Kung fu is an effective and practical martial art that originates somewhere in the 5th-century bc. The fighting style it preaches is all about being as dynamic and adaptive as possible.
Being dynamic is all it takes to come out on top in real self-defense situations and street fights. That’s why kung fu is a suitable martial art for that purpose.
This article, however, will focus entirely on kicks that kung fu teaches.
Each kick has unique characteristics and uses, and they can be combined and adapted in countless ways to create a highly effective fighting style.
You’ll become a complete fighter if you correctly combine kicking with your fighting style. Almost everyone knows how to punch powerfully. So it’ll take more than that to win every fight you come across.
Let’s dive into the 12 basic kung fu kicks you must know to call yourself a martial artist.
Before we dive in, however, if you want to learn more about which martial art you should learn first as a beginner, follow the link to an article of mine revealing the answer.
#12 – Dragon tail kick
The dragon tail kick is fast and powerful. (The listings in this article aren’t from best to worse.) It uses a circular motion and strikes the opponent’s face (or upper body.)
You can easily knock the opponent off-balance with the dragon tail kick, as it’s powerful and can be quite intimidating for the opponent.
This is how you perform it:
- Start from your fighting stance
- Step up with your rear foot
- Look over your shoulder
- Turn in a circular motion
- Raise your leg with the momentum of the body
#11 – Butterfly kick
The butterfly kick is advanced and shouldn’t be taught to beginner kung fu practitioners.
It’s mainly used for showmanship and to surprise opponents. It looks acrobatic and is hard to execute. Overall, it’s a cool kick to look at, as you’ll be flying in the air while performing it!
This is how you perform it:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Turn your entire body to the right
- Raise your right leg first
- Begin using the momentum from the second step to turn more
- Now raise your left leg
- Keep the momentum going by turning
- Land on your legs
Although it can be cool to look at, it’s not as effective as one might initially think. That’s why I encourage you not to learn it until you’re at a very advanced stage in your training. You have to be capable of maneuvering yourself while in the air to perform it properly.
So, although it’s extremely beautiful, it’ll be best to stick to other, more practical, fighting techniques, such as the dragon tail kick.
#10 – Axe kick
The axe kick is powerful and practical for street fights, self-defense, and competitions. However, it will be intimidating for your opponent if you decide to use it.
Eventually, if you land the axe kick, you might cause enough damage to cause a knockout or force the opponent to be in great physical pain.
The axe kick isn’t as hard to execute as many kicks on this list.
So, let’s see how you can perform it:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Step forward
- Raise your kick as high as you can
- Slam it down as hard as you can
- Return to your fighting stance
The axe kick can leave you vulnerable if you do it while not in the best position.
Whether you hit or miss, it’ll be best to step back as quickly as possible after executing it. Or, if you want to get frisky, you can use more offensive moves to ensure the opponent stays on his defensive guard, even after you perform the axe kick.
If you decide to follow up with offensive moves, I encourage you to use quick punches or close-combat moves, such as clinching.
Remember, getting on the offensive is sometimes the best defensive decision.
#9 – Jumping roundhouse kick
The jumping roundhouse kick is a fairly easy-to-execute one compared to most moves on this list. You can even start by learning it, as it’ll grant you the fundamentals to learn more complex moves.
This move is delivered in a circular motion and not straight ahead. It’ll be best to use it when the opponent is off to the side or to deliver a powerful blow to the opponent’s midsection, effectively causing enormous amounts of pain.
This is how you can perform it:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Push the opponent using a quick punch
- Jump with both your legs
- Strike the opponent with your leg (mid-air)
- Use a circular motion to generate more force
- Return to your fighting position
Like most other kicks, you’ll be more vulnerable after executing it. As a result, it’ll be best to follow it up with either a defensive or an offensive move.
#8 – Jumping side kick
The jumping side kick is used for the same purpose as the jumping roundhouse kick. Usually, you’ll use it to make the opponent be off-balance or cause high amounts of damage to one’s midsection.
For instance, performing it isn’t as hard as the dragon tail kick. But, it can leave you vulnerable if you miss it. So, return to your regular fighting position once you have finished performing the kick.
The jumping side kick can be divided into 3 primary parts:
- starting position
- running
- kicking
You can work on each part separately.
So, here’s you you can perform the jumping side kick:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Have your kicking foot in the back
- Generate momentum by running (about 2-3 steps)
- Jump
- Launch your kicking foot at the opponent
- Return to your fighting stance
Learning this kick isn’t as hard. So, beginners can definitely start learning this one first. However, make sure to have the normal side kick down before you add the jumping element.
#7 – Jumping front kick
The jumping front kick is one you can generate much force with. You’ll also be as vulnerable after executing it. Many kicks can leave you extremely vulnerable to the opponent. So, you have to use them with caution.
While that still applies to this move, you’re not as limited to this one.
You can drive plenty of force with this kick. You might even cause a knockout if you hit the head. However, it’ll be best to aim this move to the midsection. But it depends on your flexibility and the opponent’s height.
Here’s how you can perform it:
- Start with your fighting stance.
- Raise your back leg
- Jump and throw your front leg in a snap
- Generate force by using the momentum from the jump
- Return to the starting position
It’ll be better to master the front kick and all the other basic kicks before you begin working on this one.
While it’s not as advanced as the butterfly kick, it’ll take dedication and a lot of practice to learn.
Nonetheless, start by mastering the front kick, and only then should you move on to this one.
#6 – Spinning back kick
The spinning back kick is known for being effective and extremely powerful. Likewise, it’ll also be fast if you invest time into mastering it. It’ll be so ingrained in you that you won’t need to think about the steps when you execute this move.
It can be the final blow in many fights if you land it. As with many other kicks here, it’s quite advanced. Thus, I recommend mastering the basic kicks before learning this one.
Nonetheless, if you manage to land it, you’ll cause sufficient damage to ensure the opponent won’t be able to move from all the pain.
Many MMA fighters learn the spinning back kick because of its speed and power. Unlike many martial arts, it’s applicable in real fights, increasing its value. So, you’ll see MMA fighters using to cause high amounts of damage.
The first move in this video is a fantastic example of the spinning back kick. Give it a watch!
This is how you perform it:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Point your heel toward the opponent
- Spin while throwing your second leg
- Use the momentum from the spin
- Return to your starting position
#5 – Crescent kick
The crescent, or rainbow kick utilizes swinging the leg circularly and striking with the top of the foot or the shin.
It’s great at deflecting incoming attacks and striking the opponent’s head.
What makes this move effective is its speed and ability to surprise opponents.
I particularly love this kick because it won’t leave you as vulnerable and can be a platform you use to defend yourself. That’s why you can’t really go wrong with it. Also, it won’t require much training (if you’re already flexible.) If you’re not flexible, you must start working on that to perform it accordingly.
This is how you perform the crescent kick:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Step forward with your rear leg
- Throw your other leg in a circular motion
- Use your body to generate momentum and force
- Return to your starting position
#4 – Hook kick
Like the rainbow kick, the hook kick uses a circular motion to generate more force. Likewise, you can use it to hit the opponent’s head, making him see stars.
It’s a unique kick that allows you to cause plenty of damage while knocking the opponent off balance.
There’s one exceptionally good thing about the hook kick, and it is that you can use it from various angles. This allows you to surprise the opponent each time you use it. For instance, you can come from the right or left—from various angles.
Here’s how you can perform it:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Bring your knee to your body
- Throw your lower leg to the opponent’s head
- Use the momentum to generate more force
- Return to your starting position
#3 – Roundhouse kick
The roundhouse kick is a widespread move in many martial arts. You can guess why that is: it’s because of its practicality.
This kick is best used to deliver powerful blows to the opponent’s midsection. Eventually, you can generate a lot of force with it. But one more thing makes it even more effective: you can hit almost anywhere in the opponent’s body and with great accuracy.
So, it’s hard to go wrong with the roundhouse kick.
I recommend using it whenever you think the opponent might return an offensive move after you kick. It won’t leave you as vulnerable and will allow you to recover quickly.
Here’s how you can perform the roundhouse kick yourself:
- Start with your fighting stance
- Raise your knee up
- Pivot your bottom foot all the way around
- Snap kick
- Recover to your normal fighting position
The roundhouse kick is part of the basics. Thus, learning it before you learn the scissor, butterfly, and dragon tail kicks—will be the wisest choice.
#2 – Side kick
The side kick is fundamental you must know for you to call yourself a kung fu practitioner. You must learn it before moving on to the more advanced techniques, so don’t give up on mastering it.
The side kick can be quite powerful with proper execution. You can use it to strike anywhere on the opponent’s body, especially on the side, while knocking them off-balance.
Likewise, it’ll be quite speedy if you execute it properly. That means you can recover quickly and leave your opponent in great pain while in the “safe zone.”
Here’s how to perform the side kick:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Lift your knee to your core
- Extend your leg as high as you can
- Return to your fighting stance quickly
The side kick is a must-know offensive technique. Emphasize returning to your fighting stance as quickly as possible after performing it. With the right training, you will greatly improve your speed, and thus your recovery time.
#1 – Front kick
For the last kick of this article, we’ll cover the front kick.
It’s one of the basic kicks in kung fu that you can use to hit the opponent’s front and cause great damage. Likewise, it’s known for its speed and fast recovery time; thus, you can be sure you’ll land it and recover quickly.
The front kick is a simple technique you must learn before moving on to more advanced kicks. This kick especially won’t take long to master, so you can start right now and move on relatively quickly.
Here’s how to perform the front kick:
- Start in your fighting stance
- Raise your knee
- Pivot your body to be in front of the opponent
- Extend your leg forward
- Return to your fighting position
Now, let’s move to the honorable mentions. These are offensive moves you might come across somewhere along your journey. However, it’s not likely that you’ll start learning them first.
Honorable mentions
This section will mention 5 kicks you might or might not learn in your kung fu journey. Knowing they exist is more important.
So, let’s dive in.
Drop kick
The drop kick is an offensive move requiring much effort and has a low recovery time.
If the opponent manages to avoid your hit, you’ll be in quite a lot of trouble, especially in a real situation.
Side push kick
As the name suggests, the side push kick is similar to the side kick.
However, it’s really not. It involves a spin and generating more momentum by adding more motion. So, it’ll leave you more vulnerable, as it requires more motion.
But, you can generate more force with the side push kick than the side kick.
Here, give it a watch:
Scissor kick
I’ve never seen someone perform the scissor kick in real life, as it’s not as practical as many kung fu masters claim.
Regardless, it’s important to know it exists, as it involves a beautiful execution, so you’ll nonetheless enjoy learning this kick.
Push kick
The push kick is similar to the front kick in its execution. That said, it has a different purpose: to push the opponent backward.
While it does allow you to generate force and cause damage, going with the front kick is almost always the better choice.
Reverse roundhouse kick
The reverse roundhouse kick is the same as the roundhouse kick. However, it utilizes the opposite motion of that of the roundhouse.
While it will require more training to master it, as changing directions can sometimes be difficult, it’s the same.
Final words
Overall, kung fu kicks are known for their speed, power, and versatility. Each kick has unique characteristics and uses; practitioners often train for years to master them.
Mastering the martial art of kung fu requires dedication, consistency, and a lot of hard work. But every journey starts with a single step.
This website is about improving your life by training in martial arts, as it can be highly beneficial in the right hands.
As such, my only advice in this article is to start your training as soon as possible, so you can watch the benefits flowing in quickly.
And, if you want to learn more about who will win in a fight: Shaolin monks vs. MMA fighters, follow the link!