The Kicking Form (i)

There is one Kicking Form in the Silat Fitrah syllabus. It enables students to develop a range

of mid to low-line kicks (with one exception – a head-height kick), using various parts of the

feet, the shins and the knees.

We treat the relationship between the hip, thigh, knee, shin and foot, as we do the relationship between the shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm and hand. This helps us to realise that:

1. The legs can be used to attack with the same types of movement as the arms. In other

words, kicks can scythe through the target, they can bounce from one target to another and/or they can snap out and retract in a single movement.

2. We can use the different parts of the leg and foot, just as we can the different parts of the

arm and hand. For example, we can use the hip to strike and unbalance our opponent just as we can with our shoulder. We can use the inner thigh to do the same thing, just as we can with our bicep and inner arm. The knee is to the leg what the elbow is to the arm; both can be used to deliver devastating blows, and can be used to pin, unbalance or control parts of our opponent’s body, and both play a pivotal role in the delivery of strikes with the lower parts of their respective limbs. The shin can be thought of – and used – in similar ways to the forearm.

Whilst the ankle and foot have much in common with the wrist and hand. (For example, our

toes should have as much life and movement in them as our fingers.)

Talking of relationships, there is also a close relationship between the various Langkah we

practise and the Kicking Form. Some of the movements we call steps in the Langkah are

exactly the same as those we call attacks in the Kicking Form. Over time, students are trained to use steps as kicks and vice-versa. The notion being, if the kick misses, that’s fine use it as a step. If the step hits, that’s fine cause damage and then move on.