[dirtroller]

Why is the sidekick absent from mma?It's possible to do some damage with it when someone steps in to punch.I understand it can be caught but just like all other kick there is a time and place for it.Is there any reason why its not used frequently?

[Edog30]

I was wondering that myself.
I think its because you rarely turn your side to your opponent.
Youd have to turn to your side, kick, then recover. Being a slower kick, the opponent would have too good of an opportunity to counter.

[dirtroller]

I was thinking of it more as a way to counter someone coming in with a punch up top that would leave his mid section open in many cases.

[deadlyshaolin]

It really depends on your stance (more square vs off to one side), but for the most part people tend to stand a bit squarer in MMA so as better to defend the takedown. It takes too long to turn to the side to deliver this kick (too much telegraphing), the exception being following a missed roundhouse. I'd like to see more fighters throw a sidekick then.

[cockysprinter]

Originally Posted by deadlyshaolin

It really depends on your stance (more square vs off to one side), but for the most part people tend to stand a bit squarer in MMA so as better to defend the takedown. It takes too long to turn to the side to deliver this kick (too much telegraphing), the exception being following a missed roundhouse. I'd like to see more fighters throw a sidekick then.

you can throw a sidekick off a square stance so i think its just style bias.

[Sohei]

The side kick can be a difficult kick to master for people who arent flexible or coordinated. Since its rarely a KO kick unless you nail someone in the ribs hard enopugh, most MMA fioghters probably think its not worht the effort.

[legshot420]

it should be used when least expected, like an opener or something or after a feint.

[Noskill]

Are there people who use sidekicks effectively in K1?

[vu]

Takes too long to "load up" and leaves you in a very dangerous position if it's caught or if you miss; side kicks also require a certain amount of distance to actually execute so offensively, they're crap because they're so telegraphed...the teep is a FAR better alternative that doesn't have the weaknesses of a side kick...

I've trained WTF Tae Kwon Do since Feb 1993 and Muay Thai since March 2006...even with as little Muay Thai that I have, when I go back to TKD every so often just to pay my respects and say hello to my old training partners...when I spar and they try side kicks, I either parry or catch them easily; or hell, I just stuff them all together by taking an angled step around it and directly into them...This is with stand-up alone...imagine if it's full MMA rules and they can be clinched up or shot at for a takedown...

[Throatpoker]

It's like every technique, there's a specific moment that it can be used. Like the axe kick (which I've seen successfully used in MMA), it is very powerful as a countering move.