Front Kick – The Basics
Name of Kick: FRONT KICK or AP CHAGI
Rank: This kick is usually the first kick learned. I learned this kick at white belt or beginner rank.
Use: This kick can be used in 2 ways. The kick can be performed with toes down or toes up. Toes down mean you are hitting with the top of your foot. While toes up mean you are hitting with the ball of your foot. Toes up is best for board breaks while you can also use toes down though that way may hurt a bit more. The most practical real-life use for this kick is a groin shot or used as a method to push your opponent away.
How to: Performing this kick is fairly easy. From a fighting stance bring your back leg knee bent up. Your thigh should be parallel to the ground, again knee bent. Toes up or down but ankle taunt, and pop the kick out
Better it:
There are 3 aspects that I feel help define the perfect kick and allow for proper execution with limited impact on your body. These 3 aspects are chamber, kick/alignment, and pivot.
Stay tuned for tips to improve your kick.
This kick sounds super easy, right? It should be simple enough to do, but there is definitely more we can do with it.
Two Versions
As stated in the USE section there are 2 versions of this kick. The first is a front snap kick and the second is a front push kick. The differences between these two kicks have to do with the position of the foot, whether you are pointing (down) or flexing (up) your toes.
Now Let's Practice...
Now let’s start in a fighting stance. Remember with a fighting stance your feet should not be on the same line. They should be at least shoulder width apart across and 2 shoulders deep. Your body and feet should also be at a 45-degree angle. Once in a fighting stance here are the 3 aspects of a front kick:
- Chamber – this will always be number 1. To chamber a front kick, you bring your back leg knee up. Your thigh should be parallel to the floor. If you are doing a front snap kick, point your toes down, if you are doing a front push kick, have your foot flexed.
- Kick – from the chamber extend your leg. The front snap kick will go up while the front push kick will go out.
- Pivot – depending on the height of your kick and your flexibility you will need to pivot. If you are kicking low, you should not need to pivot your base leg. If you are kicking higher you will need to pivot between 0 – 45 degrees.
This kick is the first because it teaches you balance and control when you do this kick slowly.
Training: So how do we train this kick?
Here are a few things you can try:
- Balance/control. Chamber the kick and hold. Execute the kick and return to the chamber, continue to hold.
- Balance. Chamber the kick and hold, and execute 10 or more kicks with full extension without dropping.
- Control. Chamber and slowly execute kick out, hold at full extension for 5 secs, and rechamber. Relax, then repeat.
I hope this helps your front kick execution and helps develop your foundation for future kicks.
