Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the hard work and dedication Gabriel puts into his content keep it up man fr we all love you hope you hit 1 mil subs soon

Check out Zhang Weili's side kick. She actually throws it after missing an inside leg kick. She stands in a very traditional square kickboxing stance, throws an inside leg kick and when the opponent retreats and she misses she throws a side kick. Very clever stuff

I saw in a highlight of Li Jingliang (MMA fighter in the UFC) a KO he inflicted with a sidekick to the liver, it was a thing of beauty and made me want to learn them. I train muay thai and I use regular sidekick like a spear from a long distance with a quick step in (it surprises people who feel safe at such a distance) or spinning sidekick, usually after a the opponent dodged a middlekick, in order to keep them at bay (I mix it with a backend to not be too predictable).

Im not very good at all this but in muay thai classes i do sparring with pro fighters and even if they could rip my head of, i drop them down with my round-into-side kick and my spinning back kick. It works extremely well but you have to know how to adapt it to a full contact striking sport.

Watch Cung Le. He used to throw a lot of them. You just need to know how to set them up and how to mix them in to your long range kicking game. Mix them in with teeps and in 1-2 3 combinations, like on the third beat. Like a jab, cross, then side kick, since they would be at the perfect range already and already on the defensive from the one two or jab cross already. Also, as you said, if you're in a square stance, you have to turn and chamber before you can throw it, which makes it very telegraphed, and thus very open to being read and countered. So unless you're in a stance that is already in position to throw side kicks, like more lower karate stance, it will be slow and telegraphed. Side kick also requires full commitment and to kick through the target, making it even more telegraphed and slower, and more vulnerable to counters. A good addition to the side kick to the mid section would also be the low side kick, which is less telegraphed and can do heavy damage without much commitment, since you are attacking the knee or legs that is closest to you. Many would consider this a "dirty" move, but it is legal annd effective in MMA, and that's all that matters. Same as oblique kicks. Fast and hard to counter, and does good, even permanent damage if not checked properly or dodged. Basically, the side kick is meant to be a finishing move on the third beat, or used when the opponent is tired, stunned, slow, and almost done. Or also when they are confused since you've been throwing lots of teeps and low side and oblique kicks to confuse them already. You just need to know how and when to use it because it's a highly committed kick which is also highly telegraphed and not fast, and can only be used at long range, aka small window of opportunity. That's why you don't see them much because most fighters don't fight at such extreme kicking range unless they are like Cung Le or other kickers.

Oddly enough I’ve had a lot of success with sidekicks in Muay Thai. The thing is though is that I throw it from a more square stance and turn over to the side only once I’ve chambered my knee

Do you think sidekicks should be thrown more in kickboxing fights? The Chinese athletes DO throw them because of the Sanda background.

Thanks for the video. This kinda mirrors what Wonderboy and Icy Mike covered in their video. Wonderboy said he had to protect his lead leg or it would get tortured. He showed that he used his mobility to avoid and lead changes to be able to check. Not really the best strategy for everyone since it takes so much extra athleticism and stamina.

I'm a k1 fighter and I sometimes throw a side kick when I miss a round house and I find myself on the side: the opponent gonna rush you 100% of time and your hip is already on the position so you just have to up your knee and throw the side kick in order to defend. From a normal 1 to 1 position a good and effective alternative is the "side teep", but you need to have good hip dexterity and flexiblity + explosiveness. So this is a very technical moove but when mastered it can make a lot of difference

The side kick is one of my main weapons that heavily utilize in my overall game

In moving from karate to Muay Thai I have squared up my stance and throw a lot fewer side kicks. However it still comes in handy when (a) your opponent has dodged off to your left, or (b) you have missed a round kick. Also, even if you don't train them offensively, there are others out there who can use them well and it is good to know how to deal with them.

Side kicks were seen a lot in kickboxing, well PKA/American full contact and older promotions during the 80s. Bill Wallace used the side kick a lot but it was combo ending move from a lead hook as it will put you in that sideways stance.

Back leg sidekick gangs here. Works so well when the opponent is trying to move out of range, they often end up in the perfect range for a back leg sidekick. I call it my parting gift. Also if someone is trying to angle to your left (assuming you're both orthodox) they basically create the bladed stance for you and you can use your left one.

So great to hear an intelligent, articulate breakdown of different martial arts postures and stances, where they work and vice versa.

I gotta say , your breakdowns are amongst my favorite ! Thanks for your content from NYC !

Very nice and concise breakdown. Thank you for the explanation!

Alot of great details in this video. Love the different level of reasons. Checking kicks, blocking punches, takedowns, movement, etc. Love this

Such a wealth of knowledge on this page.

Great topic of discussion, thank you for sharing

I like superfoot's approach on how to use and throw the side kick and how he made it a staple in his arsenal. He was fighting in an Era that didn't allow low kicks, but how he set up landing the side kick with his hands even at close range seems to work pretty well

As a lifelong TaeKwonDoe practitioner, who now does kickboxing and mma, I’ve found that I really only use side kicks, when round kick or leg kicks miss. Missing a round kick and landing and quickly throwing one, or off a leg kick.

Love your content g. Appreciate the effort you put in your channel

It’s good you have done this because I think many of us have realised this but others on KZfaq explain it with emotion and this was a very factual no nonsense straight to the point explaination

Thanks nice break down good lesson

I've seen it used well as a stop hit or intercept. But as a straight attack it seems to fail more.

Hands down my favorite martial arts channel.

Great explanation! Thanks

This was a really useful video man, not just about the side kick but a good break down and understanding about stances which has been on my mind lately being a guy coming from boxing trying a bit of mma, although I obviously wasn’t throwing side kicks in boxing but I did use more of side ways stance because I liked to keep my lead hand slightly extended and loose for jabs and parries and long hooks and it’s been bothering me trying to find a balance between keeping that looseness and squaring my guard and stance up more in the striking classes

Excellent video, as usual. Gabriel, could you do another one with tips to improve spinning sidekicks? Thanks.

Thank you Gabriel for the content. However, I’d have to say as a karateka, I’ve seen many teeps that have been thrown similar to how it is in karate. The chamber comes to the front of the body and the sidekick is completed with the twist of the hips at the end of the kick into a sideways position. This would allow for defense at the initiation of the kick

Sensei Seth would love this video

Very informative.

I like your content! Thank you for sharing

love your video's, keep it up!!

Bro I really dig your channel. I’m a bjj brown black… Krav Maga Black Belt, Kudo Black Belt… yet… I learn so much every time I watch your channel.

You’re my only side-kick Gabriel ❤️

Very good video. Not talking about obvious basic things, but a very useful for instructors and older martial arts lovers ☝️😄👍

Hey Gabriel I met you at the karate combat hotel and showed you a clip of me landing a side kick in a match DONT know if you remember but you made my day watching it

Nice video👊

Very interesting is at the end you exactly described me (lots of kicks (side, round) not so good with boxing) and my friend and main sparring partner (more boxing, not as good with the side kick).

good tips for this video...i like it

Good point there. I like that spining back kicks mostly as a defensive weapon in mma and muay thai. I agree with the sidekicks but the spining back kick is just so powerful kick and often unpredictable if the set p is good.

Come for the side kicks, stay for the footwork. Great video.

Another thing I feel about Side Kicks is that they aren’t necessarily great Exchange-starters or solo strikes, but they can be wonderful Exchange-finishers to counter T positions and to mix up traditional Kickboxing combos

Great break down! Sidekicks/side stance is great for light contact rulesets though, where you don't have to worry about low kicks and KO's. Also in low level amatuer full contact where a lot of people haven't encountered it much. Falls off quickly if you know how to deal with it though.

Thank you.

Nice video and I totally agree :) I only use the side kick if my opponent moves back from my right low kick and I therefore get into a position where I can do a quick side kick

I appreciate this video as a general guidance. I often utilize side kicks despite only training muay thai, but from my experience, pretty much nobody can utilize it in the same way as I do. This goes for my stance as well which is very bladed, but I have extremely good checks from this stance. This in tandem with my large focus on footwork gives me an extremely beneficial variations in my foot jabs, teeps, side kicks on both sides and my spinning back kick. This isn't something I strived for but rather just developed throughout my training because of it's utility. Majority of the side kicks I've seen are from TKD/Karate style backgrounds and do not work in the same way and they do not generate as much power either. I've always held the belief to train the way that's most effective for your body so my style which I believed didn't have a style just developed in that manner. The only fighter I'm aware of with similar side kicks is Samart Payakaroon.

I've seen side kicks and spinning backkicks drop people (bodyshots) in smaller regional kickboxing events. In high level competition it needs to be stripped back and refined to almost a jab, like what Cung Lee did in his heyday.

Good explanation, they are heavly used in Sanda due to the wrestling component of it, also as part of the rukes is to push opponents off the platform, I do use it in my muay thai gym, however I use it more often than not in a combo from circular kicks or after an high one two followed by a side kick to the body, mist people dont know how to defend it.

Side kicks are great especially when used as part of a combination, or to show different 'looks' and get your opponent thinking. They can land...but they also have their disadvantages just like every other stance, there is a time and place for it. Its very similar to the Philly shell, it is one of multiple stances and guards that can be used even in kickboxing (bladed, albeit weak to body/leg kicks). Or the jab to the body....not used often but still can be used, its a good technique if you can use it to hit and not get hit, or use it to set up another technique, or bait the opponent so you can capitalize on their next move. The stance allows you to dart in-and-out as Gabriel was saying, this should be utilized along other tools. Many times an opponent has tried to rush me thinking I was off-balance only for me to blast a side kick into their liver/stomach (controlled in sparring ofcourse :) )

What you described is exactly the issue I'm having with trying to develop a workable(for me) more sideways stance, as my coach calls, more of a "boxers stance". I normally use a slightly more boxing oriented traditional Muay thai stance...its more similar to the Dutch Style if I think about it and so is my approach to fighting and the strategies I use. But my coach said it would be helpful to also have a long range sideways stance if only to give my opponent a different look and different ranges and timings. I'm having trouble finding a way to defend my head in this stance though besides evasion, and I'm not good at returning strikes after evading/slipping or leaning back or dodging in some other way. Its very awkward like you mention here; the lead hand is in an awkward hard to move spot, the rear hand is the only one glued to the head and its bad at close to medium range especially. Due to how long I've been using it I prefer my old Dutch style stance and strategies. I have never used side kicks for much the same reasons you mention. If im telling creative or something I'll throw one out, or a spinning kick, but I know it will rarely land, so for kicks I stick to roundhouses and teeps/front kicks with either way, and leg raises(for defense even vs straight kicks they are fine) and sometimes knees. The problem with side kicks mainly is they are far too easy to dodge; the ones with real power behind them like the joe rogan spinning kick. You can put yourself just outside or just inside the range, even if you get grazed by the toe or something, you won't take damage if it isn't a strike with their heel. its a very small chance to hit. Or just step back out of range, then step in when the danger passes. Teeps perform many of the same roles a side kick would, for my style, while also maintaining my stance and defensive(and attacking) posture. The only spinning thing I use in my whole game is sometimes a spinning backfist and only then rarely. Those can be powerful, but only when used infrequently or else it becomes predictable and those strikes are easy to block for almost anyone.

Missed a chance for an Icy Mike collab lol he loves this topic.

Sidekicks work excellently in Muay Thai. Just like anything attack that takes longer than a jab or a teep, you need to conceal your movement into the position that you will be firing your attack from

Don The Dragon Wilson used the sidekick effectively and had great punching.

Great video, very relevant. Totally agree in the applicability. I can relate to your previous style (strong side forward, more side/distance/quick approach) and also realizing it isn't a complete style. I've really been working on my boxing/kickboxing and using a more square stance lately. My question is, do you believe in switching these styles/stances mid-fight?

Great video as always!! Really love ur content and some of the techniques and tactics you've broken down have really helped me a lot! I'm not sure if this is actually helpful when using the sidekick a lot, but I've seen Manson Gibson counter Hoost's leg kicks with a spinning backfist... Your opinion on this would be great, before I try it out in sparring and just get blasted in the leg for it... ;)

Thanks.

if its possible make a video of some of your ideas about connecting head movement and counter

G. Varga touched on an important difference in the efficacy of the bladed stance vs the squared stance. The bladed stance is better beyond and at the threshold of the opponent's max range but becomes ineffective any closer. This long range is where you see TKD and Shotokan fighters dancing around.

Thanks. This is the exact question that I had. I love the side kick, but not sure if its worth it given its so rarely seen, which there must be a reason for. In addition I would say that changing stance can make the kick quite telegraphed too. In the MMA footage Ive seen, the kick doesn't tend to do all that much in terms of damage in a situation against a skilled opponent who is moving around.

Wonderboy opening up this video with a frown, and mumbling, "I thought we were cool..."

Thanks for this. Been training in kickboxing for just under one year. Instructors not taught the sidekick to class yet. Thou have seen higher belts use it. So would you say it is an advanced technique ? I think your video answers why. Look forward to your next one. Peace be with u.😀

A good time to utilize it is if you see your opponent is about to throw a round house you throw a quick side kick which usually lands first. (It’s kinda like the straight punches vs looping punches analogy) Also when you chamber it, you chamber it with the heel facing your opponent from the beginning (watch Wonderboy vs Masvidal)

Benny “the Jet”Urqidez! When you did the spinning side kick that’s who you reminded me of. He used to put one of those straight into your liver with devastating results.

In my karate style, we face forward and keep the front hand out for distance (similar maybe to McGregor, but the feet even less bladed, front foot's toes straight forward). If we do a sidekick with the step like you did, we just pivot the front foot while the back replaces it. We also have more advanced versions and quicker versions of the side kick.

If you want to throw the side kick you have to wait for a moment where your leg happens to turn. I throw a light low kick and the moment my foot touches the ground I bounce up with a side kick because my foot was already turned for half a second. Just waiting for that split second where you front foot is turned a little mitigates a large amount of risks to throwing a side kick. Either that or a rear leg side kick so you aren't vulnerable to low kicks or other disadvantages.

Side Kicks are all about timing. You don’t need a perpetual blades stance. Just need to know when to use them. For me, it was an easy way to punish lead hand punches by fitting my foot in under their armpit or into their ribs.

A few ITF TKD tournements ( and training in the ITF for them ) are a good way to hone the side kick game. The Philly Shell is the boxing guard system that should be added through a lot sparring work.

sidekicks are great when you are at distance and your opponent rushes in and you meet them with a sidekick to the head timing is everything when it comes to striking with the sidekick

Gabriel. Awesome content and K1🏆 belt I noticed is worth of 10-20 of ufc ones😄.BTW Who is your favourite fighter you learn from Fedor Emelyanenko or Mirco Crocop?

Nice video! It reminds me of the start of my journey, when i went from a style without lowkicks and facepunches to one with lowkicks and facepunches... So, things i noticed... You can defend the low kicks 3 ways if they come from the outside... First is to lift your heel... It hurts less to get kicked on the heel than on the hamsteing... Its not perfect tho... Second... You can basically grab their leg between the hamstring and the calf... It still hurts a bit cos you get kicked in the hamstring anyway, but you unbalance them, and that makes it dsngerous for them... And third, you can use your lead leg to "kick" at the knee ofnthe incomming kick by doing lead front kick or lead "back kick" (so, either heel up or heel down instead of completly sideways) you just do that as a block, no need to generate power, just put your foot on their knee as they try to lowkick to stop them from kicking... On the hands part... I had to learn head movement... Punches to the face usually miss if your head moves out of the way... And thatvallows you to reposition and counter... However, those 2 things sre really hard... Other than that, footwork... Lots and lots of angles, thats the best type of footwork... Make it so you can svoid the danger by not being there at all

Cool explanation, would be good to have to visual examples from actual fights so we can see what you mean.

Good points I have done tkd long time over 15 years , good kickboxing/ bjj experience and I agree on a lot of this side kick should be learned properly if it’s not done perfect it could very well be a big mistake ! Side ways stance is pretty good for defence from more traditional boxing less leg kick heavy if you have the space to move well always out in and away from the power side keeping your dominant hand in font of your face (mostly chin) a high shoulder and posture down more rather head up and tall if you can kick it’s really always an advantage but good confidence to throw proper timed straight punch combinations will really go far. also it’s not that difficult to do side kick from closer stance one of my favourite ways to practice is actually off of one leg. Knee starts up and in front of you twisting and turning your body) this makes you learn better mechanics to use your full body and spear rather then just standing sideways and lifting your leg up and pushing them away. This is actually a difference of proper Tkd and traditional karate.

For Bill “Superfoot” Wallace and Don “The Dragon” Wilson side kick work pretty well 😎

Train a response to the teep then throw the sidekick. Throw round kick to sidekick. Couple instances that work well in sparring.

Thanks again! What about a teep that twists into a side kick of sorts?

Tks for this one Gabriel, and there is a question I have been wanting to ask you: we see front kicks to the body in kick box, in mma, but it looks a lot more like a push than a real kick, if I compare it to the karate mae geri, which is quick, sharp, and made to penetrate not to push. Do you agree? And why don t we see front kicks like mae geris in mma or kick boxing? Why don t we see it in karate combat???

Yea i agree

If you chamber it like a loose round kick instead of pulling it all the way up to your shoulder then you can karate side kick from a square stance.

thanks makes sens 👍👍👍

A good Thai Sidekick and Spinning Sidekick is a deadly combination I’ve found.

I’ve only ever really used the lead leg side kick, and I use it as I’m backing up to create space

I use do point fighting and had the same issue when sparring full contact. Had to add a lot of boxing and adapt a Philly Shell. Very similar to Bill Wallace style where a side kick can be thrown after a left hook or back fist or straight jab. Now that's I'm older I prefer the Thai stance and still will mix it in after a left hook but rarely.

How do you feel about switching in between side facing and full facing stances? Controlling range with Side facing then opening up to box.

could you talk about knife hand or spear hand attacks like the ones ysed to break boards? I'm not planning to actually use them. I'm just curious to hear your opinion

Can you please break down marlon Vera's guard. Especially in his fight against Rob font.

time and a place for everything. as you say, in point fighting it can work like a jab. but where you need to square up you need to be picky about when you use it , and how.

Thanks Gabriel. Do you think there's a place for the karate style snap round kick? It seems a very effective technique to me and can't understand why most kick boxers prefer the full turning round kick which is much slower. Would be interested to know your thoughts on this.

Very interesting. Just wondering how well the side kick would work with the Philly Shell which is also a bladed stance. Still there wouldn't be a solution for round kicks to the lower back unless the lead elbow is strong enough to absorb the impact.

Practicing side kicks are an excellent way to enhance flexibility, and by extention mobility. Also, a sidekick is a superior way to attack over an obstacle.

I think the secret to a good sidekick is like any good throw, takedown, submission or any other strike. The most important part is the set up. In this case. The set up is the chamber. And in reality it's actually the re-chamber. A quick solid re-chamber after a round kick sets up a a good side kick. I also like to set up the turning side kick off the leg kick and and vice versa.

Thank God I do MMA. I'm big on karate and wrestling so I use the side kick to setup take downs. In fact, I'll argue side kicks work better than teeps in MMA because it's easy to get out of a caught side kick than a caught teep. But that's just my opinion. I'm gonna put my money where my mouth is when I compete in the near future. Wish me luck 🤞

Some Traditonal Chinese stylists stand in an angled stance and can punch and kick as well. Good video.

I myself am a pressure fighter who relies on strong boxing, the ability to throw the side kick from the square stance stops my opponent from moving forward and allows me to heard them towards the ropes

samart payakaroon is a name that kinds to mind when it comes to side teeps. His ability to time and scoot that side teep was so good

Chung Le also rocked the sidekick 😁

Sir. What about the Sanda sidekick or Thai sidekick?

In muay Thai rule side kick can be effective when you throw rear round house kick as a feint and then throw side kick with the same leg

2:48, that danger is mitigated by the range a side-kick allows, you can be far enough away controlling distance the whole time in a confrontation