In addition to what others have said, don't lock your knee

I stand by what I said ... and thank you for all that understood me and explained further.

An ax kick is a controlled kick just like a punch is. An effective punch is thrown with control down the middle with force and is not over extended at the end so that you lock your elbow, and then it is retracted so that you can perform another punch or set up for something else. Of course you can throw a wild punch and get lucky and you can throw a wild ax kick and get lucky ... but I'm not going to rely on luck.

When using an ax kick you have a target and you strike with control and end in control so that you can re-adjust and attack again or defend. You throw a wild ax kick you can get lucky but again you can't rely on luck and why set yourself up for your opponent to tee you up? All kicks or punches should be done with control. Control is more effective and less likely chances of getting yourself injured by either your opponent or hyper extending a joint.

The force you are using to hit your target is also controlled so that you go through the target and once through the target you reduce that force so that you touch down on the ground instead of slamming the force to the ground. Injuries to yourself can happen and you will be off balance because all of your weight will be on the front foot.

I hope that this better explains what I was saying.

yup...i do understand what u said..didn't i say so? if i didn't, sorry, but i do understand..BUT thanks again for the further clarification dereck

wow....ok thanx for the tips everyone

I love the axe kick. It has created so many opportunities for a shot to the head when I fight. Knock the hand out of the way, and then you have a 100% open head shot. I love it.

There is one drawback though. You can be fast when doing it, but if the guy you are fighting has a really strong upperbody and can see it coming, that is a big no-no. Then again, in a real fight, I seriously doubt that I'd use an axe kick.

I've been told, have yet to try, but if somebody extra steps before doing a roundhouse then this is a perfect time to do the ax kick. As soon as they take their first step then thunder them. This is why extra stepping is bad. Your opponent can read you and it takes you one extra step to perform your move. DON'T EXTRA STEP.

I found for me that the best way to do a good axe kick is to be really warmed up. Do about 50 jumping jacks, 100 squats, and jog for 10 mins. Then go into the side split(american split) position and hold it for at least one minute on each side.

sounds plausable, but its all about yours, and their, speed.
imho i don't really like axe kicks, too slow, to easy to miss and they leave you to vunerable. if i'm going to raise a strait-leg that high i'd rather use a outside cresent kick or one of those cresent kicks with the small arc-distance (from shoulder to shoulder across the face) can't remember the name of them though. other than that you can't beat a good front/push kick to the gut/knee, or a side or roundhouse kick - more likely still i'll use fists.