Kicking in Wing Chun
Some thoughts on the Wing Chun kick
By Dan Knight
If a student came to me and had to learn to fight very quickly the first thing I would teach would be the basic Wing Chun front kick. Why? Because its easy to learn, safe to perform and effective at both attacking and defending. Just because Wing Chun does not have many kicks does not mean kicking should be overlooked. In the next few paragraphs I am going to talk about a few of the different kicks in Wing Chun and how they can be used.
The Front Kick
The most basic kick in Wing Chun and one of the most effective. It can come from the front leg or the back leg when in a fighting stance (Biu Ma, like in Chum Kiu). Kicking off the front leg is very fast but not as powerful as kicking off the back leg which is itself slightly slower. The difference is like the difference between a straight punch and a turning punch (one is faster the other is more powerful). They are the same kick but can be used for different purposes depending on what is most important at the time (quicker time to target or more power). The front kick tends to aim for the knee, crotch, shin or ankle. The front kick strikes with the heel of the foot. Like a punch the kick should not be chambered. The heel (though not the knee) should move in a straight line to the target as its the fastest rout. The kick can be used to stop someone attacking you with a punch or take down as seen in UFC when Brando Vera prevents a take down with a front kick seen on the right.
The Front kick can also be used to attack a stationary target as a distraction while gaining control of the hands an hitting. A common combination is a front kick to double Pak Sau (to take both guard hands) and punch. The front kick can also be used to counter-attack after defending a punch. It will commonly be used to kick out the side of the knee, which is intended to destroy the knee joint to help take control of the fight.
The Side Kick
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