FRONT KICK TO GROIN

Front kick: Step-by-step instructions for how to do a front kick. An experiment to learn which strike works best… a flick or a good solid boot, and a very important tip. Also, learn why the front kick should be one of the last techniques on your options list.

The groin is one of the bodies battle fault areas – a sensitive area to strike. The front kick, when carried out correctly, and used with the element of surprise, along with good timing, will render any sized attacker helpless. It is done in much the same way as you would kick a football. In fact, you could still consider this technique to be football! Let’s take a look:

Front Kick

1.        First, step back on your most comfortable foot; let's say it is your right foot back.

2.        Now bring your right leg forward again, and lift your knee up, so that your thigh is in a horizontal position, in front of you.

3.        Your toes and foot should be pointing down towards the ground.

4.        With a rubber-band-like action, flick the lower leg out and almost straight - do not straighten and lock the knee! If you straighten your knee, you can easily jar and injure it… so don’t do it!

5.        Contact the groin with the topside (or put another way, the flat of your foot) and close to your toes.

6.        Then again, flick your foot back, so that your toes point straight down towards the ground again.

7.        To keep your balance, lower your leg back to the right foot back position.

8.        Run!

This front kick technique MUST be carried out in one movement. If you move like a robot – one step at a time - it will be too slow, and the element of surprise will be lost. The element of surprise is your greatest asset. What your attacker doesn’t expect… will stop him.

To flick or hit?

Earlier, I used the phrase "flick the lower leg out." So that you know why you will be flicking and not just hitting the groin with the front kick, perform the following experiment:

Flick and slap experiment

Find a rubber band and put it around your wrist.

Now, with the thumb and pointer finger, pull the rubber band out from the under side of your wrist, firmly, and then let it go. OUCH. It stings right?

Now slap the same area with an open hand. Which hurts the most, the flick or the slap?

The flick hurts most… right?

If you don’t feel confident with the flick technique, or if you feel you may miss-time your front kick, or miss your target altogether, a good solid boot will do the trick.

A very important tip

If you decide to give your attacker a good solid boot, as a general rule, always aim to connect about 1-foot (300mm) PAST the real point of contact. This will add power to the front kick technique.

Why the front kick should be last on your options list

The front kick is the most well-known self-defense technique in the world today. It will be the first kick you will learn if you attend a self-defense class. But it is not really the best technique you can use.

In my opinion, it should be one of the LAST techniques on your self-defense technique options list. Why? Because it is so well-known, that an attacker will probably expect you to use it, and he will probably be ready for it. If you want to use this front kick technique, be sure to use it with the element of surprise.

Conclusion

The front kick is done the same as kicking a football, but instead of keeping your leg straight, you bend at the knee, then flick the lower leg out. Flick if you can, boot if you must. Use the front kick only if you can surprise your attacker with it.

A special thanks to Self-Defense Now for allowing us to use the above article! The Self-Defense Now website has all kinds of practical tips and techniques on self-defense. The Self-Defense Now website can be found by following this link: http://www.selfdefensenow.com