Take one technique, the shin kick, something many of you may not practice or use.
I'm not referring to the conditioned shins of Muay Thai where they kick trees to deaden the shins, not referring to the Shins struck with sledgehammers by the Japanese instructor in California (his name escapes me this minute), and I'm not referring to two white belts throwing simultaneous roundhouse kicks smacking shins.
Instead, here are some questions, about the 'untrained' use of the shin kick.
First, how would you execute the shin kick, describe the leg positioning?
Second, what range is the shin kick most effective?
Third, what are the target possibilities for the shin kick, and rate. them in order of effectiveness?
There are a number of different answers to all of this. And while
Oyama Mas does show some of them in his 'Advanced Karate', which is no longer in print, and I think goes for at least $100. on eBay, my interest is sparked from some Indonesian Cjimande drills I've been bringing back lately.
So here's an exercise in tactical thinking.
I would be striking more from the side as the opponent faces me straight on. I'd be aiming for something soft like the back of the calf, knee, or thigh because clashing when you are not conditioned hurts like hell.
I think the range is by nature mid to close range because otherwise you'd hit with your knee or your foot, eh?
Later, Victor
Bob (pondering the idea position on the lounge chair so that I can reach my beer) Barton,
This is one that we occasionally practice in class. By pulling the heavy bag down and leaning it against the wall we are able to create a target that simulates the leg quite well. We are taught to strike the bag on a downward angle with the target area being the bottom of the thigh or the knee joint.
The striking range is quite close I would say about arms length away or maybe a little more.
James Stewart
Something I can answer!
>First, how would you execute the shin kick, describe the leg positioning?
The best way to describe it would be delivering a standard roundhouse kick, just hit with a point higher up on your leg. (That being the shin rather than the ball of the foot or instep.) The kick is best delivered with what is best described as a "cutting" motion, deriving power from the shifting motion of your hip rather than just from velocity and the straightening of the shin.
>Second, what range is the shin kick most effective?
Extremely close. 6-12" is best. Further than that, and it is too easily noticed and countered.
>Third, what are the target possibilities for the shin kick, and rate them in order of effectiveness?
1. Knee - Directly across the kneecap from the side, or across the outside tendons from slightly behind. Either should incapicitate the knee.
2. Lower hamstring or upper calf - Of equal use, the first is slightly higher up than the knee tendons, the second about halfway down the calf. Either should produce a muscle cramp that collapses the leg and makes it unusable for at least 15 seconds.
3. Achilles tendon - A bit low to hit effectively, but a possible target. This will incapacitate the tendon for a minute or more.
4. Floating ribs - Not one of my preferred targets, but if you like kicking high your shin should be stronger than his ribs with the usual result. Of course, if he keeps his elbow down you just caught a fractured shin yourself, which is why it is not one of my preferred targets.
5. Middle of the thigh - Usually the result of missing targets 1 or 2. It causes a minor charlie horse, which is usually not worth the damage to your shin from hitting such a solid target.
6. The shin - But only for the truly insane. If you really don't mind crippling yourself over the long haul, you can condition your shin enough that when you do a shin-to-shin clash, the person you hit goes down from the pain while you feel little more than a minor impact irritation. Unfortunately, the long-term damage to your shins will mean you pay for all the victories it gets you 5-10 years down the line. My advice would be to note it as the wrong way to use the kick and leave it to others.
Sam
Thanks everyone, I'm finding all the answers provocative.
My question came about from the other weekend when I was reviewing Tjimande training I had undergone maybe 10 or so years ago.
The kicking drills were literally front shin kicks (toes down) from the back and the front foot. The application in the juru studied were either the inner thigh or the outer thigh. Literally close-range usage, but instead of kneeing the target (still a possibility) the ridge of the shin delivers the strike.
No matter how many aspects of a system we may study, there are always other possibilities just around the corner.
Victor
Victor:
I am having some difficulty deciding whether you want to use the shin as a weapon or a target.
As a weapon: there are times in sparring where using the whole lower leg as a scythe, cutting your opponent down, hitting anything in its path, is useful.
Now, as a target: Years ago now, I got a bootleg copy of a Rick Clark seminar on tape. At the end of the tape, Rick sits on the floor holding the leg of a guy who looks like Howie Mandel and knocks him unconscious by chopping his shin about 2" above the ankle on the inside. The most interesting thing wasn't that there is a knockout point that far out on a limb, but that the guy went totally boneless and collapsed completely (and dangerously, he may have hit his head) when he was hit there.
That is my target of choice.
Interestingly, the bo kata Chikin no Kon, sometimes called Chikin bo, supposedly Hohen Sokens favorite kobudo kata, has many strikes that are a low ankle strike followed by a low thrust. I tell my students that the low sweeping strike is to the ankle point and the thrust is a head shot to the now supine enemy.
Oh, and the person with the hammer is Tak Kubota. I was going to have an adjective in front of person, but I will show respect.
I wonder what would happen if I hit Kubota soke on that pressure point with a nice bo or jo strike?
regards,
Hank Prohm
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One sample instep kicking drill.
Basic Drill 4 (Instep kicking 1):
from the art of Tjimande
From a left foot forward, left light cat stance, place the left heel down. The arms are hanging from the side for this drill.
Right rising front instep kick with the shin (toes pointed down) and return the foot to its starting position.
When the right foot has returned, the weight shifts back on that leg into left light cat stance, and the left foot delivers a left front instep kick with the shin (toes pointed down.) and then returns the foot to its starting position.
From a left foot forward, left light cat stance, place the left heel down. The arms are hanging from the side for this drill.
Right rising front instep kick with the shin (toes pointed down) and return the foot to its starting position.
When the right foot has returned, the weight shifts back on that leg into left light cat stance, and the left foot delivers a left front instep kick with the shin (toes pointed down.) and then returns the foot to its starting position.
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