KerwinBenson.com Hidden Gems of Martial Arts

Rear Kick Your Opponent When ...

Make Your Opponent Uncomfortable with Your Rear Kick

Did you know that Bruce Lee had a specific tactic for his rear kicks?

He had a short note about preceding rear kicks with feints. Right below that note, he also mentioned leading with the rear leg, to disturb rhythm.

OK, nothing groundbreaking about that piece of advice ....

When kicking out behind you in a back kick, make sure you precede it with a few fakes or feints, and use the kick t disturb rhythm. It all sounds very straightforward.

I mean, after all, a back kick ... wait a second ... a "BACK" kick!

Weren't we just talking about back kicks? All of a sudden, I get the distinct feeling that Bruce Lee was talking about a forward kick with the REAR leg.

When did we switch from a back kick to a rear kick?

Mistaken Kick Perception

I think that Bruce Lee was talking about a front thrust kick with the rear leg, a la Tae Kwon Do or Shotokan. We know that JKD favors a kick with the lead leg. According to JKD, a kick forward with the rear leg doesn't make sense -- the weapon is too far away.

So, I am pretty sure that Bruce Lee was giving advice on how to kick forward with the rear leg. After all, you gain more time for your kick when you first fake and then strike when another fake is expected.

And a rear leg might make a great disturber of rhythm, especially if a JKDer were expecting to be met with a front-leg stop kick. The change in angle of the kick and the variation in timing could really confuse an attacker.

An Attack from Behind

What if someone were attacking from behind?

Could you use a progressive indirect of attack to the rear? After all, that's what were talking about when we mention fakes preceding the rear kick.

I started thinking about this. You really do have to switch gears. You don't want to try any fakes that rely on timing, distance and repetition.

Why?

Go back to the first article. You are using a rear kick as a weapon for countering. So, it makes sense that you won't have time for an attack.

Setting someone up by repetition probably won't happen too often from the rear.

But what about using other "rear defense" weapons?

Could you start with an elbow jab -- use it to draw a response -- then follow mid-beat with a back kick?

Could you start with a rear stomp kick, to draw a response, and then lift your heel into the attacker's groin.

I definitely have to consider the possibilities some more ... a little later.

For now, let's do a rear kick exercise. Or is it a back kick exercise?

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