I did a piece on Gokhan Saki’s leg kick a while ago and here’s another fighter from the K1 circuit; Daniel Ghita. I hadn’t heard of him before but he recently fought in the K1 GP and knocked out every one of his opponents in the first round. Impressive…

Here’s his fight in the finals, against Sergei Lascenko:
You notice how for a guy his size (240 pounds), he moves very well. What I liked best about his leg kicks:
- There is no preparation to it, nothing to give it away: he just goes from a stationary position into the leg kick. Perfect.
- Even though he only uses the half-hip, there is still loads of power in every kick.
- He kicks when his opponent is unable to block. This is a basic strategy but so many fighters forget this, it’s a pleasure to watch one who gets this right.
- He stays cool as ice. Even when Lascenko goes into overdrive to force the issue, he just covers up and calmly waits for the opportunity to counter with the leg kick again. Excellent.
I’m curious to see how he’ll against Paul Slowinski in November. It’ll sure make for an explosive fight.
If you’re looking for more info on this technique, take a look at my “How to do a leg kick” guide.
UPDATE: Here’s Daniel Ghita’s leg kick, Part Two
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