What is Mobile Kicking? by Badger Johnson

What is Mobile Kicking?

The main difficulty in landing a strike, getting an entry, and even getting a takedown is the ability to quickly close the gap between the attacker and the opponent.

To do so is also an opportunity for the opponent to increase the gap as they sense an attempt. The opponent can do one of three things. He can jam, he can lean back, or he can sidestep. He can also block which is less reliable since it requires almost perfect understanding of the angle and attack being attempted.

This essay will describe the method of closing the gap known as ‘mobile kicking’.

The components of mobile kicking can be broken down into a few components:

1. The dynamic chamber
2. Unweighting
3. The subtle skip step

The purpose of the dynamic chamber is to begin the attack in a non-telegraphic manner, while not disclosing the exact target of any subsequent kick or other attack. The chamber may result in a subsequent kicking attack or it may involve a fake which is followed by a hand strike or even a penetration step to a takedown.

Unweighting is the movement involved in reducing the friction with the ground by slightly lifting the weight either by a slight dip or a slight rise in the body’s center of gravity. It’s most often seen in skinning as the skier will unweight to get the body weight off of the turning ski, allowing carving a turn.

In sparring it reduces the friction with the ground of the standing leg allowing a sliding forward which is impelled by the motion of the dynamic chamber (lifting the lead knee).

The skip step happens not as a conscious movement but as a result of the dynamic chambering and the unweighting, and allows the standing leg to slide forward very quickly in either a straight line or a vector off of the angulation of the body, and causes a near instantaneous closing of the gap, disguised behind the subtle distraction of either a hand feint or fake and the dynamic chamber (which can be a fake or a feint as well).

You can most easily see the procedure by watching the GIFs of Michael Jai White:

Sidekick realtime

Slowmo sidekick

Spinning back kick realtime

Slowmo spinning back kick

Above GIFs made from "Michael Jai White on Covering Distance (part 2) full frame and slower"

You can also see it in the below 2 GIFs from this video of Raymond Daniels:

Realtime

Slowmo

and an early version in these 2 GIFs (1st, 3rd and 4th kicks) by Bruce Lee against Bob Wall in Return of the Dragon:

Real-time of the 4 kicks in this scene

Slow motion on the initiation of the 1st, 2nd and 4th kicks

Now that you know what mobile kicking is, the next time you see it used you will be like:

---

Please check out Badger Johnson's other essays:

• A Martial Framework
• How To Exceed Your Plateaus
• Adding to Arnold's Six Principles of Success
• 10 Tips on how to analyze a martial art for effectiveness
• "To be a master is very different from being an expert."
• Addendum, Clarification and Expansion of Paul Vunak's Fighting Secrets
• Expanded Ways of Attack
• "Fifty Important Elements in Martial Arts"
• Can Trapping Work?
• The Genesis and Development of Zone Theory
• A few aspects of self-defense training
• Some of the important ten things…
• Over-speed Training - Accessing the Subconscious and the Power of Threes
• Coaching, self-coaching, talent, experience, genetics, opportunity, motivation
• Thresholding
• "I'd Like to Teach the World to Dance"
• Some thoughts today
• "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" 
• Beyond Martial Skills
• Some of the Major Misconceptions or Fallacies of JKD 
• How Bruce Lee may have improved skill using biofeedback 
• The Art of Fighting Without Fighting   
• Not Martial Trained, But Fighting Fit
• Against One Who Scares Us
• What Bruce Lee Taught Us