I’m a big muay Thai and kick boxing fan so I follow the K1 tournaments whenever I get a chance. One of the up and coming fighters is Gokhan Saki, a Dutch fighter with Turkish roots. What impressed me the most were his leg techniques. Mind you, his punching is pretty good as well; especially his left hook has a tendency to land with laser-like accuracy. But he excels at kicking techniques. Here’s a short clip of one of his fights.

He takes on Rick Cheek, a relatively unknown fighter. Gokhan uses the typical Dutch style of fighting: short combinations and lots of leg kicks. He reminds me the most of Rob Kaman in that regard; He has a similar style of fighting even though Rob was a bit “stiffer” in his movements. But what is most striking with Saki is how he so often leads with the rear leg kick. No set up with the hands, no feinting, no countering. Just flat out using the leg kick like you would a jab.

This is generally something you don’t do that much in the ring. The rear leg low kick is easily blocked, the opponent just has to raise his knee a little (I’m oversimplifying, I know) and it feels like you just kicked a wall. That’s why you usually prepare the rear leg kick with punches or feints. Or you do it as a counter when the opponent is not in an ideal position to block. Either way, Saki seems to violate those principles with impunity.

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