The foot sweep (also footsweep) is a move in many different styles of martial arts. [1] It is used to trip an opponent. Foot sweeps are commonly used in Tang Soo Do, karate, Muay Thai and jujutsu. In addition, many closer sweeps like the Trap Sweep and Two-Leg Sweep can resemble Judo throws.
Commonly thought of when someone hears “foot sweep,” the drop sweep involves spinning and sweeping one or two legs from a crouched position. This move is also known as the front sweep in martial arts circles. [2]
When the opponent has one foot off the ground (usually in mid-kick) and the defender moves past this kick and sweeps out the standing leg.
A variant of the single-leg sweep, this involves catching the opponent's kick with one hand and sweeping the back leg. The advantage is closer proximity and less chance of failure, but it leaves the defender open to hand attacks to the head.
When the opponent has both feet on the ground and the defender strikes behind both legs, usually accompanied by a blow across the chest to further off-balance the opponent.
A sweep aimed at the front of the opponent's legs, as opposed to the more conventional behind-the-legs strike. This is considered more dangerous due to the possibility of injuring the opponent's knees or shins if the sweep is too powerful or misapplied.
The scissor sweep involves positioning one leg across the opponent's lower chest/stomach and striking behind the knee or calves with the other leg, closing the legs in a “scissor” motion. This can be done as an offensive technique, leaping into the air toward the opponent, but is more commonly used as an escape when the opponent has trapped the defender's kick across his chest.
A variant of the scissor sweep, it is an offensive technique used in opposite position from a traditional scissor; that is, the higher leg strikes at the opponent's back and the lower leg scissors against the front of the opponent's knees. Like the forward sweep, this can be very dangerous due to potential injury to the opponent's knees, spine, and kidneys.
Kickboxing is a full-contact combat sport and a form of boxing based on punching and kicking. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and bare feet to favor the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or for competition. Some styles of kickboxing include: Karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.
A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee. This type of attack is used frequently by hooved animals as well as humans in the context of stand-up fighting. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as capoeira, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, MMA, Muay Thai, pankration, pradal serey, savate, sikaran, silat, taekwondo, vovinam, and Yaw-Yan. Kicks are a universal act of aggression among humans.
A strike is a directed, forceful physical attack with either a part of the human body or with a handheld object, intended to cause blunt or penetrating trauma upon an opponent.
San Da, formerly San Shou, is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional Chinese martial arts and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines boxing and full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
Strikes can be offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wrestlers frequently give their finishers new names. Occasionally, these names become popular and are used regardless of the wrestler performing the technique.
In martial arts and combat sports, a takedown is a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing them to the ground with the attacker landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known as shooting for a takedown, or simply shooting. Takedowns are usually distinguished from throws by amplitude and impact, where the purpose of a throw is to outright eliminate the opponent while purpose of a takedown is to bring the opponent down on the ground, assume a dominant position and then proceed to finish them with jointlocks, chokeholds, or ground and pound.
The guard is a ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs. In pure grappling combat sports, the guard is considered an advantageous position, because the bottom combatant can attack with various joint locks and chokeholds, while the top combatant's priority is the transition into a more dominant position, a process known as passing the guard. In the sport of mixed martial arts, as well as hand-to-hand combat in general, it is possible to effectively strike from the top in the guard, even though the bottom combatant exerts some control. There are various types of guard, with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Changquan refers to a family of external martial arts styles from northern China.
The front kick in martial arts is a kick executed by lifting the knee straight forward, while keeping the foot and shin either hanging freely or pulled to the hip, and then straightening the leg in front of the practitioner and striking the target area. It is desirable to retract the leg immediately after delivering the kick, to avoid the opponent trying to grapple the leg and to return to stable fighting stance.
In martial arts and tricking, the 540 kick is a jump kick move. It involves a rotation of approximately 540 degrees.
The lotus kick, also known as the jump outside or téng kōng bǎi lián is a popular jump in modern wushu taolu.
The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants torso with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is a favorable position for the top combatant in several ways. The top combatant can generate considerable momentum for strikes to the head of the opponent, while the bottom combatant is restricted by the ground and by the combatant on top. Other advantages include various chokeholds and joint locks that can be applied from the top. The bottom combatant will usually look to sweep the opponent or transition into a better position such as the guard.
Wushu (武術), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern Chinese martial arts, including Shaolin kung fu, tai chi, and Wudangquan. "Wushu" is the Chinese term for "martial arts", reflecting the art's goal as a compilation and standardization of various styles.
A roundhouse kick is a kick in which the practitioner lifts the knee while turning the supporting foot and body in a semicircular motion, extending the leg striking with the lower part of the shin and/or the instep. The ball of the foot can also be used to strike the target and is preferable when power breaking thick boards. This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions. The kick has many variations based on stance, leg movement, striking surface, and the height of the kick.
A scissor kick in martial arts is any of certain kicking or grabbing techniques that resemble a pair of scissors.
A sweep is either of two categories of martial arts techniques. From standing, sweeps are throws or takedowns that primarily use the legs to attack an opponent's legs. On the ground, sweeps are techniques for reversing a grappling position from a guard position.
Stances are a highly fundamental part of all Chinese Martial Arts. Wushu is characterized by low, wide stances designed for mobility and protection. Stability is another key concern of Chinese martial arts, and the wushu stances reflect this sensibility. There are five key stances utilized in both contemporary wushu and traditional wushu. Many others exist, and different styles of wushu prescribe a particular protocol for "correct" stance.
Karate's Nage waza is the set of techniques whereby the opponent is thrown to the ground. While typical students of karate focus most of their attention on learning striking techniques, karate throws are considered indispensable for self-defense and, although not always taught, are part of the classical art.
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