Do Leg Kicks Work In A Street (With Videos)

Leg kicks are great in any fight without huge disadvantages in size or use of weapons.

Why use leg kicks in a street fight? Quick and powerful leg kicks are effective at wearing down opponents as long as they do not have weapons or are much tougher in size. Kicks can slow down their movement, unbalance your opponent, or keep them in a safe distance.

The below table shows the various scenarios in that leg kicks are recommended

While low leg kicks are commonly used in MMA fights, it is because the fights are between equally-sized unarmed fighters and only used for distance control.

When are kicks ineffective?

Kicks against an opponent with weapons

If your opponent has any kind of weapons, you should just run or find a weapon. No amount of leg kicking will help if your opponent has a slashing weapon that could cut your leg as soon as your leg reaches out. Evening a smashing bat against the fragile bones shin of your leg will cause sharp pain and damage to you. That is why footballers had to wear shin guards in a competitive game to protect their feet.

Kicks against a tougher and stronger opponents 

If your opponent is tougher, bigger, and stronger, leg kicks are not effective weapons. Unless you can land a back-spin kick on your opponent's weak area like the head without getting blocked, kicking is a very bad idea. A body kick is a bad game plan.

A tougher opponent can easily grapple your leg when you are kicking and you will end up being beaten or locked down on the floor. That is the reason why your kick if any, must be swift and unpredictable to prevent your opponent from holding or blocking your feet.

That's said you should try to fight a tough sparring partner to practice. Trying hard against a tougher opponent is truly a motivational experience. It teaches us to innovate and to be determined. It makes us better people and better athletes. I would strongly encourage anyone to try this at least once in their lives.

Kicks can be used as part of a system of attack or defence.

• A kick delivered with the right foot can be used as a counterattack to a punch delivered with the left hand. Kicks must be delivered with force and accuracy in order to be effective.
• Similarly, a kick delivered with the left foot can be used as a counterattack to a punch delivered with the right hand.
• Moreover, a kick delivered with the heel of the foot can be used to inflict damage to the shin bone. 

There are many cons to kicking as shown in this 2016 video on whether you should kick in a street fight that garnered over 1 million views.

How to make kicks more powerful

To make your kicking effective in a street fight, it required practice to make your kick can become more powerful and more importantly lands on your target.

• One of those factors is timing. If your opponent is moving at a slower speed than yours, then the chances of them getting hit increase. The predictability of your kick also your fight with leg kicks.
• Another factor is distance. If the kick is coming from far away, then the chance of hitting the target decreases. Also, if the target moves towards the kicker, then there is less time for the kick to reach its mark.
• Finally, there is the angle of the kick. When kicking at a high angle, the kick may miss completely. When kicking at a low angle, the kick may still miss, but it will connect with the target. In a street situation, it will be stretched to kick at your highest point.

Once you can better land your kicking, you can practice making your kicks more powerful in real fight

• Work out on your leg muscle by doing strength exercise on your legs like squats. The adductor muscles is a inner thigh muscle that is important to train on. You can also use cheap ankle weights for your overall leg muscle.
• Practice on your kicking posture and ensure it is stable. Whether it is a front-leg kick or back-spin kick, you need 
• Try spinning your body before landing a spinning solid kick to create extra power. However, spinning slows your kick and you got make it unpredictable (e.g. not kicking during each spin)

There are many other techniques that you can use to increase your kicking power. These are just a few examples. You should experiment and find what works best for you. By practicing and focusing on making your kicks more powerful, you will be able to increase your power and accuracy, which will ultimately result in more successful kicks in fight.