Hard/strong kick or speedy kick?

The people answering that a speedy kick is the same as a power kick are under the assumption that speed always equals power in martial arts, which is true for objects and physics but not the human body.

In order to generate power, you have to structure your body in a way that makes it carry the maximum amount of weight behind it into the strike. Combine that with speed and THEN you have something.

But there is a concept of "empty" or snapping-type speed. In this respect, kicking isn't much different than punching. I can snap a jab really fast with my lead hand, but it has no bodyweight behind it and no power, I'm just moving the limb quickly.

In the same respect, you can kick without engaging the hips and just snap your leg at the knee, and in some cases, generate a lot of speed but very little power. A kick like this is almost always best used on the groin as it's a target without much natural padding and doesn't need a lot of force applied to it.

But if you plan on doing damage to the opponents thighs, ribs, chest, stomach, or even head, you need full body engagement behind the kick, not just snapping speed.

The problem with a lot of Taekwondo style kicking is not their kicks themselves, but the fact that they train their kicks with the intention to quickly score a touch for a point, not really to devastate the opponent's body, so they end up with a lot of floppy, snappy kicks at the knee that don't do nearly as much damage as a full-body swing roundhouse like you'll see in Muay Thai.

So ultimately, applied to the human body, it's not as simple as speed=power. There's also body structure and how much weight you put into the strike. A 140lb person who knows how to hit with all 140lbs will hit a lot differently than a fast person of the same weight, for example.

You want both, but most importantly you want to be able to know when and where to use it. TKD has a ton of kicks and when used right they can do serious damage. But, if you don't have the speed to get them there all the strength in the world will do nothing for you. Like wise, if you are super fast and can hit every target, but you don't know how to apply power, it too will do you little good. Train to have fast AND powerful kicks. This is why heavy bag training is so important for kicking type fighters. Also, practice being able to hit small targets when and where you want to. Learn timing and how to setup your opponent for an attack or counter.

You have plenty of time to get where you want and besides you are only starting your journey. It will just keep getting better from here. Keep the path and train hard and you'll achieve more then you think you can.

Listen the matters of a kick in MMA are always different i usually do speed kicks on my opponent if he is trying to come close range and take me down other wise use a strong body kick these deliver much more pain than that of a simple kick to the head. Body kicks and leg kicks a brutal and they hurt but for speed kick fake like you will kick hard to the body or legs and switch instantly to speed light tap to the head work almost every time. So in the end it just matters on the situation at hand.

Strong kick + body or legs = more pain and eventually a good advantage

Speed kick= better defense to keep the opponent at bay and have to think more about how to come at you.

hope this helps

Sofrage93 is partially right. Speed does generate power needed to cause trauma to a persons body, but Speed alone cannot generate enough power to knock a person down. Ground force is needed in which a person presses down with one leg building pressure from the grounded leg and turning the hip to convert the pressure into power needed to deliver from your point of impact be that Shin or Heel to pass into an opponent which causes the trauma.

Many people use Speed kicks not for power but to check an opponent. A fast kick can land and cause light contact trauma and revert back to the persons fighting stance. But a kick focused on power will be slow at start and finish and will leave the person vulnerable to tripping.

A fast kick would be more suitable for defense but a strong kick would be best used to end a fight before it starts.

I guess you must be in WTF style of Taekwondo since they're using tag contact in your gym.

Neither is a sure thing. Both may be ineffective, or effective. It depends more of if you can kick where you need to and at the time it is needed. In other words no technique wins a fight. It is using the right technique applied at the right time to the right target. More power do0es not assure a win. More speed does not mean winning either. Each cam be overcome with other attributes. For example better timing can beat greater speed. There are to many factors to even begin to list or explain.

Best thing for you to do right now is develop the best techniques you can. you should not even be trying to second guess this or any related topic. Your instructor and experience based on lots of time, will teach you what you need to know. There is no secret or shorty cut. Knowing something does not mean that you can also do it. Be patient and train smart.

Best of Luck!

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That's like asking which is better for more harm

A Large 8 wheel truck going 5 mph

or

A motorcycle going 150 mph

You can move out of the way of the large truck(the slow kick) so it's useless

You can't get rid of the speedy unpredictable motorcycle(speedy kick)

Usually for a kick to be strong it needs to be traveling fast so a fast Kick is pretty much the same as a strong kick

It depends on the situation. If your hitting somewhere where force isn't as important, like the groin, kidneys, or eyes, then faster would be better. If your hitting to the legs or trying to crack some ribs r knock them out, then harder is better.

speedy kick I believe

cuz it won't let your opponent gets you easily with your speedy defense.. Haha

well the faster the kick is the stronger it is. the thing is they go hand in hand. they are both one in the same.