Add The Proper Technique To Your Front Kicks With Machida Brothers
The element of kicks in fighting completely changes the game and the strategy. There are so many different kinds of kicks that are used for all different types of reasons. An extremely useful kick in MMA is the front kick. Different kinds of front kicks can be used whether you are trying to create space or hurt your opponent.
Proper technique is extremely important in kicks. First of all, you need to remain balanced and land in the proper stance. Especially when throwing power kicks, it can be easy to get carried away putting everything behind your kick and lose your balance. This is bad for obvious reasons, as your lack of balance can be countered in a number of ways.
It is also important to make sure you are landing back in your original stance, or be prepared to land and attack from perhaps a southpaw stance if that is where you land after your kick. Front kicks can be a great way to get into the pocket and start attacking. Landing both properly and how you are expecting to land is crucial to properly time your attacks once in the pocket.
Who better to take striking advice from than the Machida brothers. In this video, Lyoto and Chinzo Machida explain and demonstrate multiple types of front kicks, and give insight into why each of them are used. Check it out below!
The Technique
This video is used to describe the difference between two types of front kicks; the snap kick and the push kick. Both are front kicks, but require different techniques and are to be used in different situations depending on what your goal is.
The snap kick is a front kick that is used specifically for damage. You can really place this wherever you want, but oftentimes it is placed somewhere in the stomach area to cause the most damage. Standing in your orthadox stance with your left foot forward and your right foot back, this kick is going to be with your rear/right leg. The snap kick is executed just how it sounds, like a snap of the leg. The kick goes straight from the ground to wherever the target is, quickly and with snapping power.
The push kick on the other hand is used to push your opponent away to create space. You may use this to create space as your opponent steps into the pocket to try and start attacking. Or, you may throw this a few times forcing your opponent to step back, and then feint it and capitalize on your opponent's reaction when he is expecting it. You will still use your rear leg for this kick, but it is not going to go directly to the target like the snap kick does. You first bring your rear leg forward and up, and then use the power of your hips to push forward. You are not using snapping power for this kick; you bring the leg up to the level you want to kick from, and then push forward using your hips.
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When using the push kick, you have more flexibility of what part of the foot you can use. You could choose to use your whole foot or just the ball of your foot. It doesn't make that big of a difference because your only objective is to move your opponent away from you. However, in the snap kick you need to use the ball of your foot to cause the most damage. Lyoto refers to it as stabbing someone in a way, the ball of your foot is sharper and can really dig into your opponent.
The next thing that is important to understand when utilizing front kicks is the position of the body; specifically the alignment of the hips. For the snap kick, you want to keep your hips in the same spot as they are while in your stance. You do not want to turn them and have them cross over your center line when you throw the kick. Your hips should be stationary as you quickly throw the snap kick.
The push kick is slightly different. In order to put all of your body weight behind your kick, you have to cross your hips over your center line to push. Turning your hips to the side opens you up and really allows you to put all of your momentum and weight into your hips to add force to the kick.
To recap, Chinzo covers the main details of the techniques. These being what each kick is used for, the mechanics of how to lift your leg for each kick, the proper motion of the kicks, and what part of your foot to use.
About The Machida Brothers
Lyoto has spent the entirety of his life practicing multiple forms of martial arts such as Karate, Sumo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Muay Thai. The list of his achievements in all these forms of martial arts is seemingly endless. He is also a former UFC fighter and is currently signed with Bellator MMA, fighting as a Light Heavyweight competitor.
His brother Chinzo has a similar background in both Karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He holds a professional MMA record of 5-3 and has also fought as a Bellator competitor, his last fight being in 2017. Chinzo is currently a Karate instructor at Machida Karate Academy Dojo in Lomita, Los Angeles California.
About The Instructional
In this instructional, the Machida brothers focus on the secrets of the front kick. Included you will find techniques such as precision drills, hitting a moving target, distance management, flying front kick, and so much more.
In this instructional, you get double the professional experience. Two brothers, who have both dedicated their lives to the art and have an impressive professional background. Improve the technique and effectiveness of your front kicks, check out their instructional here!