What is or was the original and intended purpose for flying kicks?

the main one i have heard was for striking people on horse back or higher ground then you are.

not the first kick of my chose as it leaves you vulnerable when you are in the air.

in some instance it can be use to strike a person on the same level terrain, there are examples of this in the book my way of life by funakoshi, and also the consequences when wrongly timed or used, they can be quit devastating.

My Korean instructors have always said the purpose was to dismount a rider. It could be urban legend, but ancient Koreans, Chinese, and Mongolians were expert horsemen warriors. It is likely a dismounted rider would need a way to dismount his adversary to even the playing field, so this may be quite true.

You'll find many open handed martial arts in Korea derived from Taek'kyon, and I assure you it is quite ancient. It was the Japanese masters who were adept at adapting what they adopted, not the Koreans. You may be shown another use for a flying kick if you make this faux pas at the next dojang you visit. :-(

Now, you should also know that the Chinese have a long history of acrobatics, and it is likely that at some point in their long history that acrobatic techniques melded its way into martial arts. However, I am not expert at Chinese martial arts history.

As to usefulness? To those who say it is not useful, and is dangerous, then consider the typical fighter back in the day. They were heavily laden with armor and weaponry, and were mounted on a horse. Not exactly the best conditions for dexterity. The armored warrior didn't have the ability to do much other than watch the kick coming and hope he was heavy enough to absorb the kick.

Ostensibly, the flying kickers were not so bogged down, and so a flying kick offered a way to knock an opponent down such that others could come in and take the armored warrior out.

In this day and age, flying kicks are not as useful, simply because we are not armored the way they were back then. They are cool to watch, though.

I don't know all this for fact, it's jut a guess.

Ok, this might sound a little racist but aren't Asians on the "shorter" side? That means they'd have to have an extra high vertical leap to be able to hit someone on a horse. Horses are about 5 1/2 feet at the withers and then another 4 inches from the saddle and another feet or two of the riders torso! Their kicks would have to be 7-8 feet high, is that possible (while maintaining accuracy)?

I also have heard from my instructor that flying kicks were used to dismount warriors on horse back. This in the martial are Kuk Sool Won which is also from Korea. However i have used flying kicks in competitions because i am a rather short guy i have to jump to land a kick, so if you can make a connection their be my guest. I also have done flying kicks in Japanese arts as well and found a difference. In the Japanese art when they do flying kicks they practise them with partners for example the double jump front kick you do in front of a partner and you have to make contact or could make contact (of course the opponent has to move back). In Kuk Sool Won we practise with crash mats so we can get extra height where as in the Japanese arts it's just straight on the hard floor

I have heard that on numerous occasions, mainly from Korean based arts. I find it highly unlikely that was the intended use, it may have occurred a few times though. If you read Karate Do Kyohan By Gichin Funakoshi, you will see jumping kicks being demonstrated against standing opponents. I have never seen a picture or heard of a story where someone was actually unhorsed by someone kicking them.

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You may be right about that but i honestly cannot say for sure. I have been training with them for a while and in all my sparring bouts, ring bouts and times where i have been ambushed i have attempted flying techniques and only once did it pull off - Unsurprisingly it was against a street fighter who knew no specialist fighting styles and had very poor technique. So it isn't all that useful, i suppose you catch them off guard and the velocity gives it power but it is hard to pull off.

i know am only eighteen but ive practiced several martial arts forms since i could walk on my two feet. i can assure you the only thing flying kicks are good for are stationery objects with no higher resultant force than the the kicker. been very helpfull for breakin down my bedroom door a couple of tyms when i misplaced my keys and the headmaster''s office during a high school riot. flying first showed up in an early heavy selling martial arts movie and have been reintroduced in martial arts movies since as a theme e.g bloodsport jean claude van-damme. dont try this at home home or should i say polo field. lol

I have heard that same story. To me it makes good logical sense, so why not run with it?

James

I think it is just another way to use your body. It's another weapon, to be used at the right opportunity.