The striking power
The safety of the distance
1. The question mark kick
When he’ll wake up, he will wonder where it came from.
1. It all starts by faking a front or low circular kick, making the opponent lower his guard, rendering his upper body vulnerable
2. Then quickly turning to the side and switching the trajectory of the leg to aim at the opponent’s head
3. The ideal two options would be to hit the cheek or the chin with the talus bone (ankle joint), or if you are at a closer range, the whole face with the lower part of your shinbone
2. The lateral kick to the kneecap
1. The kick in the kneecap was one of Bruce Lee’s favourite. As you can observe from his personal sketches, the first step is to fake a punch to make your opponent focus on your upper body
2. Then cock back your leg as if it were a spring, to give all the possible power to the kick
3. Strike with all your strength with the heel or the side of your foot if you are wearing shoes. Use the sole if you are not
3. The sweep of the opponent’s front foot
The timing is the most important part of this technique.
1. You must catch the opponent as he steps towards you to launch his attack. You have to catch the side of his foot just before it touches the ground, when his weight is transferring from the rear to the front, like the fighter on the left of the picture
2. Launch a circular movement, turning with your hips to give greater power. Catch the side of his foot with the sole of yours. It is a similar motion as in the judo throw Ko Soto Gari
3. You can achieve greater success by pulling the opponent’s lead arm, or pushing his shoulder, towards the ground
4. You can follow up by striking your opponent on the ground in order to end the fight
History’s human weapon did a pretty decent job describing this technique:
4. The Thai inside sweep
1. This move ideally starts after you caught the leg of the opponent after a middle kick attempt. You will lock his foot under your arm, maintaining him sideways
2. You will then kick the back of his calf with your shin in a circular motion, while pulling the leg you caught towards the sky and the outside
3. It is has a double use for you. The opponent is on the ground, vulnerable to your attacks. The fall also desorientates him, especially if he falls on the back of his head
I will let the lads demonstrate:
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