Why Oblique kick the knees in MMA?

Stomp kicks are effective in Self Defence as well as in mixed martial arts (MMA). You only have to look at any Jon Jones fight to see the effectiveness of his famous oblique (stomp) kick at his opponents’ knees. In fact, this is a key kicking attack in Wing Chun, and often underestimated by many in the martial arts or self defence community. Better yet it’s legal to use in MMA today.

It is quite literally a knee destroyer if you can get the timing right. Not to mention, an excellent way to control distance. Better yet, you can drop a bigger, stronger attacker with some ease if you have the skill to focus your Wing Chun kicks on the knee joint.

In this video we look at the famous Wing Chun Cross Stamp (Knee Stomp), also referred to as the Jon Jones oblique Kick.

What is an oblique kick?

In the first section of the video we’ll examine how to target the knee with the stomp kick, and variations of the kick that could be practical for dropping your attacker or wearing their leg down. Remember, in Wing Chun we kick towards the knees because the structure of the knee is weak at certain angles of the leg. Kicking the leg affects the person’s balance and stops the punch, and may even drop the person. Watch the video and you will see how.

How to Deliver the Oblique Kick with Power

The second half of the video looks at how you get the kick to work. The answer is simply to lift your knee. As the Wing Chun Kick rises and stamps on the knee, more power is delivered. The higher the leg, the better the kick. However, you must make sure that you’re striking with the heel of the foot.

This Wing Chun technique can be used to attack the knee as well as the quad. It is worth noting that another key characteristic of this kick is that it’s very difficult to see it coming, as it’s delivery does not cause the fighter’s shoulder line to change. The only signal is that the fighter will lean back as their leg stamps outwards. However, this in turn takes their head out of the striking range of their opponent.

In future videos I will be discussing the psychological importance of mental fitness training for combat, self defence and MMA. The goal is to make you mentally tough, because Psychology wins fights. In the meantime train hard, be safe.