Those that can, will. Those that can't, won't, but will also tell you that they don't work or how bad it is to try and do them. It is only bad if you can't.
Exactly. The problem with fancy kicks isn't that they don't work. The problem lies in the risk of injury.Nice kick. However, speaking as someone who can't do the super flashy kicks (I am a worn out tired old fat man...) I disagree with your last statement. I have not, nor am I likely to in the future, ever claimed that a kick won't work just because I don't use it.
Those that can, will. Those that can't, won't, but will also tell you that they don't work or how bad it is to try and do them. It is only bad if you can't.
True, some that can't will rain on the parade of those that can. That isn't unique to martial arts, that's just life. However, I would add that those that can may also tell you that they (fancy kicks) may work well in one venue and not so well in another. Look at your video for a moment. What do we see? Two indivuals engaged in a sport that are obeying the same rule set. They are lightly dressed and the clothing they're wearing is loose fitting and stretchable. They have previously warmed up and stretched out. They are in an open space on a flat, level, dry mat that is well-lit. Neither was surprised by the presence of the other. No weapons are involved and it is one-on-one.
So if your statement is concering a sporting venue, and only a sporting venue then we are in agreement.
If your statement is meant to lend credence to non-sport venues then, with respect, we are in disagreement.
True, some that can't will rain on the parade of those that can. That isn't unique to martial arts, that's just life. However, I would add that those that can may also tell you that they (fancy kicks) may work well in one venue and not so well in another. Look at your video for a moment. What do we see? Two indivuals engaged in a sport that are obeying the same rule set. They are lightly dressed and the clothing they're wearing is loose fitting and stretchable. They have previously warmed up and stretched out. They are in an open space on a flat, level, dry mat that is well-lit. Neither was surprised by the presence of the other. No weapons are involved and it is one-on-one.
So if your statement is concering a sporting venue, and only a sporting venue then we are in agreement.
If your statement is meant to lend credence to non-sport venues then, with respect, we are in disagreement.
The other way to consider this though is that this kick was landed on a professional elite level fighter, who is used to being hit, who is used to having kicks thrown high and knew he was facing someone with excellent kicking ability. I haven't watched the Youtube clip (so I don't know if contains the whole fight or any highlights of Uriah's), but I've seen both of his fights on that show and his kicks are quick, precise and powerful - so his opponent was well aware of that and still got caught.
Now, I understand what you're saying in that just because it worked here it's not guaranteed to work on the street, however bearing in mind that your average opponent isn't an elite level professional fighter who is expecting high and fast kicks and may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs - I'd say he'd stand a good chance of landing if he wanted.
Also, the not "warmed/stretching" part is a misnomer, because most high level (black belts who train to do high kicks) Taekwondoin can easily kick to the head without warmup.
Finally, the "loose fitting and stretchable" part, again, I don't have an issue kicking to the head in the jeans/trousers I normally wear. Sure my shoes would slow the kick down a bit, but aside from that as above - against an opponent that isn't trained to take the kick or expect it, I'd still give better than average odds of it hitting (of course personally I prefer a back kick to the face than a spinning hook kick, more chance of a knockout, and a body/power kick to their arms if they block/cover the head).
Cyriacus said:You can look at it on an even more basic level (to add to everything you listed) - Theyre confronting each other in stance, checking each other out. That doesnt really happen outside of a sporting environment.
I know that might sound contradictory to me just saying that 'of course they work!' so ill add a bit more on
Everything works. Being in a position to use it is whats tricky. Some stuff you can do under a large number of circumstances. Other stuff is more limiting. That doesnt make the other stuff bad or useless, just more limiting. Whether you want to learn those things is your call.
True, the average Joe isn't an elite fighter. And true the bad guy may be under the influence. This needs to be addressed a bit further. Under the influence has a range to consider. On one hand, we have the sloppy drunk you could run circles around. On the other hand, the K2 or bath salts user that will take a kick to the head...or for that matter several rounds to the chest and then fight you to the death. Please believe what I'm saying here as I have first-hand experience with these people. I've seen people laugh off repeated strikes to the testicles. Wipe O.C. spray out of their eyes and smile. Display super-human strength and not feel pain, inlcuding broken bones. These people, unfortunately exist and the numbers, again unfortunetly are increasing. That doesn't mean you're going to fight one every other day and I don't mean to imply that. But what if you did? Just a thought to keep during training.
I would state that this is very dependent upon age, injury and clothing. It also depends on footing. Is a high level Taekwondoin going to easily kick to the head without warming up in all circumstances? Is every high level Taekwondoin going to be able to kick high without warming up?
And perhaps you could do very well. But I don't know what types of jeans/trousers you wear. In some of my jeans I could do well, in others not so much. What about a woman in a dress with heels? What about someone like me that wears a 25lbs batman belt? What about someone carrying their groceries? My point is that we aren't always going to be in a situation where we're ready to rumble.
To throw my .02 in on the matter, although it wasn't a back hook kick, I had a student (5'2", 90 lb, 18 yof, 2nd dan), who last year was attacked on her university campus by an attempted rapist (6+ feet tall, 200+ lbs). He surprised her as she walked around a corner of a building, and pinned her up against the wall. She broke his grab, and jump roundhouse kicked him in the temple, knocking him out cold! I'd say that is a good example of a "flashy kick" being utilized in a SD situation extremely effectively.
Well, in that instance, i suspect that would be lent to confusion, more than anything. (Should i run now? Should i keep going? Should i try and stop her from escaping? Is this really worth it? I swear i had her! Whats she doing n-)
He probably wasnt too bad - surprise-pinning someone against a wall isnt exactly the most effective way of restraining someone. He probably wasnt expecting that sort of resistance, and he probably wasnt equipped to deal with it even if it was something less 'flashy'.
All of which are likely, especially since she is an attractive, small lady; i.e. a seemingly easy target. That said, the tiny girl laid out the big assailant with a "flashy kick" because it was something she was proficient and confident with.
Those that can, will. Those that can't, won't, but will also tell you that they don't work or how bad it is to try and do them. It is only bad if you can't.
[yt]ZRcHT64Qs2U[/yt]
This is a fair point if you're aiming to "hurt" your opponent. Certain chemicals will reduce the pain signals or increase tolerance, but the guy in the video was knocked out cold. I'm sure drugs can't shut the body's most basic reflex to shut down unconscious during an impact that causes this.
Points well made and understood. What I'm saying is though that maybe whether high/spinning kicks are used may be dependent on age/fitness/clothing/etc. But I wouldn't rule them out - if you've trained for them and feel comfortable in that moment, you shouldn't have the negative doubt in your head of "don't do X, it doesn't work on the street".
I will offer though, and this is only my personal/professional opinion, kicks to the head aren't meant to be high kicks. What I mean is that some Korean forms call for a medium kick but a high one is done instead because...well, it looks better to the judges and 'wows' the spectators. But is it a correct understanding of the form? No, it's being flashy to win a contest. Is it is a go-to move for SD? In my opinion, no. I think a kick to the head is great in the right situation, but if there was a better overall understanding of kata/forms it would be understood that the kick to the head comes after the head has been relocated to about waist high or even lower. At least from an SD perspective.