Mastering the Leg Kick, Part 1 , Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 5:40 AM, in

The leg kick, also called muay Thai low kick or shin kick, is one of the most devastating techniques in both ring and mixed martial arts cage-fighting. But it's much more difficult to master than you might think at first glance. In this guide, we'll look at all the different components of the kick. Use this information and then train hard with it to make your leg kick a force to be reckoned with.
Let's start with the striking surface, your shin bone:

• You can strike with any part from ankle to just underneath the knee.
• As a general rule, use the lowest area of the shin bone if you're further away from your opponent. Use the higher part when you're closer by.
• Remember that the closer you are, the more open you'll be to a counter punch by your opponent. So cover up well.
• Most fighters use the edge of the shin to strike with. But you can also use the flat, inside par of your shin.
• If you're worried about your shin's sensitivity, work on the heavy bag with the leg kick. With consistent training, you'll desensitize it pretty quickly.

The next thing you need to do is proper footwork with the leg kick. Here are some tips:

• Don't step straight forward or you'll run into a counter punch.
• Instead, step slightly to the side. That way your face moves away from your opponent's fists and he has to re-orient to strike you. That takes time, time you can use to kick him.
• If you don't like to step, you can drop-step forward. It takes some training but it can surprise your opponent.
• Another way it to jump or hop forward. Don't make this move too obvious by trying to cover too much distance with the hop. Once again, it would give the other guy time to counter you. Also, don't jump up because that only slows you down. It has to be a jump forwards and not one going up and down.

In the next part, we'll cover the use of the lead arm. If you'd like more information you can visit this link for more detail on how to do a leg kick.

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