Safely Block Kicks To Your Head Or Body Part 2 (instructional video included)

As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, kicks are powerful weapons that can do a lot of damage. This is because the legs are larger, stronger, muscularly thicker, and more bone dense than your arms. As a result, kicks are so powerful that if you were to block the kick with your hands, they and your fingers could easily be broken by the kick. For this reason, we will block kicks by other means.

Part Two - Shoulder Defense (against high kicks):

Blocking with your shoulder is a good way to block kicks to your upper body. The shoulder defense is used to block mid-range horizontal kicks like round house kicks, and hooking kicks to your torso.

When standing in neutral or fighting stance, you’ll notice that your shoulders are already covering your sides. Simply tighten your arms and meet the kick with the shoulder that is closest to them. For additional support, you can easily combine this defense with the Forearm Defense (see last weeks self defense technique of the week). Step in towards the opponent (if possible), to lessen the impact and potentially knock them off balance.

How to perform:

To block a high kick with your shoulder:

Twist your torso in the direction of the assailants kicking leg, so your same-side shoulder is facing the direction of the kick.
Clench and tighten your shoulder, forearm, and fist of that side to absorb the blow from oncoming kick..
Keep your shoulder close to your body, perpendicular to the kick (if possible).
Step in towards the assailant (if possible) to minimize the impact of the kick.

Below is a quick tutorial of how to block high kicks with your forearms.

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Using Your Shoulders to Block High Kicks