Topic: General Martial Arts
I once trained with an instructor whose favourite saying was "A kick above the waist is a waste". I have since met several other instructors and advanced students who have a similar attitude, and recently I have come to realize that this issue is a major point of disagreement between different styles and schools of martial arts. If you study Taekwondo, for example, you will learn a large number of high kicks, including flying kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and all the rest.
So I thought it would be useful to spend a bit of time thinking this through and trying to work out whether, and in what circumstances, high kicks actually work. Here are my thoughts:
The argument against: If you kick above the waist from a standing position you are reducing your range - the higher you kick the closer you have to be. High kicks reduce your stability and leave you open to a takedown. Jumping kicks take longer to perform than any other kind of technique, and they are often easy to read and avoid if your opponent knows what they are doing. Often you can see that someone is preparing to launch one of these kicks and get out of the way before they even start the technique.
The argument for: A kick to the head which connects properly is more likely to k.o. your opponents than virtually any other technique, and even if it doesn't it will probably do some damage. A good fighter should have every kind of technique in their arsenal, and shouldn't limit themselves uneccesarily.
My conclusion: High kicks can be devastating, but you really should be careful about when you use them. If your opponent is reeling or off balance from another attack, oir if they are tired and drop their guard when in close to you, then a high kick can be a great finnishing technique. As part of a set combination of strikes a high kick can be very effective even if the earlier attack(s) didn't connect, because they are harder to see coming and avoid than if you open an attack with one. Within a fight I would advise you not to use high kicks in any other contexts as they are too risky, however they do also have one other use which I know from personal experience.
Many people like high kicks and jumping kicks simply because they look so impressive. Some 'serious martial artists' use this fact as an argument against them in itself, saying they are all style and no substance. But as this story illustrates sometimes style is all you need:
When I was in my mid-teens I was walking down the street one evening with a couple of friends. A group of older boys came over to us and after a bit of verbal abuse they demanded money. One of my friends, who had been practicing Muay Thai from a young age, began jumpin around doing loads of really flash spinning kicks and jumping kicks into the air. He then took out his wallet, drpooed it on the floor in front of hi,, and said "come and get it". They didn't have the balls.
