Yoko-geri kekomi 横蹴り込み
Side thrust kick
The technique, and its job.
A thrusting kick to the side driven through the target with the outer edge of the foot. Where keage snaps and returns, kekomi penetrates: the hip drives through, the body commits, and the kick is the heaviest in the syllabus.
Application. Stopping an advancing opponent, attacking the ribs or midsection heavily, and attacking the leg at close range.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Chamber
- The knee lifts across the body as for keage; the chamber is deliberately identical so the two cannot be told apart until the leg extends.
- Supporting foot
- Pivots until the heel points at the target, and often beyond.
- Hips
- Thrust through the target. This is the entire difference from keage.
- Trajectory
- Straight and horizontal, driving through rather than up.
- Extension
- Full, the leg pushing through the target rather than snapping at it.
- Target
- Ribs, midsection, knee, thigh.
- Contact surface
- The outer edge of the foot, or the heel.
- Retraction
- Pull back to the chamber before placing. The commitment makes this harder and more necessary.
- Balance
- The torso leans away in proportion to the height of the kick; the supporting leg stays strong.
- Guard
- Both hands up throughout.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- Kekomi and keage share a chamber and differ only in what happens next. That shared chamber is a tactical asset.
- It is a thrust, so it needs a braced supporting leg and a committed hip.
- It is heavy and therefore slow to recover. Distance must be right before it is thrown.
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. Confusing "thrust" with "lean".
The fix. Drive the hip into the target and keep the supporting leg braced.
Why it happens. Habit from the snapping version.
The fix. Kick at a pad held at hip height and insist the path is horizontal.
Drills
- Slow kekomi holding the chamber, extending, holding the extension, re-chambering.
- Kekomi against a heavy pad, feeling the difference from keage in the same session.
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 Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Kanku Dai To view the sky, major
- Gankaku Crane on a rock
- Maai Engagement distance
- Attacking in kumite Attack selection and delivery
- Mae-geri Front kick
- Yoko-geri keage Side snap kick
- Mawashi-geri Roundhouse kick
- Ushiro-geri Back kick
- Ura-mawashi-geri Reverse roundhouse kick, hook kick
- Mikazuki-geri Crescent kick
- Fumikomi Stamping kick
The Japanese, explained.
- Yoko-geri kekomi 横蹴り込み
- Side thrust kick. A thrusting kick to the side driven through the target. Shares its chamber with keage, which is a tactical asset.
- Sokuto 足刀
- Foot edge, sword foot. The outer edge of the foot, with the edge turned down and the toes pulled up.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Yoko-geri kekomi. 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 →