Side Kick

From FightWiki

The Side Kick refers to a kick that is delivered sideways in relation to the body of the person kicking. There are two general ways in which a side kick can be delivered. The first involves chambering the kick by bending it and cocking it back (recoiling it, in other words) before you kick.[1] The second involves shooting the leg forward as you would in a front kick and then pivoting and turning so that you actually deliver a side kick.

In addition, there are two areas that are commonly used as impact points in sidekicks. The first is the heel of the foot and the other is the outer edge of the foot(this is sometimes called the side blade kick, "ashi-gatana" or "sokuto" in Japanese). The heel is more suited to hard targets such as the ribs, stomach, jaw, temple and chest. The side blade is more suited to the softer targets such as the knee and neck.

Muay thai uses the side-kick in a smaller manner by using it as a damaging attack only when striking the knees of a high-kicking opponent when one wishes to destroy said opponent. Otherwise, it is mainly used in a pushing role. The reason this is stems from the fact that the most viable targets for a sidekick are the lower abdomen (Below the belt) and the face, which is a risky venture.

Side kicks require less flexibility to reach head height than any other standing kick. However, they need much greater strength and precision to be used effectively in anything but a rough, pushing strike such as that employed by other push kicks.

The side kick can brilliantly be countered by a well executed reverse kick. The movement of the reverse kick simultaneously dodges the aggressors side kick whilst applying a nasty blow to the aggressors vulnerably open body from having preformed the side kick. In addition the front kick is a highly effective counter to a side kick deliver to the waist or above, it will come up underneath to strike the exposed groin area. In capoeira the side kick is known as chapa or pisao.