How to Do a Side Kick

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm John Graden from the Martial Arts Teacher's Association and johngraden.com. This is a signature kick for the martial arts and it is called the side kick. It is one of the most powerful techniques. It is also one of the safest to throw because your body is turned sideways. It is so powerful in fact I would liken it to like a battering ram, you know the policeman trying to get the door down so they can get to the bad guy so they get a battering ram and knock the door down. When you have a good side kick it is like having a battering ram with you all the time. Here is how it works. Joining me is Mr. Joe Brignoli from Pro Star Mixed Martial Arts. So the side kick is typically thrown to the body and I'm going to back up just a little bit and I am going to do it in two steps, take the front foot and step, back foot is going to slide in and this is a straight line kick. I am going to pull the knee up high with the heel facing my opponent, knee, heel human, that's what I want I don't want this, like a round kick where you point your shin. Aim the heel at your opponent, from here the kick extends driving the heel into the target and then recoils and sets down. It is a devastatingly powerful technique but it does require some practice so let's try it. Thank you sir. O'kay my good friend the chair is going to help and you can do this at home or in karate class you can hold on to your partner's shoulder as you try this back and forth. Four parts, one with my feet together we are going to raise the knee high and aim the heel right at the target. Notice I have already pivoted this foot because the pointed foot turns as I fold, that's a beginner's side kick. It is easier to learn by doing it that way and I'll show you an advanced version in a little bit so we will do the beginner's side kick first. When you are holding the chair or something, don't lean on it just light grip, don't use it as a crutch. So what I'm going to fold, remember, knee, heel, human right at the target, two, straight line, drive the heel in, the heel should be higher than the toes, not that, not that, but that pull that in and then yank the knee right back up and set it down so the heel travels in a straight line. It is not circling. Let's try it again, fold, knee, heel, human, fire. Refold and set down. A common mistake is aiming the shin at the opponent and then doing kind of like a sloppy round kick. We don't want that. Straight up, straight in and straight back. The advanced version, pay close attention to this foot. I'm not going to pivot on the fold. I'm going to save the pivot on impact so about three quarter's out, then I'm going to pivot and roll the hip into the target and that way the hip is driving into the opponent on impact. The beginner version it pivots right way and only the leg goes out. The advanced version hold the pivot to the end and then drive that into the target. That's side kick. I'm John Graden. Thanks."