The Kicks of Mantis Boxing

Intro

Welcome to the basic kicking course for mantis boxing. Here I will guide you step by step through each of the kicks we start with, and how to build off of these into powerful techniques and skills. You’ll find a guide to kicking next. Like me, you may want to jump right into your first lesson. However, I recommend at least giving it a quick overview as there are some safety items you’ll want before you start kicking.

After each lesson, or at times a series of lessons, you’ll find training missions built for you to help take the guess work out of what to train, and how often.

Kick with Balance. Kick with Precision. Kick with Power.

Enjoy! - Randy

A Beginner’s Guide to Kicking

Before we begin, if you haven’t already, you may want to review the following document on kicking. This will help you to learn the principles that will aid you in your practice/training. Below, you will find the videos on how to perform each of the kicks, and drills to practice them. Further down, we’re going to use Heel Kick to show drills for various principles you want to get down. It is recommended that you use the same drill, but simply swap out the heel kick for each of the other kicks that apply. Please post your questions in the comments.

Mantis Kicking Strategy

Overwhelm. Confuse. Destroy.

The kicking strategy in mantis boxing revolves around powerful, destructive kicks that disable an opponent while remaining balanced, limiting risk and exposure to counter-attacks. Kicks are generally low kicks to attack the legs and groin; with the exception of the heel kick, and the torso level round kick.

The effective range of many of our kicks is just inside of critical distance (see bridging tactics and 12 boxer principles for more on Range). While kicks can be used independently, the ultimate goal of a mantis boxer is to be able to kick and strike in conjunction. This means, rather than a striking combination of lets say - thrust palm, thrust palm, hook palm, a combination with a proficient mantis boxer may look like - thrust palm, circle palm, cross kick, thrust palm. Attacking on multiple levels to confuse the opponent, and overwhelm them with a multilayered attack. This increases the likelihood of creating open doors, and being able to destroy our attacker. There are two main categories we can organize our kicks into.

Whipping Kicks vs Thrusting Kicks

We can categorize kicks into two general buckets - whipping, and thrusting. Both types of kicks have their distinct advantages and are situation dependent.

Whipping kicks use a lashing or whipping type of power generation to affect damage. This includes toe kicks and round kicks for example. This type of motion can be equated to kicking a soccer ball, or football.

Thrusting kicks rely on a linear projection of force into the opponent. This includes heel kicks, cross kicks, side kicks, and later - spinning back kicks. The body movements synonymous with this type of kick is a jump, or run motion.

Kicking Lessons

Start Here - Kick Warm-Up

Prior to doing any kicking practice, it is a good idea to follow this warm-up routine to prevent injury. The side benefit to these stretch kicks is exactly that - they can help improve our overall flexibility.

Training Missions

Training missions are designed to be repeated as many times as you feel necessary. If using as a review, perform less reps.

Heel Kick

The heel kick is one of our most powerful kicks as mantis boxers, but it comes with steep risks. The timing on this kick is imperative. The primary target of the heel kick is the solar plexus, or bladder. This puts our kick in easy reach of our opponent who can grab our foot for a kick-counter, or check our foot with an elbow and provide us with broken toes as a reward for our efforts. All is not lost though. There are plenty of opportunities to throw this kick, and later in this course we will begin to develop the skills to make you highly effective at using the heel kick.

Lesson 1
Heel Kick Execution

Lesson 2
4 Point Kicking

Toe Kick

The toe kick is used predominantly to attack the groin. Later you will learn an upgraded, albeit far more difficult variation of this kick that is, in my opinion, our best kick as mantis boxers - the closing door kick. That does not negate this kick, quite the contrary. We need this kick to develop the skills for that future version. So for now, practice this diligently as it is a surefire way to drop an opponent to their knees in a split second.

Lesson 1
Toe Kick Execution

Basic Kicking - Mission 1

Heel Kick and Toe Kick

1. Rear Leg Heel Kick

   1. Stationary - Perform 5 sets of 10 each side (100 total). Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Moving - Perform 5 sets of 10 each side (100 total). Step through to the front position, changing the front hand.

2. Front Leg Heel Kick

   1. Return Leg - Perform 5 sets of 10 each side (100 total). Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Kick Thru - Perform 5 sets of 10 each side. Kick and then step in to follow thru.

3. Rear Leg Toe Kick - Stationary and Moving. 

   1. Stationary - Perform 25x each side. Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Moving - Perform 25x each side. Step through to the front position, changing the front hand.

4. Front Leg Toe Kick

   1. Return Leg - Perform 25x each side. Repeat 2x. Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Kick Thru - Perform 25x each side. Repeat 2x. Kick and step in.

Side Kick and Cross Kick

This is not the sidekick you are looking for. Mantis boxers do not throw the traditional sidekick you see in movies, or other styles of martial arts. Our side kick is better suited for combat due to the low angle of attack. The target of the heel kick and the cross kick are the knee.

It takes minimal power to break the knee in a compromised position. This limits our exposure to counters by keeping our foot out of range of our opponents hands and helps maintain our balance while on one leg. Think of these kicks as an ‘attack of opportunity’ rather than an ultra-powered kick such as the heel kick.

Lesson 01
Side Kick Execution

Lesson 02
Cross Kick Execution

Basic Kicking - Mission 2

Side Kick and Cross Kick

1. Rear Leg Side Kick

   1. Stationary - Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Moving - Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. After the kick, step through to the front position changing the lead leg/hand.

2. Front Leg Side Kick

   1. Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. Return leg to start position between reps. 

   2. Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. After the kick land touch down the kicking leg before the next kick.

3. Rear Leg Cross Kick

   1. Stationary - Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. Return leg to start position between reps.

   2. Moving - Perform 3 sets of 20 on each side. Alternate sides between sets. After the kick, step through to the front position changing the lead leg/hand.

4. Cross Kick & Side Kick Drill - Perform 25x on both sides of the following sequence in the air (see 2:48 of the cross kick lesson):

   1. Start in your stance and throw a cross kick.

   2. Stay on the same side and step through.

   3. Throw a side kick.

Round Kick

The round kick. A modern add-on.

The round kick is a popular kick in other styles of martial arts. This kick was added to mantis boxing by myself, as well as some of my various instructors I trained with over the years. It is not indigenous to this style, or many other styles that hail from this region and time period.

We saw value in it for its efficacy when properly executed (see video on this further below). This is more common to sport based martial arts versus self-defense/unarmed combat systems…for good reason. The round kick takes a wider path to target making it more obvious to an opponent. Additionally, the round kick is a whipping style kick and therefore it lacks ‘stopping power’ on an advancing opponent.

Lesson 01
Round Kick Execution

Lesson 02
Advanced Use

Basic Kicking - Mission 3

Round Kick

1. Rear Leg Round Kick 

   1. Perform 50x each side. Step into the kick.

   2. Perform 50x each side. Pivoting on the foot and returning to rear.

2. Front Leg Round Kick - utilize the closing step for balance

   1. Perform this 50x each side.

3. Dragon Lashes Tail

   1. Perform this 50x. Step Back Angle (1x) - Throw a rear leg round kick.

   2. Perform this 50x. Step Back Angle (2x) - Throw a rear leg round kick.

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Changing Gears

We now begin to lay the framework for your advanced skills later down the road. Changing gears - this is a term you are going hear me use a lot. I discuss it with my friend Ando in this video that you can refer back to from time to time.

Changing gears is the ability of our brain to switch from kicking to striking, or striking to kicking, and many other aspects of boxing that will change on the fly. As the range changes, so too must our arsenal. We discuss this in more detail under range in the 12 Boxer Principles course.

This skill takes forever to develop in boxers. Years. These strike-to-kick, and kick-to-strike drills I developed will help you to circumvent that long and arduous path of no one ever explaining this to you. If you train the response, then your body knows what to do when the time comes that you recognize it in sparring.

Strike to Kick - Lesson 1

Strike To Kick - Lesson 2

Basic Kicking - Mission 4

Strike to Kick

For the following missions the kick is interchangeable.

1. Strike to Kick - Sequence 1

   1. Perform 6 sets of 10. Alternating sides.

      Front Thrust Palm -> Rear Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Front Leg Kick

2. Strike to Kick - Sequence 2

   1. Perform 6 sets of 10. Alternating sides.

      Front Thrust Palm -> Cannon fist -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Front Leg Kick

3. Strike to Kick - Sequence 3

   1. Perform 6 sets of 10. Alternating sides. 

      Front Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Front Thrust Palm -> Rear Leg Kick to Advance

Kick to Strike - Lesson 1

Kick to Strike - Lesson 2

Kick to Strike - Lesson 3

Basic Kicking - Mission 5
Kick to Strike

For the following missions the kick is interchangeable.

1. Kick to Strike - Sequence 1

   1. Perform 30x.

      Front Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Circle palm -> Scraping Fist

2. Kick to Strike - Sequence 2

   1. Perform 30x.

      Front Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Drilling Fist

3. Kick to Strike - Sequence 3

   1. Perform 30x.

      Front Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Step and Chop -> Rear Thrust Palm

Kick to Strike - Lesson 4

Kick to Strike - Lesson 5

Kick to Strike - Lesson 6

Basic Kicking - Mission 6
Kick to Strike - Cont

1. Kick to Strike - Sequence 4

   1. Perform 30x.

      Rear Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Front Thrust Palm

2. Kick to Strike - Sequence 5

   1. Perform 30x.

      Rear Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Scraping Fist

3. Kick to Strike - Sequence 6

   1. Perform 30x.

      Rear Leg Kick -> Front Thrust Palm -> Hook (circle) Palm -> Front Thrust Palm -> Crushing Fist