. A lead leg side kick is the best way to stop a hard charge with a kick, IMHO. It can be powerful enough to put someone on their backside if timed right. The body should also be centered enough during/after the kick to follow up quickly with another technique. There are probably as many variations of a lead leg kick as rear leg. It is definitely a practice/repetition thing.