Deepen Your Understanding Of Footwork And Distance Management When It Comes To Throwing Kicks With Raymond Daniels
Some would say that proper footwork is more than half the battle in the art of striking. Good punching form is obviously important, but being in a position to land punches has to come first. When it comes to footwork there are two main categories; using footwork for distance management and proper footwork for setting up and landing strikes.
Being at the correct distance is crucial for being able to land effective strikes. Additionally, positioning your feet properly when throwing a strike and then again when recoiling from a strike affects where you are going to land, which also affects what your next options can be.
You need to be able to either land in a good position to continue to throw strikes, or in a position where you can properly defend against a counter. Most people who train a striking discipline typically understand the importance of footwork, but it is something that can absolutely not be overlooked.
In this video, Raymond Daniels talks about and demonstrates the importance of good footwork as it pertains to throwing a back kick and more, check it out below!
The Technique
The primary move that Raymond covers in this video is what’s called the crossout. It is a footwork technique that is used after throwing a kick to ensure you land in a good position and stance to either keep attacking or to be ready to defend. It allows you to land in a position where you don’t get jammed up which would enable your opponent to start throwing combinations at you. Space is your best friend when it comes to fighting.
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As you are in your stance and finishing your back kick, you first shift your hips which essentially turns you 180 degrees. You lean forward slighting which makes your back leg light and then you throw the back kick. As you re-chamber that kick, you are going to land that foot in front of your other foot. At this point your legs should essentially be crossed, hence the name “crossout”. This X or crossout position is the quickest way to get back to your stance. At this point, it should only take one more step for you to be able to get back to your stance, facing your opponent again.
It is important that as you re-chamber that kick and step past your other leg, you are stepping in front of the leg rather than behind it. If you step behind your leg, it puts you in an extremely unbalanced position and you also do not have the option to just take one step to get back to your stance. You would basically just be tangling your legs, so ensure that the re-chamber step occurs in front of your other leg.
This is not a particularly difficult technique to do, but drilling it and creating the proper muscle memory goes the long way. You don’t necessarily even need a partner to do it with, you can practice it while shadow boxing. Start out by doing it slowly and make sure you figure out how far your legs need to be spread out due to your body type and things of that nature.
It is also important to practice this from both stances. Even if you have your primary stance that you fight from, you may end up in the opposite stance in a fight and have a great opportunity to throw this back kick from there. Start picking up the speed to a realistic fight scenario, and you can even practice it on a bag to see how making contact with the kick affects your movement.
This is an extremely valuable technique to learn. Aside from the effectiveness of the back kick, stances like these can be used in so many situations. Becoming familiar to movements such as these will translate into proper footwork in many other types of kicks and combinations.
About Raymond Daniels
Raymond Daniels is a Kenpoist, Karateka, Tae Kwon Do practitioner, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He is particularly known for his aggressive fighting style, and he is currently competing in the Welterweight Division in Bellator MMA. As it currently stands, Raymond Daniels is the Bellator Kickboxing Welterweight Champion.
He is proficient in numerous forms of martial arts and dedicated his life to the sport from a young age. After serving many years as a police officer for the Long Beach Police Department, he retired to focus on his MMA career. With an undefeated record in Bellator, Daniels stands as one of the top competitors in the world.
About Raymond’s Instructional
Raymond has devoted this instruction to the art of the spin kick. Included you will find techniques such as intro to the stance, drills to improve defensive back kick, numerous dimensions of the spin back kick, and so much more.
When choosing a practitioner to learn from, you can’t find anyone better than Raymond. His proficiency in multiple martial art forms has allowed him to get different looks and perfect his footwork. Make sure you are always in the best position with your footwork whether you are attacking or defending, check out his instructional here!