A kick generates more force than any punch. Your legs are stronger, heavier, and longer than your arms. But not all kicks are created equal. Some win fights. Others lose them. The difference usually comes down to when and where you throw them.
This guide covers every major type of kick in martial arts, from the basic roundhouse to advanced spinning techniques. More importantly, it ranks them by practical effectiveness so you know which ones to actually train.
The Kick Hierarchy
Low kicks and teeps are the workhorses. Body kicks are the money shots. Head kicks are the highlight reels. Spinning kicks are the gambles. Train them in that order. Master the low kick before you ever think about a spinning heel kick.
1. The Roundhouse Kick (Low, Body, High)
The roundhouse is the most versatile kick in combat sports. The same mechanic works at three levels, and each level serves a different purpose.
Low roundhouse: targets the outside thigh. Takes away mobility. Requires no flexibility. The safest kick to throw because even if it's partially checked, you're not off balance. Body roundhouse: targets the ribs and liver. The fight-ending body kick. Requires moderate flexibility and timing. High roundhouse: targets the head. Highlight-reel knockout potential. Requires excellent flexibility and setup. Risk increases dramatically at each level. Start low, work up.
2. The Teep (Push Kick / Front Kick)
The teep is the jab of Muay Thai's kicking game. It controls distance, disrupts rhythm, stops forward pressure, and sets up everything else.
Lift your knee to your chest, extend your foot straight out, push through the hip. As the instructor coaches it: "It's like you're kicking down a door. Boom, get your hips into it. Don't kick like this with your bottom sticking out. Hips forward." The contact surface is the ball of the foot or the heel. Target: the opponent's hip or solar plexus. "You can get fancy with it, and teep or push kick the thigh. That really gets old after about two or three. And you can kick the face, which is more of an insult than an actual damage causing kick." Thai fighters throw teeps more than any other kick because it's the safest kick with the highest utility.
3. The Side Kick
The side kick generates enormous force by driving through the hip in a straight line. It's less common in Muay Thai than in karate or taekwondo, but fighters like Saenchai use it effectively at the highest levels.
Chamber your knee high and across your body, pivot your base foot, and drive your heel straight out to the side. The power comes from the hip extension, not the leg. Contact with the heel or blade of the foot. The side kick works best as a counter or a distance weapon. It's slower than a roundhouse but hits harder in a straight line.
4. Low Kicks: The Leg Destroyer
Low kicks don't make highlight reels. They win fights. A few solid low kicks to the outside thigh change an entire confrontation. The opponent's movement deteriorates, their stance narrows, and their confidence drops.
Scott Sullivan keeps all self-defense kicking "low line," meaning below the waist. For good reason. Low kicks require zero flexibility, minimal setup, and are extremely hard to catch. The target is the common peroneal nerve cluster on the outside of the thigh, just above the knee. Even one clean shot causes immediate, involuntary motor dysfunction. The leg simply stops working the way the brain tells it to.
5. Spinning and Advanced Kicks
Spinning back kick, spinning heel kick, axe kick, tornado kick. These exist, they can be devastating, and they should be the last thing you train.
Spinning kicks turn your back to your opponent. That's the definition of risk. Against an opponent who can't time it, a spinning kick is a knockout. Against an opponent who can, you've given them your back. These techniques work when set up properly (off a jab or a feint) and thrown with commitment. They don't work when thrown randomly hoping for a highlight.
What to Train First
Your kicking priority: 1. Low roundhouse (outside thigh). 2. Teep (distance control). 3. Body roundhouse (fight ender). 4. Head roundhouse (knockout tool). 5. Everything else (only after 1-4 are sharp). Most fighters at amateur level would improve more by perfecting their low kick on the heavy bag than by learning any new technique. One great kick beats five average kicks.