This is why leg kicks aren't really effective.

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Nice leg kick by Irvin.
One of my favorite Anderson KO's. I miss Matrix Anderson. I've seen so many fighters try that catch the leg kick and punch and it never works for them. He was so accurate.
 
I would throw a lot of leg kicks in fights before my coach told me to scrap that and focus on my better weapons.

I asked him why and he said: "Unless you have the power to finish a guy with leg kicks, you should focus on other strikes that will do more damage. A leg kick can easily be checked and even if you are a heavy leg kicker, it's very hard to finish a high level opponent with it and easy to get countered".

Unless you have Barboza type leg kick power, it should be used to set-up high kicks or sweeps. Leg kicking is a long term investment in a fight, you rarely see people finishing guys with it in the first or second round. The longer it goes, the higher your chances are for a counter.

Before Sherdog crucifies me for dissing leg kicks, I'm not. It's a great weapon, but it's a weapon that rarely finishes fights. It should be used to get your opponent thinking. You hurt him a bit, get him thinking low and you start going high. When he knows you are going high, go low again..etc etc etc.
so you're basing all this on the fight lastnight?
 
Kicking the lead leg of a wrestler will hurt their takedown ability ... if you were facing a wrestler that you didn't want to get taken down by, it would be a good idea to finish a lof of your combos with a low kick
 
sounds like you had shit leg kicks and your coach didn't want to hurt your feelings
 
It's really debatable and situational. I do think some fighters try to throw more low kicks than they should and it ends up hurting more than helping but they're a brilliant tool in the right matchup if you time them properly. They're like body shots. You have to be good at them to land them with consistency, and you have to know when you should and when it's a bad idea.
 
I was never finished by a leg kick. But I hobbled like a motherfucker from them. Lost mobility, explosiveness and just plain fucking hurt. I hope you're trolling or 12. I really do.
 
Its perfect to use on a guy that never checks them. Nate Diaz and Rampage and many others have lost fights because of that.

Rampage almost lost the fight to forrest already in the 2nd round because of leg kicks. Somehow he toughed it out but not everyone would have.
 
Less low kicks, more eye pokes.

It is known.
 
are they though? I don't think Joanna got any points for the leg kicks she used against Rose. Not saying she won the fight but 4 rounds to 1? :(
Namajunas' flush power punches > Joanna's ineffective leg kicks. Namajunas slowing down had more to do with pacing and cardio than anything else.

1st: 10-9 Namajunas
2nd: 10-9 Namajunas
3rd: 10-9 Joanna
4th: 10-10 Draw / 10-9 Joanna
5th: 10-9 Namajunas
 
Its perfect to use on a guy that never checks them. Nate Diaz and Rampage and many others have lost fights because of that.

Rampage almost lost the fight to forrest already in the 2nd round because of leg kicks. Somehow he toughed it out but not everyone would have.

Good point. 'Page is the first that came to mind.
 
Leg kicks are effective but yes, they need a set up to maximize its effectiveness; a lot of people throw those as a opening strike and they get countered. Only Barboza did leg kicks Ko and i can't remember another fighter with Leg kicks ko.
 
I would agree that leg kicks themselves don't often result in the finish, but I wouldn't say they're not effective.

The aim is to compromise your opponents power and movement. In that respect they're effective and often contribute significantly towards a finish.

They definitely hurt like fuck. I've had my leg jacked up a couple times just sparring, I can only imagine the type of damage you'd take in full contact competition.

As far as predictability - that's an issue you have to deal with when it comes to any technique. Ideally you set up your leg kicks on the end of combos, and vary the ways in which you do so, so the opponent never gets a read on when it's coming.
 
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