A common technique which features a number of times in the various kata of the Goju ryu system, is the combination of Mae Geri being followed by Hiji Ate (front kick & elbow strike as in Geiksai, Shisochin, Sanseiru, Kururunfa, and Suparinpei).
In fact, in all Goju ryu kata where the kick is performed travelling forward, as opposed to static ie; seipai & seisan, it is always followed with hiji ate.
The most obvious reason for this that springs to mind is that if we are making up ground with the mae geri, as we land we will be placed in quite close proximity to the opponent. In effect, punching range is lost so we must rely upon close range strikes.
The effect that the kick has on the opponent will dictate how you follow up. The targets avalible for you to attack will vary each time as it cannot be guarenteed that the opponent will bend forward at the waist upon being kicked. It is equally likely that if the kick makes a strong connection with the opponent, he may be pushed backward and be out of range for the elbow.
With this in mind I have found that the technique works well when the mae geri is used to strike upward into the groin. This way has more likelihood of bending the opponent forward and dropping his hands. The other advantage to this is that even if the kick fails, or misses its target, the very action of striking forcefully towards the opponents groin forces a pre-determined response in an untrained person where the opponent will bend forward at the waist, throw his hips backward and drop his hands slightly. This response in the opponent will expose a number of targets which can then be exploited with the hiji ate.
This is the main advantage of this technique in that if the kick is successful, great, but if not, we’ve also forced the opponent into a disadvantageous position which can then be capitalised upon with the elbow strike.
The other important thing to remember with this technique is that depending on your distance from the opponent, the mae geri is the same as hiza geri (knee strike), and at a range halfway between the two you can make contact by using the shin as the striking point.
The bunkai need to be fluid and interchangeable depending how the opponent reacts. This is why there are variations of the same technique. With this technique we see variations in Kururunfa in the method of striking from shiko dachi rather than zenkutsu dachi, and in Suparinpei where the elbow travels along a horizontal path rather than vertical as in the other kata. These subtle variations allow use to utilise various angles to find our way past our opponents defences.
This is an area in which I am continuing to study at the moment…
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