Do you think then that the sidekick can be rated like spinning hook kick, back kick, crescent/axe kick etc. as a weapon we have in our arsenal, but one that must be used sparingly? Could we expand this analogy to include certain elbow strikes (in Muay Thai)? A regular elbow to the temple/acorss the jaw is a lovely close range weapon, but a reverse elbow is tough to pull off, can telegraph & and then miss...
I agree with the one hit wonder thing- I got caught with a really strong side kick , got pushed half way across the room,winded and had badly bruised ribs. They really aren't a kick I like using myself when sparring, I just can't get them working right so prefer not to.
I love the sidekick and think it's useful. In my first fight, I actually hit my opponent with several lead leg sidekicks and ended up bruising his ribs.
If you watch some of those videos from the kungfu meet leigh from our club uses them quite reguarly and very effectivly, especially stepin side kick. ouch
Pat O'Keefe. From my point of view, front leg side kick is a jab, back leg side kick a cross but much more difficult to pull off. Spinning version can be used nicely in all sorts of situations if set up correctly or as a defensive counter. Mitch
I know this is a bit of an old topic, but please allow me to do a bit of 'thread necromancy' to chip in with my two-cents. I'm a short guy and often spar against bigger opponents. I find the side kick works wonders for me, whether I'm sparring TKD-ers, kickboxers or Thai boxers, because I have a dozen different ways to throw it. I use it to push my opponent back or to "sting" him in the ribs with several shots, much like the jab in boxing (like Mitch stated above). I also use it as my "clearance" technique to open up the opponent to other techniques. Two famous kickboxers who used this kick well were Joe Lewis and Bill Wallace. Joe Lewis had lots of power, but take a look at Bill "Superfoot" Wallace on youtube if you want to see the perfect description of a side kick, and one that works in sparring.
Funny enough, having watched the recent final bout in Contender Asia... where John Wayne Parr took on nak muay extraordinaire Yodsenklai Fairtex... Yod threw the Thai version of the side kick which starts off a bit like the teep (front push kick) and ends adding a few extra inches of reach... he caught JWP with it once or twice to good effect. You don't see many non-Thai's throwing it in Muay Thai. Make of it what you will.
Just as I said, I use sidekicks and use them quite well in sparring. Weather it's FCR or Sanda, it's a good kick if you can time it right. Also look at Cung Le vs Frank Shamrock. Le used lots of sidekicks in that fight.
sidekicks are only effective against the midsection and amongst top level fighters/athletes, a sidekick to the stomach isnt particularaly dangerous. and even still, roundhouse kicks are more powerful. any form of fighting that allows low kicks will result in majority of kicks being thrown low and sidekicks to the legs arent appropriate techniques. in terms of any full contact fighting, anything other than front and round kicks are fairly uncommon. you'll get somebody who occasionally specializes. bill wallace hook kick, benny the jets back kick, andy hugg's axe kick. but the majority of fighters will stick to throwing roundhouses at their opponents legs with the occasional roundhouse to the head
Wow, I made this thread last year and you guys have been giving great replies. Thanks. I just checked out the Sanda sidekick, it's very similar to the WSL method Wing Chun sidekick (it's unchambered and hits with the heel, all other WC chamber and some even strike with the edge) and the way I personally do the kick is even closer to Sanda. Finding out that this kick works well in Sanda makes me feel pretty good as my sidekick is the kick that feels most natural to execute, most powerful, most non-telegraphic and fastest in my arsenal. Some further questions: Why is this kick working in Sanda but not working in Kickboxing? Is it because kickboxers assume it has little merit and don't train it, is it because it's all the Sanda guys know, is it because of the the Sanda sidekick technique itself etc... What combination would/do you follow up a sidekick with? Why do you think the more TMAish MAs feature the sidekick much more than KB/MT?
Hey Rick. I constantly use the sidekick in my training. It doesn't matter if it's Sanda, American Kickboxing, or K-1 style, I use my sidekick to great effect. It just depends on the timing and accuracy of the kick. Usually, I use my sidekick as a defensive move, so when someone comes in, I blast the sidekick out. When I use it offensively, I throw the sidekick and follow up with any punch combination that I feel like.
Pretty sure I wrote the same in another post somewhere, but here goes again... Bill Wallace retired undefeated in June 1980 as the undefeated world middleweight kickboxing champion. His record was 23-0, with 11 ko's. 9 of these ko's were by side kick to the body. The results speak for themselves.
I think I've been here before...(deja vu). I agree with Superfoot. Look at Joe Lewis, Cung Lee, Bill Wallace, Don Wilson, Rick Roufus, and many other champions of both the past and present who used the side kick as their primary power shot for both a stop hit and to "clear" the opening for other attacks. Sanda/san shou fighters are full contact kickboxers that regularly make use of it. as well (as other posters have noted). Anyone who thinks the sidekick lacks power does not know how to throw one properly. Just off the body mechanics, it is a FAR stronger kick than a front or round, including the MT version (I knew that my Bach. in phys. and working on a master's in kin. would be useful in something someday, even if just debating on the net. LOL.) There are many who would argue that despite the speed and power advantage of a properly thrown sidekick, the fact that it is thrown from a side position makes it less useful. These are the people who never learned how to effectively transition their stances as they bridge the gap or retreat. I feel that the sidekick does require quite an investment in "sweat equity" to use as an effective tool in their arsenal. Some feel that it is more work than they want to do (or they were never taught that it could be effective or how to make it so) and that front and round kicks were all they really neded. Personally, I just love blasting through opponents who took this view and enjoy when my students do the same. Any and all in this debate who wish to adopt the anti-sidekick attitude are more that welcome to keep it, we can all use more victims/canon fodder.
The stepping side kick is good because you can step before you decide where you want to place it (knee, chest, gut) which makes it unpredictable.
I entered my first competition recently & various MAPPpers suggested if all else fails use Side kick & backfist.
As a TKD-er/kickboxer and only 5'3 tall, I regularly fight opponents who are several inches taller than me. I have a pretty hard time kicking them in the head, even though I can easily kick my own head height, but whoever I fight, their torso is always just the right height for me to slam a side kick into their ribs or gut. BLAMMO! The side kick works for me time and time again in kickboxing and other styles, too.
I still don’t agree with everything being said in this post, and would like to add another thought.. Ok everyone has a different way of fighting whatever style they do. And everyone is better and has preference to particular kicks/punches. Therefore if you feel a side kick is something you like or want to work on more, and work to perfect this technique, then of course there is a good chance this could be your particular strongest move and have best results. Now that doesn’t mean that it would be every person’s most effective kick does it? I personally prefer round kicks, so work them harder than anything else and practice them regularly, so for me that kick would be strongest and the most effective. That’s not to say my sidekick is weak but simply it’s not the kick I have chosen to concentrate more, and doesn’t give me the best results.
