The front kick (mae-geri in karate, ap-chagi in taekwondo) is usually the first kick you learn. You lift the knee toward the target, snap the lower leg out to strike, pull the foot back, and set it down in stance. Lab studies of trained kickers show the same order every time: the thigh moves first, then the lower leg whips out as the thigh slows. From the side, the app reads your knee chamber, extension, retraction and support-leg balance.
Chamber: knee first
Start in a front stance or fighting stance with your guard up. This lesson kicks with the back leg.
weight ready to shift onto the front foot.
Drive the knee up and forward, pointing at the target, with the foot tucked under the knee. Don't lift a straight leg. In trained kickers, a faster knee toward the target goes with a faster foot.
the knee leads, the foot hangs back.
Keep your trunk close to upright, with at most a slight forward lean. Keep your chin slightly tucked and your eyes on the target.
tall over the support foot.
Extend: snap the lower leg out
Once the knee is up, snap the lower leg out by straightening the knee and pointing the foot. The thigh slows as the lower leg speeds up. That slowing is normal, so don't force the thigh to stop.
a whip from the knee, not a push from the hip.
Strike with the ball of the foot, toes pulled back so they don't hit first. This is the classic surface in karate and ITF taekwondo. WT sparring rules count any part of the foot below the ankle bone, so other surfaces also count there.
the ball of the foot leads.
Kick at a height you can control. Start at body level. Kicking into a pad or shield is not the same movement as kicking air, so train both.
balanced at full reach.
Retract and return, balanced
Pull the foot straight back to the chamber by bending the knee, keeping the thigh up. Don't let the straight leg drop. In karate sparring an opponent may catch a kicking leg and take you down.
snap out, snap back.
Set the foot down where you choose, in stance, guard still up, eyes still on the target. Don't turn away or fall after the kick.
landing ready for the next technique.
Feel it
The knee rises first, the lower leg whips out, then folds straight back before the foot lands. Your trunk stays close to upright and your head steady. Trained kickers repeat the kick almost the same way every time; their hips and head vary least from rep to rep, the kicking knee and ankle most. Speed comes from the sequence and a fast knee, not from leaning or swinging. In lab studies, trained kickers' total kick time averaged about one second.
Fix-its
- You swing a straight leg up (no chamber) Lift the knee to point at the target first, foot tucked, then snap from the knee. Practise with a pause at the chamber.
- You strike with your toes Pull the toes back so the ball of the foot lands first. Test it slowly on a pad before adding speed.
- You leave the leg out or let it drop After the snap, bend the knee and bring the foot back to the chamber before it touches down.
- Your trunk tips well forward to reach Move closer, or kick lower, and keep the trunk close to upright. Beginners lean forward more than trained kickers.
- You wobble or stumble after the kick Lower the target and slow the kick until you can land in stance with your guard up.
Drill
- Slow-motion kicks: pause in the chamber, at full extension and back in the chamber, then set the foot down. Same path every rep.
- Chamber-and-snap: hold the chamber with a hand on a wall for balance, then snap and re-chamber without putting the foot down.
- Full-speed kicks in the air, then at a held pad or shield at body height. Contact changes the movement, so do both.
- Film from the side at 120 fps or more: check that the knee rises before the leg straightens, the foot comes back to the chamber, and you land in stance.
- Warm up first. Stop if your knee, hip or foot hurts.
Sources
- Sørensen et al. — Dynamics of the martial arts high front kick, J Sports Sci (1996)
- Wąsik et al. — Kinematics of taekwon-do front kick, Archives of Budo Sci Martial Arts Extreme Sports (2015)
- Błaszczyszyn et al. — Kinematic Analysis of Mae-Geri Kicks in Beginner and Advanced Kyokushin Karate Athletes, IJERPH (2019)
- Vagner et al. — A Systematic Review of Dynamic Forces and Kinematic Indicators of Front and Roundhouse Kicks, Sports (2023)
- Pozo, Bastien & Dierick — Execution time, kinetics, and kinematics of the mae-geri kick, J Sports Sci (2011)
- Sforza et al. — Repeatability of mae-geri-keage in traditional karate, Percept Mot Skills (2002)
- WKF — Kumite Competition Rules (2024)
- World Taekwondo — Competition Rules & Interpretation, Kyorugi (in force 1 Jan 2026)
Last checked 2026-10-26.