Whether you watched UFC 168 or not, you most likely heard the rumblings about the nasty leg break of the former UFC champion, Anderson Silva. Not for the feint of heart to watch, Chris Weidman defended a low round kick from Silva, which snapped the Brazilian legend’s leg at the shin. Hopefully Silva can comeback to the octagon to fight again, but it will take a miraculous recovery.

The defense that Weidman used is quite simple, sometimes called a shin check against a low round kick. In this week’s video, I go over the technique needed to make an effective defense against an attacker attempting to kick you in this way. Our goal is not necessarily to break his shin in half, but hopefully we can defend the kick cleanly, counter attack if necessary, and go on our way safely.

A low round kick is generally aimed at the thigh, or worse, the outside or inside of the knee. My goal when defending is to protect my knee from moving in a direction that it is not built to go. This is why step number one in this defense is to line up my knee and and toe perpendicular to the angle of the kick. I then lift my leg and use the large/strong part of my upper shin, against the kickers instep or lower shin. I must recoil quickly to make my defense as sharp as possible and of course get my foot back to the ground.

From here I can counter attack immediately to prevent additional attacks. I recommend using shin guards while practicing this defense, as it can be painful especially if you are not used to the impact in this sensitive area. The more that you practice, the less it will hurt and after a while you should be able to use your shin to make an effective defense without any padding.

Ok, thats all for for now. Enjoy the video, Be safe, and GO DO SOME KRAV MAGA TODAY!!

-AJ @ajdraven