A scissor kick in martial arts is any of certain

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

ing or grabbing techniques that resemble a pair of scissors.

In the Asian martial arts

It may describe a mid-air kick in which both legs are swung or kicked out in different directions to strike two opponents simultaneously or in rapid succession. This is particularly common in some schools of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

Vovinam Vovinam (short for ''Võ Việt Nam''; literally meaning Vietnamese Martial Arts, or vi, Việt Võ Đạo (越武道), meaning Vietnamese Way of Martial Arts) is a Vietnamese martial art, It was founded in 1938 by Nguyễn Lộc. It is based ...

, and some

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

, also in

Silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Phil ...

and Pencak Silat where it is referred to as Gunting (in Malay language). In sanshou, the scissor kick is used as a mid air take down where one leg presses on the opponent's chest while the other leg positioned behind the opponent's knees, and is delivered with enough symmetrical force to knock the opponent down; the scissor leg take down is one of the more advanced take downs in san shou and is an effective tool used in many matches. In

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, Kani basami, also known as Kane Sute in

Danzan-ryū is a ryū of jujutsu founded by Seishiro Okazaki (1890–1951) in Hawaii. Danzan-ryū jujutsu is of mainly Japanese origin but is most common on the West coast of the United States. The Danzan-ryū syllabus is syncretic, and includes non-J ...

, is classified as a sacrifice throw, known as "scissors throw." It is less of a strike however and tends to be more similar to a

foot sweep 300px, The attacker on the left sweeps the right foot of the opponent The foot sweep (also footsweep) is a move in many different styles of martial arts. It is used to trip an opponent. Foot sweeps are commonly used in Tang Soo Do, karate, Muay Th ...

In wrestling

This move is also well known in the

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

world among many wrestlers and fans. The attacker jumps (from a standing or running position) using one leg for momentum and drives the other leg into the back of the head and the neck of the opponent. Throughout his career, Booker T, a former wrestler in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

, and TNA, is credited to having popularizing the move in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Various other wrestlers who uses this technique, such as former WWE wrestler

Bull Buchanan Barry Buchanan (born January 15, 1968) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring names Recon, Bull Buchanan and B² and ...

and former TNA wrestler and current WWE wrestler

Ron Killings Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the Raw brand under the ring name R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now ...

, currently known as R-Truth, uses this as a regular move but performs a

corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...

variation of the move. WWE Diva

Alicia Fox Victoria Crawford (born June 30, 1986) is an American retired professional wrestler and former model known for her time with WWE under the ring name Alicia Fox. Crawford debuted on '' SmackDown'' on June 13, 2008, using the Alicia Fox name and ...

and FCW Diva

Caylee Turner Christina Crawford (born October 17, 1988) is an American cheerleader, dancer, and former ring announcer and professional wrestler who worked for WWE under the ring name Caylee Turner. She is the younger sister of professional wrestler Alicia Fo ...

use the scissor kick as a finishing move.

Other martial arts

There are also different versions of this moved used in

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th cent ...

takedowns.

References

External links

library.thinkquest.org - Kicks
(

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

copy)
Various kick techniques (Japanese)

Vovinam leg attacks
Kicks Grappling positions {{martialart-stub