Yoko Geri
横蹴り
Literally: side kick
Also known as: Yoko keri
Side kick with the foot edge, a snapping keage or a thrusting kekomi; in WKF kumite it scores two points to the torso, three to the head.
Quick Facts
About
Yoko geri (横蹴り), literally a side kick, targets an opponent standing to the side. Karate knows it in two main forms: the snapping yoko geri keage and the thrusting yoko geri kekomi. In both cases the striking surface is the foot edge, sokuto. The jumping version is called yoko tobi geri. The British federation KUGB tests both side kicks as early as 9th kyu, from kiba dachi stance both stepping forward and with a turn. In kumite under the 2024 WKF rules, a kick to the mid level scores waza-ari, two points, and a kick to the head scores ippon, three points.
Related techniques
Variants
Equivalent in another art