kicking the shins

[I-mon]

hurts a lot.

how come ALL the big fighting sports stuff is done barefoot or in wrestling/boxing shoes?

people keep asking why CMA doesn't work in the ring, etc.

[FigureFour]

quite a while ago someone posted something about an old english and american fighting sport that involved kicking the shins with treated leather boots. i could swear it was called purling, but i got nothing from that in a search on wikipedia. anyway, those matches sometimes lasted into the dozens of rounds. to me that says...while incredibly painful, shin kicks arent really fight enders, especially if the person has done some conditioning.

[Andy_S]

The old Welsh sport was called "purring" and has undergone something of a revival in the UK in recent years.

Figure Four nails it down. Shin kick hurts a lot but is not a damager, and certainly not a stopper - unless your opponent/assailant really lacks guts. Stamp kick to shin is a decent move as part of a combi, but that's about the best that can be said for it.

[I-mon]

welsh shin kicking that's classic. those dudes must've had gnarly shins.

[fisherman]

I think the shins end up hurting more the next day. Definitely not fight enders, but a good way to divert someones attention.

[Martin]

Good for taking the mind, sensory overload, checking people's step, combining high and low in combination with uppercut etc... and I think could certainly stop the show with most people if powerful enough, though you wouldn't rely on it, of course.

Check out from about 3:30:

[DeusTrismegistus]

Kicking someone's shin can be a fight ender, you would would think the reverse could be true too. Those kicks in the vid above would probably really hurt.

[FigureFour]

the vid of the guy breaking his shin is a freak accident. i challenge you to find another one like it.

the chuo jiao guys are insane. however, i dont know why if you had that kind of incredible kicking skill youd be aiming for the shin instead of the knee cap, which is much more likely to be a crippling target.

[Felipe Bidó]

Yup...kicking the shins hurt, but it's not going to stop an angry guy unless you break that bone..and that's unlikely to happen.

Kicking the knee cap and the tendons of the side of the knee?. That'd do it

[Felipe Bidó]

I remember I read somewhere (And Dr. Fish confirmed it) that the guy in the shin break video may have had some sort of bone sickness. I don't remember the name tight now.

[I-mon]

yeah i'm not talking about shin kicks as some sort of super-deadly kung fu fighting technique, just that they are good, and that all of those wonderful below-the-waist kicks (and stamping on the toe or ankle) done with the sole of the foot or the toes don't work well without shoes.

"i dont know why if you had that kind of incredible kicking skill youd be aiming for the shin instead of the knee cap, which is much more likely to be a crippling target."

the shin, ankle and toes are even lower than the knee and therefore kicks at this height are even sneakier!

"Good for taking the mind, sensory overload, checking people's step, combining high and low in combination with uppercut etc..."

like a good jab or feint, i think maybe the things mentioned by martin can often be more important than whether a move is a fight stopper.

anyway no big deal, i'm just kind of wondering why combat sports have all gone for (essentially) no shoes by default.

[I-mon]

this looks amazingly like xinyiliuhe, but even more raw! what's the deal?

lots of these kicks look like the ones we'd do in xylh. goddam i love that style.

[JuanM]

Capoeira Regional is practiced barefoot and it's not like Angoleros use Doc Martins when practicing. From what I've mostly seen the wear light athletic shoes such as running shoes or martial arts shoes. Either way a kick to the shins with such shoes would not hurt much more than a kick with a bare foot. Just sayin'.

[JAB]

Actually I have seen a couple vids where leg kicks/blocks break the leg. But I agree they are rare at best!
Pride actually allowed people to wear shoes. Shin kicks are not fight enders, but they certainly can be distracting.
George Xu talked to me once about a Xin Yi shin kick (sorry don't know the name) that was aimed up, and in to the shin, kicking with the ball of the foot, that supposedly would shatter the shin bone He kicked me and it hurt, but nothing like what he described. But then again I am told I have tough, sharp shins. But he said the angle up and into the bone causes it to shatter and splinter. Anyone else heard of this?

Thanks,
Jake

[DeusTrismegistus]

Actually I have seen a couple vids where leg kicks/blocks break the leg. But I agree they are rare at best!
Pride actually allowed people to wear shoes. Shin kicks are not fight enders, but they certainly can be distracting.
George Xu talked to me once about a Xin Yi shin kick (sorry don't know the name) that was aimed up, and in to the shin, kicking with the ball of the foot, that supposedly would shatter the shin bone He kicked me and it hurt, but nothing like what he described. But then again I am told I have tough, sharp shins. But he said the angle up and into the bone causes it to shatter and splinter. Anyone else heard of this?

Thanks,
Jake

Angle makes a huge difference on whether a bone breaks or not. Bones are designed to support loads from specific directions and absorb forces from specfic directions. Quite honestly a shin is not designed to be used to whack shit. It is definitely a tough bone to break and due to its curve has good resitance to horizontal forces but given enough pressure in the right spot at the right angle, it might break easier than you would think. Would be interesting to get a bunch of fake shin bones and test the best way to break them, then figure out the best way to strike them to maximize the chances of them breaking. I would imagine an angle coming to the inside of the leg and back and up into the midpoint would be most likely to break it, just speculation though.