This could be futile, but canÂ’t we all please get along and try to stop this discussion from turning into one of those: us (art TKD) versus them (sport TKD) threads.
ATC , jk199 and some other folks have said some very instructive thing about Aaron CookÂ’s KO kick, to which little can be added. There can be some debate about whether the BritÂ’s jumping double or scissor kick was clean, but it was a stock of the trade Taekwondo sparring kick. That kick that can be easily learned by good soccer players, who should know how to fall properly while also hitting a target.
As noted by others, Cook’s kick was also fast, powerful and most of all accurate, a thing we all endeavor to learn or teach in Taekwondo. Accuracy is the key word here, and I think Mr. Cook’s kick – despite his fall – landed squarely on Lopez’s jaw or temple.
There also can argument about Steve LopezÂ’ blocking abilities or lack thereof, but again, Mr. Cook destabilized him with the first kick, which is what a double/scissor kick is supposed to do. We throw or teach our students to use the first kick to set up the second. The normal expectation is that an opponent will block the first kick, and fail to evade or block the second more powerful kick.
In Taekwondo, the first kick in a jumping double/scissor sequence – when thrown well, with a conditioned foot – also has been known to discourage blocking, because it can be purposefully used to break or injure an opponents blocking hand. Good Taekwondo blocks, to turn the coin, also can be used to discourage some kickers, by injuring or breaking parts of their feet..
The short of all this is that we could all use a good Taekwondo jumping double/scissor kick on the street or on the mat.
