Front kick question for all?

Excellent question. I have been training my toes for toe kicks on the maki for some time. I like to kick holes in boxes with my toes for fun. While I was a teen in the late 1960's, I often trained both with and without shoes. My theory then was as you said, that most of the time we are likely to have shoes on if attacked. I found that I was able to kick effectively with cowboy boots, tennis shoes, ...etc. However, one issue is that kicking with shoes on is likely to cause knee strain if you don't kick something. In other words, kicking the air with shoes of any kind is like kicking with ankle weights on. It will cause knee injury if done often. I suggest that anyone that does traditional front kicks using the ball of the foot, also learn to kick with their shoes on. I find toe kicks very useful. It is something that most of the martial artists I've met do not do simply because they were not taught how to. Kicking with the toes is something that can be learned quickly and easily. It does not require you to kick things hard. When used the kicks are often used to attack the inside meridians of the opponents legs. These are easily kicked effectively even with light to medium kicks.

EDIT:

As for kicking heavy bags...... I do not allow heavy bags in my dojo. I find that using that using the makiwara (not as most people do) is the best way to train both the hands and the feet. Kicking the heavy bag tends to teach people to push hard, rather than to explode into the target. The only use of a heavy bag for me is a Circling reverse heel kick. The locked leg spin kick used in Hapkido.

Just my opinion!

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Kk should be reported for advertising. I reported him!

The ball of the foot is better. A couple of things you have to keep in mind are that Japanese/Okinawan people were shorter stature and did not have big feet with long toes like those people of western cultures. They also did a lot of hard core training as well and so yes they would do kicks with the front of their toes without breaking them. For you I am sure it is much different and it would be best that you not try this. At my school we will sometimes have a come as you are work out night so that students can see and learn how impractical some techniques are when dressed fully. I use the fact that I wore combat boots about 90% of the time that I was in the military and trying to kick by curling the toes up was not an option so I would have to flex my ankle up more and hit with more the flatter part of the bottom of my boot. Women in sandals, or tight skirts, people with jeans on, or wearing cowboy boots are all things that can make a difference in what you may or may not be able to do or how well you can do it in normal street cloths.

I was trained to use the toes and the ball of foot for different attacks with the front kick. I was also trained to use the heel in a front thrust kick attack. Using the toes was designed to be done to softer vital target or nerve areas and it is highly effective if you are taught properly. For street fighting though a good front thrust kick with heel can send a person flying on their butt , dislodge the hip or dislocated the knee of an attacker. Anyway you train it you have to be good enough to apply it against a person fighting back.

I get a kick out of people that state you will break the toes. This shows the lack of proper instruction and conditioning in schools today. It is true that if you do not train to strike with the toes they will break but in authentic Karate you learn to condition the toes and fingers to strike with them...it is a sad world when instructors do not train their students properly...just sad.

Taekwondo is greater of an paintings. (And a **** load of kicks) I used to do taekwondo and we would concentration on kicks each and all of the time. Plus sparring became no touch. I now do karate and interior the training we the best thank you to dam, stay away from, locks, sweeps and throws, trapping, self protection and so on and so on... And a million and one distinctive factors for each of those, why and how they artwork and to combat at optimal performance. Oh and we positioned on pads for sparring and that's finished touch. there is the version interior the training (i'd have missed another issues from taekwondo out because of the fact its been around 5 years on the grounds that i stop that)

Short answer .

Usually use ball of the foot , sometimes hill -higher kicks .More damage .

Toes for kicking I wouldn't recommend .

If your kick in shoes try use ball of the foot also , mostly depend of softens , flexibility of shoes . I practice TKD we use shoes for kicking .

If you want , try kick using heavy boots , sounds impossible but is good exercise .

Remember when you kick , foot on ground must not lift hill .

I never really did tarining with shoes on. Not a bad idea to try that though as the shoes add weight to your feet. The weight would have an effect on the kick.

I've never heard of a karate which you keep your shoes on put if you use your toes barefoot it'll break 'em

if you do have shoes on the sole of the shoes is harder so the ball would be more effective

I have been taught to use the instep when it is a groin strike. Above the waist we use the ball of the foot. I have also been taught that when you have shoes on you kick with the toes. KI am also familiar with other toe kicks to the leg. I do not practice those.

Toe kicks aren't seen or practice much in many schools. However you do run into them when you meet martial artist that have been practicing a lot longer than I.

I know a guy who has his own dojo. They are very traditional. They still bow to the old master picture on the wall to start and end class. I think the style was called yudansha karate. My instructor and I was helping him as he prepared to take his 2nd dan test. He had to be able to defend himself against 3 to 5 attackers. He came to us for some jujitsu training n order to accomplish this. I'm not in favor us this testing. It could be scripted. He could bring other with him to work out his routine. We don't have scripted fight scenarios in our school other than bunkai. Well After working with us for a while he came up with about 5 different sets af attacks and finishes. He past his test with flying colors. They awarded him his 2nd Dan and 4th Dan. They were impressed with his jujitsu although he really doesn't know much jujitsu. He can fight but doesn't know jujitsu, he just knows a few moves. He came back after traveling to test excited about sparring with some of the old master and doing bare knuckle fighting. He talked about how they all used toe kick strike nerves. He was impressed. He has since left the organization and reopened his school under his own name. We still help him out occasionally and we help some of his black belt out even more. He left the organization because they didn't offer him much support. They rarely would come to his school. The only communications they basically had with him was to ask for more money.

They had some strange rule and maybe it is common in many organizations. They couldn't share any of there kata with anyone outside of the organization. But they have no problem asking you to share your kata with them that they liked. They were afraid of people outside of their organization learning their kata.

My instructor like one of their bo kata. He asked him to show teach it to him, but he couldn't because of the rules in their organization. However, he would do the kata in order for us to see and learn it. LOL He had no problem asking to learn our sai and kama kata.

Do not use the ball nor the toes of the foot, use the instep(top of foot) in front kicks, if you are wearing shoes, use the instep, barefoot, ball, and it is depending on the target, if it is the groin, you can use the ball or instep, if you are kicking, the side of the knee, use either, but if your are wearing shoes, use the instep

im 19 and i would kick ur **** no doubt about it. d*** h***