Kick

In hand-to-hand combat, in martial arts and sports, a kick is a blow with the foot, the knee or the leg. It is used in combat as an attack. Generally, the kicks are slower than the punches although stronger than the blows with hands.

The kicks are a fundamental part in many martial arts. The examples are: wushu, karate, kickboxing, tangsudo or taekwondo; whereas other arts do not use any kick, as it is in the case of judo or of boxing. Other martial arts can use kicks, although they limit them to attacks to the legs and to the lower parts of the body of the opponent.

There exists a great number of kicks, and a lot of them have typical names for each one. Frequently the same movement has different names in different martial arts. This is obvious especially when comparisons are done between western arts and oriental arts.

Example in kickboxing

Usual kicks

Front kick: hips facing the target. It is in "penetrating" form, in "pushing" form (Push kick, Pushing kick) or in "snapping" form (Front snap kick).
Side kick or lateral kick: hips directed sideways to the target - It is in "penetrating" form.
Semicircular kick: also roundhouse kick of 45 degrees. Kick of the category of the techniques named circular kicks. They are performed with the hips facing the target from a pendulum movement of the lower member all around of the hip (movement of closing of the thigh on the trunk) which can be combined a live extension of the knee. To the image of the roundhouse kicks, takes into consideration usually the side targets of the body.
Roundhouse kick or circular kick: in low line or low kick , of middle height (level of the trunk) or middle kick and in high line (level of the head) or high kick.
Hook kick: hips facing the target or directed sideways to the target.
Back kick: hips with back towards the target.
Sweeping: kick of sweeping only on the boxing shoe (or the foot). Main forms: spoon sweeping or hook sweeping. There exist the turning sweepings (type "roundhouse kick") and spinning (type spinning hook kick).

(1) The front kicks and side kicks, in "penetrating" form, on the lower member are entitled between the professionals especially for certain titles, but not in all the lands.

(2) There exist numerous hybrid kicks, such as the "side-front" que the "side kick" with the hips rather frontal what allows an instant connection of the techniques of fist much useful in active defense