Kicks to Opponents Elbows

[AdamTKD]

This may sound like a daft question but are there ways to limit the occurrences of the above scenerio. The reason being is that I did this earlier and it still hurts over an hour or so later.

Adam.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Are you talking about YOU kicking HIS elbows? Or vice versa?

[AdamTKD]

Elbow kicks

I kicked his elbow

Adam

[Szczepankiewicz]

Obviously, stop with the high kicks.

However, I realize that this is unrealistic in your art when you are limited to sparring in high kicks.

What part of your foot hit is elbow?

***

As far as a realistic answer for you, feint high and go low or vice versa.

I don't kick high and my chubby legs won't get up there. However, my low kicks pack a lot of pepper.

Spanky

[Damian Mavis]

Ya i've done this oh about 10 million times over the past 13 years. This happens because your turning kick is coming up on a bit of an angle as opposed to directly from the side like it should. I've got good technique but when things are going fast and furious it's easy to fall into the habit of kicking slightly up with your tuning kick and catching his elbow thereby disabling your foot. Sometimes it takes weeks to heal if you were kicking with power.

I rarely do this mistake anymore because I really concentrate on coming from the side like I'm supposed to, it's just not worth getting injured anymore... better to really focus on not coming up under his elbow.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Szczepankiewicz]

It also helps if your opponent flails his arms like a monkey during the fight...

[Damian Mavis]

Or maybe you could talk your opponent into naming his elbows something else so they don't hurt as much.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Kosh]

Ive never done it myself, i tend not to throw kicks 'willy nilly'. but i also block alot so i tend to do it to other people alot. I was sparring with a friend who kicks very hard, he hit his foot off my elbow and was out for the rest of the lesson and i didnt feel a thing.

My advice is simmilar, you need to consider your kicks more rather than just throwing them, feint alot more, find gaps. but i guess thats just general sparring advice.

[Szczepankiewicz]

a rose is not a rose
by this or any other name
things remain
unexplained

[ryanhall]

To avoid hurting your feet, it's best to avoid kicking with them, especially if you are throwing a hook kick. Kick with the shin/ankle. It not only hurts more and gets your weight into the shot better, but it's a lot harder than the dorsum of your foot.

[darrianation]

Re: Kicks to Opponents Elbows

Originally posted by AdamTKD
This may sound like a daft question but are there ways to limit the occurrences of the above scenerio. The reason being is that I did this earlier and it still hurts over an hour or so later.

Adam.

A man goes to his doctor and his doctor asks whats wrong? The man tells his doctor that every time he does this...it hurts. The wise doctor told him to stop doing that.

Stop kicking his elbows!

[osopardo]

Out of consideration to our training partners we don't always use
techniques that can hurt for more than the duration of the class, like full-contact hook kicks to the back of the head or using the elbow to block a roundhouse kick to the ribs.

However, this is a standard defense technique taught at our school. Roundhouse kick to the ribs is blocked by the elbow. Hurts the kicker so much that it disables that part of his arsenal.

As the attacker you have to judge your target better. You can still get in under the elbows and hit the ribs with the right speed and timing.

As the defender, you have anticipate the attacker's next move and decide on the appropriate defense; do you expose your ribs to lure in a kick? do you cover your ribs with the elbows so it doesn't present an opening? move out of range? etc.

BTW- Kicking with the shins is still gonna hurt if you're blocked by an elbow. I once sustained a bump the size of a golf ball that lasted for hours right on the shin from exactly the same scenario described above. Alternate ice and warm packs every 15 mins. until the pain and swelling go away.

[Nit]

Having an elbow in your foot hurts so much.

Somethings that I have been told by my Sensei (still trying to learn it though) is to ensure that you don't telegraph your kick, bring the knee up first and then twist into the round-house - this limits the licklyhood of the opponent covering his ribs with elbow as he won't see it coming.

Also target practise, learn / practise to get you kick into his ribs everytime - I'm terrible at this when I get tired, I just fire away into his guard sometimes. If you train to always hit his ribs inbetween his guard and his hips then when you are tired you are less likely to get sloppy and hence avoid elbows.

final thing (which also applies to me) is control, when you go to kick them you should have enough control over your limb to snap back and counter to the head or leg. How do I put it... train leg strength that you can multiply your kicks without lowering your leg back to the floor, that way you should be able to 'hold back' when blocked and counter with minimum delay and similar power.

anyway, all of that is what I have been learning and havn't mastered yet, but I hope its a little helpful.

[Damian Mavis]

osopardo, ya kicking the elbow with the shin hurts too but the instep is full of small bones that can break and joints that can sprain... you don't have to worry about that with the shin. Plus I've disabled my foot many times kicking elbows with the instep, but never disabled my leg hitting elbows with the shin, it hurt but I could continue.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[osopardo]

Damian, I agree, the shin is less vulnerable to injury (of course you have freak accidents, such as the broken leg thread posted by retired).

My point was really to warn that whatever you use to kick (foot or shin) you run the risk being "blocked" (countered, really) with a hard elbow, especially if you're trying to come up under the elbow to hit the ribs. This is where your point about proper technique regarding the angle of your strike is to be seriously taken.

However, the opportunity to hit up into the ribs is sometimes irresistible; the results if you connect can be decisive in determining a winner, or... beware, it could be a trap.