Mikazuki-geri 三日月蹴り
Crescent kick
The technique, and its job.
A kick swinging in a crescent across the body, striking with the sole or the inner edge of the foot. It is used as much to sweep a guard aside or strike an arm as to hit the head, and in kata it commonly lands against the opposite open palm.
Application. Clearing a guard or a grabbing arm with the leg, and striking the head from an unexpected angle.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Chamber
- Less pronounced than in other kicks — the leg travels in an arc from the floor.
- Supporting foot
- Pivots as the arc develops.
- Hips
- Rotate into the swing.
- Trajectory
- A crescent from outside to inside, or inside to outside.
- Target
- The opponent’s guarding arm, the side of the head, or a held weapon.
- Contact surface
- The sole or the inner edge of the foot.
- Retraction
- Bring the leg down under control, often stepping directly into the following technique.
- Balance
- The wide arc makes balance the limiting factor.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- It is often a block or a clearance made with the leg rather than a strike.
- In kata the palm it strikes is a target, and treating it as decoration loses the point of the movement.
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Naming a fault teaches nobody. Each one below carries why it happens and what corrects it.
Why it happens. Assuming every kick is a strike to the opponent.
The fix. Train it against a partner’s guarding arm as well as against a pad.
Drills
- Striking the own opposite palm accurately, then a partner’s held pad at the same height.
Where it appears.
Kihon is the vocabulary, kata is the literature, kumite is the conversation. Every link below was written down deliberately; none of it was inferred from a name matching.
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Kanku Dai To view the sky, major
- Unsu Cloud hands
- Mae-geri Front kick
- Yoko-geri keage Side snap kick
- Yoko-geri kekomi Side thrust kick
- Mawashi-geri Roundhouse kick
- Ushiro-geri Back kick
- Ura-mawashi-geri Reverse roundhouse kick, hook kick
- Fumikomi Stamping kick
The Japanese, explained.
- Mikazuki-geri 三日月蹴り
- Crescent kick. A kick swinging in a crescent across the body, often used to clear a guard rather than to strike.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Mikazuki-geri. MMAKF has not filmed this technique, and the discovery pass did not find an external recording specific enough to attribute to it without guessing.
Nothing is shown here rather than a search link dressed up as a demonstration. What has been found, checked and registered is listed in full on the source register.
The video source register →