Source: RIPAN85 (@ripan85) - image reproduced with permission

Japanese martial artist demonstrates a powerful kick you can even do in a skirt and heels

You may think it would be difficult to carry out martial arts moves while wearing a skirt and heels, but a video which went viral last week proves that this doesn't need to be the case.

Here is proof, as demonstrated by martial arts enthusiast RIPAN85:

"You can do it wearing a skirt and heels, you can strike your aggressor's face and knock them out if it's a clean hit. It's not so difficult to do and it's very powerful, so I really recommend the ebi-geri to girls as a self-defense skill."

If you can't play the video for some reason, here is the starting position:

Reproduced with permission from RIPAN85 (@ripan85)

And the position at the point of contact. Wham!

Reproduced with permission from RIPAN85 (@ripan85)

Ebi-geri エビ蹴り, literally "shrimp kick," gets its name from the movement which looks like a shrimp extending its tail. It's a turning thrust kick with the hands planted, and it's one of the archetypal moves of the martial art known as Taidō 躰道.

Taidō was founded in 1965 by Seiken Shukumine (1925–2001) as a new martial art designed to be more adapted to the modern world than Okinawan karate, and incorporating innovations such as twisting and spinning movements, acrobatic manoevers, chages in body angle and fast footwork.

Ripan85 is enthusiastic about Taidō but also practies karate, is interested in various other fighting styles, and occasionally uses nunchuks. Her non-martial arts passions include drinking cola and attending performances of the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical theater group based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture.

After RIPAN85 posted her Tweet, it went viral, collecting 60,000 likes and 18,000 retweets at the time of writing. Due to all the attention and comments her post elicited, she followed up with some explanation on her original intentions:

"I don't want people to get the wrong impression, so I want to say this: If you're attacked, run away and ask someone for help! No matter how much training in martial arts you may have, you won't be able to take down someone larger than you unless you're very lucky! Also, I don't think what matters most is which martial art is the strongest but whether or not you've done your best to train yourself in the discipline you practice, so please stop debating which martial art is the best in this thread."

"All I wanted to say was that there is a cool kick you can do which can pack a punch even if you're wearing a skirt and heels...and that it's relatively easy to do! You can do this kick even if you aren't too muscular! (controlling it is another issue)"

If you're interested in learning more about Taidō, you can follow her on Twitter, where she posts her own Taidō practice and training routine and retweets posts from Taidō clubs all over Japan, as well as on Instagram, where she posts videos like this:

She also recommends the following video by kuro-obi world for those interested in learning ebi-geri:

By - Ben K.

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