What has the potential to hit harder, punches or kicks?

I'll take a punch to the head over a roundhouse kick to the head anyday!


Most of the record breaking techniques are performed at an unusual angle, for martial purposes, that is.

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something to consider a good strike comes from the whole body including the leg, but does a good kick include the arm?

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bonjafski from k-1 i beleive and i did spell his name wrong most of his knock outs are from kicks.

how many kicks to the head can one take? cause i can take many hits

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I think it partially depends on space, if you're in a tight space with not a lot of room to move in, then punches and upper body is where you're going to get your power from and the best bet to win, but if you have room to use them properly, than a kick will crush a person, you have more massive muscles in the leg and you can put all your weight behind a kick, something like a slide-side-kick will do amazing things when done properly.

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Well I have to say that I'm in the boat with kicks being able to generate more force due to the obvious size advantage (both longer and stronger) the legs have over the arms but I'd love to see some documented scientific research on this if anyone can find some.

All I know from personal experience is that when people hold the focus mits for me, their shoulders give out way faster when I'm roundhouse kicking them than when I'm punching them no matter how I punch. I'm pretty sure my boxing skills are at the same level if not higher than my kicking skills but still people don't worry about me punching them so much as kicking them in the head.

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kicks all the way..............in my experience i have been hit with harder kicks than punches or palms.................but saying that the most painful fighting experience ive ever had was wrist lock.............

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“	Originally Posted By: mok Hey I do Hung Gar, which is more hands than feet, but even I recognize legs have more power than arms. True, there is the question of targets and skill to consider as well. Much easier to punch someone up above, than kick. But if we ignore that, which would you rather take from: A) punches to the head from someone who'se mounting you? B) ****kicking to the head from his friend? I pick (A).	”

I'd choose A as well. But B would be stomping the head, not necessarily kicking it.


And I still stick to my original answer in this thread.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

Something I've just thought about...

Does a punch have a more external effect, like cutting/bruising skin whereas a kick has a penetrating effect on the body and damages muscles/bones.

My reason for asking is because if you kick someone in the leg it hurts the muscle. If you punch someone in the leg, it bruises! (This is more of a medium power attack, rather than full force from either which will cause bruising regardless)

“	Originally Posted By: Inferus Something I've just thought about... Does a punch have a more external effect, like cutting/bruising skin whereas a kick has a penetrating effect on the body and damages muscles/bones. My reason for asking is because if you kick someone in the leg it hurts the muscle. If you punch someone in the leg, it bruises! (This is more of a medium power attack, rather than full force from either which will cause bruising regardless)	”

No. And this is why I stick to my answer.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

“	Originally Posted By: Inferus Something I've just thought about... Does a punch have a more external effect, like cutting/bruising skin whereas a kick has a penetrating effect on the body and damages muscles/bones.	”

Good point. Ever heard that you need to "strike through" you target? It's called follow through and the more follow through you have, the more powerfull your strike will be. The leg and hips as they are built provide for a good foot of follow-through but you're really only going to get 6 inches of follow-through out of your arm. I have got to say that physics are on our side here....

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I think a roundhouse kick will do more damage than a roundhouse punch, but a straight kick (to the front or back) will be less powerful than a straight punch. Roundhouse kicks use the strongest muscles in the body, the quads, in the most straight-forward way, while straight kicks use them less effectively. Also, a straight punch (well, really any punch) has the potential to use most (if not all) of the major muscle groups, adding a whole lot of power to the technique.

It's all about the biomechanics (unless you have control of your internal energy or qi [chi if you prefer]).

“	Originally Posted By: Jubei Good point. Ever heard that you need to "strike through" you target?	”

This is a good point, one that many styles whether it's western or eastern utilizes. But, a follow through with the body isn't necessarily the best way to do so. On a straight punch, one might tend to come up to the ball of their foot, which may put them in a bad position.

“	Originally Posted By: PaiauM I think a roundhouse kick will do more damage than a roundhouse punch.	”

While both of these have power in their own right. Both can be stopped with a flick of the wrist.

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

“	Originally Posted By: jawsman While both of these have power in their own right. Both can be stopped with a flick of the wrist.	”

True. However, there are no unstoppable/unescapeable techniques, just varying degrees of difficulty.

very true but we are talking about which one has more potential power

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“	Originally Posted By: PaiauM but a straight kick (to the front or back) will be less powerfull than a straight punch. It's all about the biomechanics (unless you have control of your internal energy or qi [chi if you prefer]).	”

I take it you've never done a thrust kick? You can generate ten times the power with a thrust kick than either a straight punch or roundhouse kick, this kick is used to break legs and hips, and ribs, and cause massive internal damage in the belly.

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