Fight Study: The Front Kick Seen All Across the World (Anderson Silv v Belfort)

Anderson Silva has received a lot of criticism over the last few fights. He's been criticized for his arrogance and his reluctance to finish fights and for that, the fans love to hate Silva. And yet, despite all the criticism, Silva has dominated each and every contender put in front of him. A near loss against Chael Sonnen however made Silva actually look vulnerable. Belfort was hyped as the fighter built to defeat Anderson Silva, with deadlier striking and wrestling ability than the champion.

And with one swift and forceful front kick to the jaw in the first round ended all that.

I love the front kick to the face. I've used it in my own kickboxing arsenal for a while now. What makes the front kick so effective is it's deceptive range and start up.

The Chambered Leg
Taekwondo and Karate fighters have been aware of this for quite some time but all their kicks come from a basic chambered position. Every kick in their arsenal starts from the chambered position, the leg bent and raised in the air. This allows the fighter to throw a side kick or a round house kick or a front kick all from the same chambered position. An incredibly important defensive ability is to read the minute details and movements of the body to determine what an opponent will attack with, so a fighter will watch their opponents shoulders which can telegraph a punch and a fighters hips can telegraph a kick. So if the initial motion and position of a kick is the same for every kick, it's difficult to read what kick is coming and where that kick will be aimed. at. In Muay Thai, you don't see the chambered leg in most of their kicks. Thai boxing generally doesn't utilize side kicks and their round house isn't chambered like Taekwondo round houses are. The teep or front kick is however thrown from a chambered position similar to its Karate and Taekwondo counter parts.

Rare Target
In Muay Thai, front kicks are generally thrown to the body. There's a few reasons for this. The front kick is usually used as a defensive tool to push your opponent back. If you want to forcibly move a person's back, you need to attack their center of mass. Usually if you front kick a guy in the head, it'll just snap their head back, not move them backwards. There is also another reason you rarely see front kicks to the face in Muay Thai. Traditionally in Thailand, to kick someone in the face is an act of disrespect. It's saying to your opponent, that they don't belong in the same ring with you and that they are outclassed. It has to do with the fact that the bottom of your feet that which you walk on become dirty and to place your dirty feet on your opponents face. Though generally most aren't aware of the historical connotations outside of Thailand.

Deceptive Range
The front kick is a very fast and deceptive kick. The hips drive the kick forward, propelling them. This also means that one can further extend the length of the kick by pushing their hip forward. This is why the kick's range is very deceptive. The natural reaction to a fast moving object coming towards your face is to flinch and pull your head back to try and avoid the kick. However, the head can only rear back so far, in most cases the foot will catch up with it and tonight, that's exactly what Silva's foot did to Belfort's face.

It's a shame the front kick to the face isn't used more often in MMA. Hell, it's a shame the front kick isn't used more in MMA period. But wow, what a stunning victory for Anderson Silva tonight.