I also agree that spinning kicks work, like a wheel kick or spinning reverse crescent kick and even the hurricane kick (jumping spinning crescent kick) could work if you set it up correctly.
Still, low kicks are easier to pull off because they don't need as much set up as high kicks. Also high kicks don't necessarily mean to the head, it depends on how you define high. Kicks to the ribs can be considered high by some, and they can also be pulled off, probably easier than high kicks.
Also, I don't define them as flashy, there are no flashy techniques in Karate. There are, however, techniques that can be visually appealing (to put it that way), and thats why is called the martial "arts". It's an art.
The problem with using a lot of low kicks and body kicks is the reward doesn't justify the risk. Every time you throw a kick (or a punch) you have a big chance of getting counter-striked. Everybody says throwing a high kick is so risky, but it is not true. You rarely see good counters to high kicks in mma, because when you kick high, you may be unbalanced, but your opponent also gets off balance because they have to deal with heavy leg where they are weak, near the top of their body. And the reward is much greater. I have had 15 kickboxing fights, and 2 head kick knockouts. And 2 finishes with low kicks. And one spinning back fist knockout. I didn't get countered off any of the 3 so called flashy moves, and they worked for me. It is easy to land high kick--you can get a sense if they will drop their arms most of the time. If you sense it is not there, then you can still throw it and hurt their arms. Not risky like people say. People are dumb.
http://www.cagepotato.com/the-11-gnarlie...
First avoid fights.
Second, high kicks CAN work if the person you're fighting doesn't know how to counter them. But if it's someone like me who has been taught to deal with them, and has spent years conditioning their body, your high kick is only going to get you hurt real bad as you won't get it to the face before it's trapped and countered.
Also NEVER turn your back to someone, especially on the street. It doesn't take long to pull a weapon and while your spinning imagine kicking into someones knife. So I'll argue that unless you're a teenager fighting in the school yard avoid spin kicks in real fights. (also see above about countering).
Finally jump kicks can also be effective, but they're high risk and high reward. Believe it or not, the easiest way to deal with one is to wait until someone jumps, then once they're committed, MOVE. Yes it's really that simple to deal with them. So if you're going to use these you need to know how to use them effectively, and how to anticipate where the person is going to be when you land not when you take off.
Given the choice, I'll execute a low kick. Kicks to the knees, can drop someone real bad. Kicks to most people's shins are hard to block and unless they condition them are going to also be really bad for them.
Another option is to use kicks to setup hand strikes, or to setup take downs.
So just be away that while all of the cool looking stuff CAN work at times, all of the boring simple stuff that some of learn and teach works almost all of the time. (nothing works 100% of the time against someone that knows how to defend against a technique).
Yes.
1. Most real martial artists avoid fighting unless they have to so...
2. If you have to fight some fool in the streets, chance are they have no martial arts training.
3. A trained fighter who is a good kicker can easily set up kicks against an untrained fighter, so easily it's a joke.
Short answer yes.
Yeah they work but I wouldn't do it since I wear boxer shorts and jeans most of the time which limits my range of motion. So the highest I would kick on the street is solar plexus.
Remember, you don't have to aim for the head. If you kick hard near shoulder, your kick will slide up to their neck anyways.
If your trained properly you wouldn't put yourself in that position. But if you are , keeping it simple would be best. You wont be warmed up so there is a risk of pulling a muscle. And half the time your pant wont allow you to bring your leg above your hip. (KISS) Keep It Simple Stupid
High kicks are high risk, high reward kind of thing. You get in a hit then it's great. You miss however you leave yourself exposed.
i actually know for a fact they do work because ive used them in mma sparing and in street fights the problem is your shoes are considered a weapon according to the law
they are risky but if the opportunity presents itself then you can go for it. its much less risk to keep kicks below the waist or even to the body.
Most people disagree that high kicks in streets do not work, but I disagree with them, IF the fighter knows what his doing and the technuiqe then yes why not kick someone in the face ONLY if you are flexible and fast enough to pull of the kick, otherwise yes I do agree with the people who say 'high kicks in street fights don't work', but for ME , I think kicks do work, even those 'flashy' technuiqes such as , spinning heel kicks, tornado kicks, jumping kicks, and such, and I don't really like calling these technuiqes 'flashy' but instead I think of them kicks which hides the kicks and sneaks into the opponent , and creates a lot of power from the momentum... What I will call a 'flashy' kick or technuiqe is a kicking while your doing backflips and such, sooo do you think these technuiqes which most people call 'flashy' and high kicks work?? (Everyone has different opinions)
An experienced fighter will make you sorry that looking cool was more important than simply surviving....
It is my preference not to use high kicks. They are risky.
That doesn't mean it can't work. They do work. but it leave you vulnerable.
tricky matter. seek from google and yahoo. that will will help!
