May 15, 2015

Grumble roundhouse kicks

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In anime when someone who is an expert at karate does a roundhouse kick, they always, always, do it open-foot.

Which is stupid. That's not how it's done. My sensei taught us to fold our foot up and strike with the ball of the foot, just below the toes. This concentrates the force in a small area and doesn't risk your ankle.

If you kick open-foot, like in the picture above, you're going to break your ankle. You're also spreading the force over a much larger area so it is less effective.

You'd think that someone in the anime industry would go find some karate magazines to see what proper form looks like, wouldn't you?

(And while I'm at it, when you're defending against a punch or kick, you don't try to stop it. Instead, you deflect it. Putting your forearm up and taking a kick there is a good way to break your arm. Plus, deflecting the blow puts your enemy off balance and makes him vulnerable for a counter-strike.)

Grumble...

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Rants at 05:46 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 175 words, total size 1 kb.

1 These days, Muai Thai fighters (and MMA fighters) do much of their kicking with the front of the lower leg, not the foot.  Does more damage that way... but you have to practice it as well, ere you break your leg in the process.

Posted by: Wonderduck at May 15, 2015 08:28 PM (jGQR+)

2 We have been informed that the "front of the lower leg" is more commonly known as "the shin."  We regret any confusion this may have caused.

Posted by: Wonderduck at May 15, 2015 11:09 PM (jGQR+)

3 "We have been informed..."

I was wondering which front part of the lower leg you were referring to that wasn't the shin.

If you look at training videos on youtube and articles elsewhere, it's mentioned in a few places to use the front of your foot while sparring. However, in an actual fight, the ball of the foot or the shin will do more damage.  Not all of the videos or articles make the distinction, though. Some treat all of the strike points equally; some don't even mention using the ball of the foot or shin.

I wonder if this is an artifact from generations of movies that show martial arts using sparring techniques.

Posted by: Ben at May 16, 2015 07:47 AM (S4UJw)

4

"Train as you fight, fight as you train."

If they use open-foot in training it's a mistake. When you fall back on your reflexes you're liable to use the wrong technique and hurt yourself.

In a serious fight, a broken ankle would be fatal.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at May 16, 2015 10:08 AM (+rSRq)

5 Would a kick like the one in the lower right panel here do damage? The artist seems to avoid the roundhouse style when she does combat scenes.

Posted by: muon at May 17, 2015 04:32 AM (MpHlJ)

6 Well, I wouldn't enjoy it.

Posted by: Wonderduck at May 17, 2015 08:24 AM (jGQR+)

7 Muon, I think a kick like that could conceivably be very powerful, causing a bruise and possibly a concussion. Direct head shots are a lot more dangerous than you might think.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at May 17, 2015 09:17 AM (+rSRq)

8 Direct head shots are a lot more dangerous than you might think.

Yes.  Yes they are.

Posted by: Wonderduck at May 17, 2015 05:27 PM (jGQR+)

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