Front kick
The front kick (Japanese: Mae-geri , kor: ap chagi ) is a kick kick in karate , kickboxing , taekwondo and many other martial arts. On the one hand, it can be kicked as an attack technique with the back leg towards the opponent's torso or head and on the other hand as a defense technique to keep an approaching opponent at a distance.
Movement sequence
If you do a front kick as an attack technique, you first pull up the knee of your back leg. The upper body remains straight or moves minimally towards the knee. It is important that when you pull your knee up, you stiffen your ankle and tense your toes, as if you wanted to touch the instep with your toes. Next you push the drawn leg forward like a catapult and at the same time move your upper body backwards into a slightly supine position. In the impact phase of the kick, the instep and the shin form a line, the contact point of the kick is the ball of the foot. After the kick performed, you pull your knee in the same way towards your own chest and put your leg down in a controlled manner. As a defense technique with the front leg, the sequence of movements is identical, only that the front kick can now be kicked with significantly less force, which is accepted to the advantage of a shorter distance and an overall faster execution.
The front kick poses a risk of injury if the ankle is not stiffened or the toes are not tensed. Uncontrolled dropping of the leg after the kick has been performed can lead to the upper body falling into an attack by the opponent.
Learnability
Beginners usually learn the front kick as the first kick, as it is easier to learn and use in terms of movement than the roundhouse kick , ax kick or side kick , for example .