This page provides details about the martial arts “Toe Kick”. This old-style martial arts kick was used in order to deliver a sharp narrow strike to soft vital targets such as the groin and abdomen. For information on other martial arts kicks (i.e. axe kick), please visit Black Belt Wiki’s main kicking techniques page.
The toe kick is usually be delivered like a front kick or roundhouse kick but with the toes as the striking surface. The toe kick is used by some traditional Karate styles and is known as Tsumasaki Geri. This type of kick is also practiced by a few other more traditional martial arts such as Kung Fu.
The toe kick can be seen as the foot equivalent of the open hand technique Nukite (spear hand strike), the position of the fingers for Nukite and the toes for Tsumasaki Geri are quite similar. The big toe must be almost but slightly downward pointing the second supporting toe should be angled slightly further down as should the rest of the toes. It is sometimes said that the overall angle of the foot (or the hand in Nukite) should be like that of a Katana with the curve down ad used in a penetrating thrust.
This kick is not practiced very much by many modern martial arts given the danger of breaking a toe. Rather, most modern martial arts teach students to kick with their instep, ball of the foot, side of the foot, heel, etc. However, this type of kick can be effective if a martial artist is wearing a hard shoe or steel-capped boot (in order to protect their toes). Some traditional martial artists practice this type of kick barefoot but they spend a lot of time conditioning their toes and feet (see video below). Ankichi Arakaki, an influential practitioner of Shorin-Ryu Karate, was famous for his toe kicks.
Martial arts kicks and all other martial arts techniques should only be practiced under the supervision of a trained martial arts instructor in order to prevent injuries and to ensure the proper technique is utilized. In addition, all martial arts techniques and training should be used safely and responsibly.
Karate’s Tsumasaki Geri