its way out. I’ll pause here until you stop grimacing and groaning.
Practice the following drill with a step and also without one. When stepping, move your rear foot up to your front heel and slap kick with your front foot. Think of the action of your rear foot as sort of “kicking” your lead one out of the way. As mentioned, you don’t need to chamber your front leg because it’s already partially bent from your stance. Just snap it up and into the target, hook it —and pull back with extreme prejudice. Make the motion fluid. Don’t do it in three separate motion, such as, first, a slap kick, and then hook, and then a pull. Instead, make it one smooth motion: slaphookjerk.
In the air: 3 sets, 15 reps — both legs
Heavy bag: 3 sets, 15 reps — both legs
Scoop Kick
One karate style calls this “toe out kick,” which describes exactly how the foot is formed. It was taught to me as “scoop kick,” and since old habits are hard to change, I’ll continue calling it that. Besides, scoop kick is also descriptive since the kick is launched in a scooping motion along the floor and up into the target where the arch of the foot makes contact.
I teach that the scoop kick should be used for the same purpose a boxer uses his jab: to harass, to set up the opponent, to measure distance and as part of a combination. It’s a marvelous distraction technique, because when you pop three or four scoop kicks to a street assailant’s lower leg, his brain focuses on the pain, which leaves his upper half wide open for whatever you want to do to him there.
To launch the kick, assume your fighting stance with your left leg forward. Scoot your rear foot along the floor, just grazing it, and scoop it up and into your imaginary opponent’s knee. Set it down in front of you if you going to continue to advance with other blows, or return your foot to where it was initially if the scoop is all you intend to do.
The kick can also be done with the front leg, though it isn’t as powerful as the rear one. You can generate a little more power by doing a replacement step (the same method you used with the slap kick), which adds forward momentum to the impact. Because it isn’t as powerful as when done with the rear foot, many fighters use the front scoop simply as a way to harass and distract their opponents by keeping them busy trying to avoid the kick. It’s also a good interrupter. Every time your opponent sets himself to attack, you pop a scoop against his closest leg.
The target is anywhere on the opponent’s leg: front, side or back. Incidentally, the knee cap is not as easy to break as many people believe, though it’s still no picnic to get hit there. If you want to use the kick as a take down when you are behind him, scoop your foot into the back of his knee, and then press forward until his kneecap makes painful contact against the asphalt. Feel free to jerk his shoulder back or pull the hair at the back of his head to hurry him down a little faster.
If you are having problems turning your foot out far enough, keep working on it until you have the necessary flexibility in your ankle. One way is to press the arch of your foot against a wall and hold it there for a minute at a time. Include this as part of your warm up and your foot will be flexible enough in no time. To keep from spraining your ankle, it’s a good idea to avoid kicking the bag hard until you can turn your foot out properly.
In the air: 3 sets, 10 reps – both legs
Against a bag: 3 sets, 10 reps – both legs
Scoot your rear foot along the floor and into your opponent’s closest knee.
Stomp scoop: Some karate people might argue that technically this is not a scoop, but for our purposes here, it’s similar enough to include it in this section. If the situation justifies it, you can use it to stomp an assailant’s knee. Say you have knocked him against a wall, and he is sprawled there with one leg extended before him. Scoop your rear foot forward, and at about the half way point, draw your knee up high and then slam the bottom of your foot down on his bridged knee. This variation carries with it the risk of crippling the man, so it’s imperative the situation justifies that level of force. For example, you would be justified if he was armed with a knife or club, but him calling your mother a name is not enough reason for you to give him a permanent limp. Trust me, lawsuits are not fun.
In the air: 3 sets, 15 reps — both legs
On the bag: 3 sets, 15 reps — both legs
Angle stomp scoop: There are two primary differences with this version: You kick with the bottom of your foot, slightly toward the outside edge of the little toe side. The other difference is that your opponent is lying on the ground.
The kick begins with a high chamber. Lift your knee up to the front of your body and position your kicking foot in front of your groin as you angle your knee outward slightly. The kick is executed with a powerful, angled thrust across the front of your support leg and downward to the target, which is your opponent’s head or body. To add greater power to the kick, arch your back a little just prior to your foot making contact. This is a wonderful technique to use as a follow-up after a take down.
Air kicks: 3 sets, 10 reps — both legs
Prone bag kicks: 3 sets, 10 reps — both legs
To build flexibility in your ankle, press the arch of your foot against a wall, twist your foot outward and hold for one minute.
Pantomiming that you are holding onto the arm of someone you have dumped on the ground, lift your foot up near your groin. Thrust your foot downward at an angle into your opponent’s head.
Movement Continued
Inside-knee strike
Some Muay Thai fighters call this “inside-knee strike” while others call it “curve kick.” I call it inside-knee strike since it better describes the action of your leg. The strike is used when you are literally stomach to stomach with your opponent in a clinch, an often awkward position where it’s nearly impossible to deliver a front or rear knee strike with significant force.
To do it against a live opponent, snuggle up close, wrap your hands around the back of his neck and pull him into your blow. Press your forearms close together to make it difficult for him to punch you in the body. Stay light on your feet, shifting your weight back and forth as you jerk your opponent around. Come up on the ball of your left foot as you swing your bent right leg away from your opponent’s side, and then forcefully swing it back into him, striking his ribs with the inside area of your knee. Striking his ribs, especially the so-called floating rib just beneath his rib cage, causes him pain and nausea. I also like to strike the outside of his hips because impact there
