Pulling back on a kick

In the earlier post today about kicking development, I mentioned the problem with trying to apply an attribute developing training method to actual sparring.

Basically, if you throw a head kick and it misses, you need to bring the leg back to the starting position and get back into a proper fighting stance. This can be done by either whipping the foot back ala savate or bring the entire leg back ala muay thai. It will ultimately depend on the type of kick you use. Ultimately, you do not want to let the kick place you in a vulnerable position.

Of course, this is easier said then done, but if you work on retractions when hitting the heavy bag or when you hit targets such as focus mitts you may be able to develop a certain degree of skill in the area that can later be refined and perfected in a sparring session in the ring.

Hey, it's going to require some work so get to it!