It most formats I prefer the side step round kick to the stomach for power. At that range in a TKD ruleset I see the inner crescent kick used a fair bit, I haven't used it myself as I'm used to a style with takedowns, but I can see how you can score high points with the lead leg in that format.
No, just creating a front kick/ roundhouse at a range it wouldn't normally be possible (where your instep is inside the opponent's instep.)
I can't really visualise it. If you are too close to kick with the lead leg then likely you'd be better served worrying about infighting, clinching and elbows BUT if you are determined to kick why cant you just fire off with the rear leg without stepping back the lead leg? I'd really like to see this manouver...
(Edit: Argh! Carelesness!) Groin, perineum, and inner thighs are very easy targets from there. More so for a knee, mind you, but you literally only lift the leg and it's there already, just need a bit of practice with really short kicks.
this can be read two ways - if one is kicking one should kick properly and taking out an opponents leg is a proper way to kick or that kicking is something that should generally be avoided unless ones only effective option is to kick. did you mean one of these or something different?
Different! You step one leg outside on the diagonal line....typically the back leg...and then the one "left behind" buries into the opponent In my head it was clear, but quick phone posts often don't manifest quite as you expect!!
Anyone ever manage to wrap their heads around this basic exercise, which helps to create a full force kick at a distance others usually wouldn’t expect it to come from?
I know the movement you're talking about in the original post. It works well with some kicks, not so much with others. If people are trying to visualize this with a front kick and just can't imagine it working...that's not a kick I'd ever use with this footwork. One of the best kicks for this footwork is a spinning back kick. By adding a bit of a jump or skip, you can move a spinning back kick in or out to get the distance right. If your opponent is charging in, a skip backward combined with the spinning back kick creates distance for the kick to land. You'll see GNT both move in and and move out to get the right distance with the the jump during the opening montage of this video: Caveat: this is highly dependent on the rule set. I think you'll mainly see it in taekwondo and in point-sparring karate. I'm not saying it could never ever be used in knockdown karate or kickboxing or MMA (saying "never" would just be daring someone like MVP to prove me wrong), but I don't typically associate it with those rule sets.
a great kick, I feel that I've seen a variation of this used in kickboxing and mma, but I can't recall which fighter I saw use it. When I saw it used, it was with a lot less height in the jump. edit: not a great video, but Connor McGregor using a jump spin back kick, there isn't much air, but you can see it's different to a standing spinning back kick. I recall Chuck Liddel using the same style back kick also. Either way, I agree that's a much more effective close range kick with power than a switch front kick described in OP.
I think you could also do a retreating rear-leg roundhouse pretty effectively, like this drill below, only with a single movement (switching legs while you simultaneously slide and kick) instead of slide-then-kick, slide-then-kick: The main thing is, I think you need to use a kick that uses some form of power generation besides hips moving forward like they do during a front kick. I have a lot of trouble wrapping my head around generating power with a rear-leg front kick while the standing leg skips backward. That seems like it'd suck all the power out of the kick. Unlike a roundhouse or a spinning back kick, where rotation will provide power regardless of the rearward movement.
Yoel Romero needs to work on his footwork. If the guy keeps running away and you can't touch him, your footwork is the problem. Remember you're in a cage.