Post 2: The Cut Kick- Bane of Modern Taekwondo Competition?

Discussing some more and some less underrated strategic uses for the Cut Kick

In a discussion with an oldschool taekwondoin one is nearly ensured to run into the cut kick sooner or later. There is probably no other subject which is more controversial in modern sports taekwondo than the cut kick. One could argue that the eHogu and the electronic scoring system is more controversial because it enabled the use of such strategies but that is a discussion for another day. Today we want to concentrate on the cut kick. This article is targeted for people like me who do modern sports Taekwondo on a lower level and rarely or never compete. I think it is useful for those people to know WHY they are doing what they are doing in a sparring match especially if they do not compete that much (lately) and hence do not get the first-hand experiencewhy cut kicks are an essential part in the current taekwondo metagame. Those are often also the people who deem modern Taekwondo as less or inferior, but truth is it is just different to the oldschool style.People tend to forget, that this kick existed long before the electronic scoring system. But since the implementation of the electronic scoring system the cut kick metagame developed dramatically, to the extent that even if you are not a front leg cut kick player you have to have a basic knowledge of the metagame to counter it because it is so widespread. There is a lot of content out there for how to throw a cut kick, there is less about when to throw it and there is nearly none about what makes it so centralising and ‘effective’ nowadays. I want to focus on the latter.

I think most of the people reading this know about the use of the cut kick as the boxer’s jab. The goal is to distract the opponent for your other moves to hit (keyword: combos).  They must react somehow unless they want to get scored on. The expected (!) reaction can be used to score with your technique. This is an offensive use of the cut kick. I will not go much into this (or maybe in another article) because there is a lot on this topic on the interwebs.

The third usage and concept I wanted to discuss, which I feel is not taken into consideration enough (at least on a local or club level) is that you can deny the opponent of air or kicking space. This does not sound like a huge deal but at least I think it is. Common sense tells that you need space to kick and score. For this one players foot has to bridge the space between it and the opponent. The dilemma is that most of the time, unless there is a huge size difference between you and your opponent, if you are in distance to score, the other player can score too. But if you put something in between you and the other player which cannot be scored upon- like a cut kick- you can use it like a shield to come in range for your other kicks!  The direct path to your scoring areas is now ‘blocked’. Your opponents kick has to travel around it which takes more time, giving you time to react and predict. Another advantage is that by throwing cut kicks out which are targeted but not that committed you look less passive and therefore less prone to be penalized.Another similar but different use of it, is to break the rhythm of the opponent. Most people tend to do things cyclically without even noticing it. Heck, the whole taekwondo competition metagame (and Combat Sports in general) is based on imposing one’s rhythm on the opponent and exploiting this by breaking it. The cut kick can be used offensively to impose your rhythm on the other player which is like the usage mention earlier for combos. But you can also use it defensively. When your opponent has imposed his rhythm on you either by kicking, stepping or just in general. One tool you have, to break this, is throwing out a (random) cut kick. It does not matter if it scores. Because of its speed your opponent can not prepare for it and his rhythm is broken. Then you can continue to execute your game plan- imposing your will and rhythm on your opponent.

Depending on if you throw out a low floating cut kick or a high floating cut kick, there are different lines of attack and hence different counter kicking options open for your opponent to choose. The stance (open or closed) and your chosen guard also further limits the options your opponent can take.  With this you can reduce the number of possible countermoves your opponent can do. The concept of the attack lines is another subject I want to discuss in the future. It is similar to the standard parry lines in Olympic Fencing or the sectors in Filipino Martial Arts.  Let us discuss one example which I deem as a fairly standard exchange in the current competition metagame. Player A and B are standing out of kicking range in open stance. You, Player A try to go on the offensive and bridge the distance with a high cut kick.  During the attack you have to take into consideration following attack lines which are now open for your opponent to abuse. In figure 1 you can see possible attack lines. Line 1 can be attacked by player B, your opponent, via ducking under your cut kick and spinning for a spinning hook kick or dwi huryo chagi. Line 3 can be targeted by a low back leg roudhouse kick or paltung chagi. This the most common option I see nowadays. Line 2 is the hardest for your opponent (player B) to get in open stance. Your opponent has to evade or win the leg entanglement before he can initiate a counterattack. An option would be a ‘Hax’ Kick (a mixture between axe kick and hook kick) going diagonal from your belly side down to your back side. Of course, this is only a simplified exemplary case and a lot can happen in a fight. Especially if we consider stepping off the line, leg entanglement and clinching. I only wanted to show what is possible with a systematic approach to your game.  Further I think this approach will improve your game if you know WHY something works. You can then start do it intentionally and abuse the concepts behind it instead of just throwing out kicks hoping some will hit.

To summarize. We discussed three different concepts for what a cut kick can be used for or used as. They were as follows:

1. In a combination to distract your opponent from your hard hitting kicks
2. As a tool for breaking your opponent’s rhythm
3. As a tool to control the kicking space between you and your opponent

Of course there are more. I just deemed those three as particularly interesting. I hope people like me, lower level athletes and recreationalist, or the one or other coach, athlete or enthusiast find this interesting and useful. I am excited for the discussions people have on this topic and I am open for critique or useful advices!

©Alexander Le (2020)