Something a 9yr old brought to my attention

[Mike Hamer]

As a kid, I came close to having a fist fight with another kid. He looked scared and turned - I thought he was going to run. I went forward to run after him and I found a foot in my gut. It *hurt.*

I wonder how many other people fell for that fake?

hmmm....now theres another good use, never thought of that!

 

[stickarts]

I have seen that used in sparring and we also have a self defense technique that does exactly that.

 

[zDom]

The down side to it in mma is that a well conditioned athlete will often times take the kick so they can seize it and get a takedown, or get your back.

YMMV

A GOOD kick may just cave in their rib cage. But they don't really need to worry about running into that in MMA.

Except maybe Cung Le or GSP — pretty sure those guys have the technique and timing to effectively use it should the opportunity present itself.

 

[Skpotamus]

zDom, why do you suppose that they don't need to worry about it in mma? Is it due to conditioning, or the skill level of the people it's being thrown at being able to defend against it?

How good of a kick does it take to cave in a rib cage? So far, GSP hasn't been able to do it with a spinning side kick, Cung Le hasn't been able to do it with his side kicks (which were arguably the best side kicks in San Shou).

I think that in SD, it can be extremly useful and even break ribs (seen it done before), especially against an average person. In MMA competition, where you're likely facing a well conditioned athlete with sound skills, it doesn't work nearly as well and leaves you open to having your back taken or being taken down.

Again, YMMV

 

[zDom]

zDom, why do you suppose that they don't need to worry about it in mma? Is it due to conditioning, or the skill level of the people it's being thrown at being able to defend against it?

How good of a kick does it take to cave in a rib cage? So far, GSP hasn't been able to do it with a spinning side kick, Cung Le hasn't been able to do it with his side kicks (which were arguably the best side kicks in San Shou).

I think that in SD, it can be extremly useful and even break ribs (seen it done before), especially against an average person. In MMA competition, where you're likely facing a well conditioned athlete with sound skills, it doesn't work nearly as well and leaves you open to having your back taken or being taken down.

Again, YMMV

I can't provide you with an objective description of "how good of a kick" it would take. But, subjectively speaking, MOST kickers in MMA that I've observed just don't have the power and focus to land the really crushing kicks.

And for those who DO have that ability — guys like GSP and Le — the skill level of their opponents does indeed make landing a really nice kick much more difficult, for the reasons you've pointed out.

There is still the chance, though*— and we might see it one day — that one of these guys WILL land a really sweet kick and do significant damage. It can happen to even skilled fighters. A fighter may rush in THINKING he's going to "get the guys back" as he turns and end up eating the kick instead.

There's worse than just a broken rib here and there. There was a guy many years back, Roger Stamp, who dislodged an opponent's organ (forgot which organ it was ...) with a kick while sparring in class. I'll ask my instructor about it when I get a chance; he was there.