Can a kick to the knee really break someone’s knee?
Can a Kick Break a Knee?
One of my favorite topics in self-defense is how do you take someone out as fast as possible. If I have a group of new people I always tell them there are 3 primary targets to attack that have the highest likelihood of ending a fight when you are unarmed. I then see if anyone has any ideas of what they are.
A kick to the knee is one I frequently hear given as a response.
So I thought it was high time to address a kick to the knee and if it can indeed break someone’s knee, injure them in any capacity, or simply do nothing at all.
Let’s go find out.
What Does It Take To Break a Knee?
The knee joint is capable of withstanding thousands of pounds of force and is a very tough joint. However there are angles that it is more vulnerable.
Here are some things that must happen in order for a knee to break:
- Usually a locked knee
- The majority of the person’s weight must be on that knee
- A tremendous amount of force being applied such as in the full body shoulder tackle above
- That force must penetrate past the joint’s end range of motion
Typically in field sports such as soccer, football, or rugby that means both players are running at speed and are tackled directly on the knee.
To be frank, these types of injuries don’t happen that often despite the fact that all of those sports have numerous tackles in any given game.
What About A Martial Arts Kick to the Knee
There are many fighters in the UFC and other fight sports such as Jon Jones and Anderson Silva who land lots of leg kicks to the knees of their opponents.
They are especially fond of stomping kicks such as oblique front kicks and side kicks as you see Anderson Silva landing above.
Yet to my knowledge I am unaware of a leg ever being broken or a fight even stopping due to one of those kicks. And these are from professional fighters.
Now for the record there is another type of broken leg that happens in sport fighting and that is a tibia / fibula break. That comes when the kicker is doing a low round kick to his opponent’s thigh and the person being kicked at uses his shin to block it. That happens rarely as well and is not at all what this article is about and has virtually no relevance to a street fight.
So Can a Kick to the Knee Break the Knee?
The short answer is yes it is within the realm of possibility but it is highly unlikely.
Here are some reasons why you probably can’t break a knee with a kick:
- Both of you are moving around so landing solidly and squarely is difficult
- A real fight is quite hectic which makes landing with proper timing and accuracy a challenge
- It is hard to catch someone with all of their weight on their leg
If you work your timing, technique, distance, balance, recovery, etc. then you increase the odds.
But more likely you will wrench the knee and cause a sprain. Hey that’s a great shot! Everyone has probably had a joint wrenched and/or sprained before. It sucks!
It could end the fight or it could just make them move slower and with more trepidation.
The Kick to the Knee Has Other Uses
The kick to the knee doesn’t have to break the knee or be a 1-hit fight stopper. Here are some other uses for it:
- The shuffling side kick is your longest unarmed attack against your opponent’s closest target as seen in the picture above
- It can be used as a stop-hit when an aggressive attacker is coming in and you want more time and space
- It can be used to intimidate them allowing you to control the pace of the fight
- It is great at getting people to drop their hands. Once those hands drop change levels and launch a straight blast of palms strikes right through their face.
- As you see in the picture above it can upset their balance and cause their head to come forward, a great time for you to land an eye strike followed by a straight blast to a Thai clench for termination.
How to Use a Kick to the Knee
- Fake high (a punch to the face) > kick to the knee > continue your attack up high – a classic level change that throws even experienced fighters off
- Make sure to use a perpendicular (not parallel) angle to their leg or your foot might slide off. The side kick lands this way as seen in the picture above.
- An oblique front kick also lands at a perpendicular angle but puts you in range of their punches so it isn’t one of my favorites
- Use a shuffling or pendulum footwork to land the lead leg side kick.
- Make sure you are on solid non-slippery ground. Ice and gravel are the enemies of agile kicking and footwork.
- Always be prepared to shuffle back out to safety in case you are jammed, miss, or the kick is ignored by your opponent. Always have a plan for failure.
- Keep those hands up!
Final Thoughts
So do I recommend a kick to the knee?
For a self-defense novice… No. You will only end up causing no damage, getting knocked down and wind up on your back.
For a life-long martial artist… Yes “if” you are willing to put in the reps and train it sufficiently. I give more tips on how to train it on the video.
Until next time,
Brian
