Drop kick

“ To become a good artist you must study kicking the ball from any position or angle that it may come to you. There is what we call the drop kick, the free kick, the overhead kick, the place kick, and taking the ball on the run. The overhead kick is practically one to be avoided, except in a grave case of emergency, because you are never certain of it coming off, or of placing it to any advantage. ”

“ The free kick may be either a punt, a drop-kick or a kick from placement. Whenever the ball goes over the side line into touch it is brought back to the point where it crossed the line by the man who carried it over, or, if kicked or knocked over, by a man of the side which did not kick it out, and there put in play in one of two ways. Either it may be touched to the ground and then kicked at least 10 yds. towards the opponents’ goal, or it may be taken into the field at right angles to the line a distance not less than 5 yds. ”

“ Kick out must be a drop kick, and from not more than twenty-five yards outside the kicker's goal-line; if the ball when kicked out pitch in touch, the opposite side may claim to have it kicked off again. ”

“ Kick′er, one who kicks, esp. a horse; Kick′-off, the first kick in a game of football; Kick′-up, a disturbance.—Kick over the traces, to throw off control; Kick, or Strike, the beam, to rise, as the lighter scale of a balance, so as to strike against the beam—hence to be of little weight or importance; Kick the bucket (see Bucket) ; Kick up a dust or row, to create a disturbance.—Drop kick, a kick made as the ball, dropped from the hand, rebounds from the ground; Place kick, a kick made when the ball is lying on the ground. ”

“ One means, in Rugby football, to catch the ball in the hands, drop and kick it before it reaches the ground, as distinguished from a “drop-kick,” where the kick is given half-volley, as it reaches the ground. ”

“ Beyond the heel mark the opponents of the catcher cannot advance till the ball is again put in play. The catcher is entitled to the privilege of falling back towards his own goal, as far as he chooses; from the point selected he may take a place-kick, a drop-kick, or a punt. ”

“ When the opponents are about to kick, the end should drop back about ten yards and about ten yards outside of a point directly behind his own tackle, prepared to watch out for a fake kick or to go down the field with the opposing end if the kick does take place, interfering with his opponent as he attempts to tackle the catcher. Sometimes it is good policy to block the opposing end just as soon as it can be done, but it is usually more effective to go down the field and interfere with him as he is about to make the tackle, for then he will have no other opportunity to get the runner. ”

“ The rider must remember to lean well back, and have her left knee well braced against the third pommel, as in this position it [284] will be almost impossible for him to unseat her by his kicking. If the kick be made during a stand-still, a sharp, vigorous stroke of the whip upon the animal's shoulder will be apt to check him; but if the kick be made while he is on the gallop, a stroke of the whip will be apt to make him run away. Should kicking be an old vice of the horse, he must be ridden with a severe curb-bit, that he may be prevented from getting his head down. ”

“ KICKING
IN executing the kick, the horse stops its forward motion, plants its fore legs firmly on the ground, and using these as a point of support, sends both its hind legs backward and up. This true kick should not be confused with the kick with one hind leg only, which is called in French ruade. In the ruade, the horse is trying to reach some object with the purpose of damaging it. A kick out with both feet may, of course, injure anything that is near enough to be touched; but it is seldom that a horse of good temper will actually try to hit a man in this way. ”

“ Of the “beating” type of step, the fundamental is the battement: a beating movement of the free leg, the supporting leg remaining stationary. The accent is not on the up-stroke, as in a kick, but sharply on the down-stroke. The beats may be made from side, front, or (less usually) back. The foot may be raised to the height of the head (though it is not often done) , to horizontal, to the height of the knee, or the distance of a foot’s length away from the supporting leg. ”

“ The player should choose the method of holding the ball which is most natural to him and in which he can attain the highest efficiency.
The round kick, or side kick, as sometimes called, is made by a round, instead of a straight, swing of the leg. The ball may be held in any of the three ways, generally the first. A step or two is taken to the kicking side and forward, a kind of right-oblique, and the leg brought into contact with the ball in much the same way as a man makes a swinging blow with the arm, the aim being to get the weight of the body into the drive. ”

“ Kicking is an important part of the offense. The team that does not have a good punter in the game and one or two in reserve is seriously handicapped. Just when and where to kick are decisions that must be governed largely by the strength of the two teams and the condition of the wind and weather. Again, can you out-kick the opposing team, and what is your ability to hold your opponents when they have secured the ball from a punt? If the opponents' back-field men are poor at catching, kick often. ”

“ The motives of such taps are of course entirely different from the dangerous malevolence that prompts a confirmed kicker to “lash out” at horse or man who comes within striking distance. We should bear in mind that a touch behind is very apt to provoke a kick, whether of the vicious, playful or get-out-of-the-way kind. Hence a rider should always be careful never to allow her horse’s head to touch the hind quarters of an animal in front, which is a precaution that is of special application in crowds of pulled-up horses. ”

“ First of all, the young men are taught to jump on one foot, throwing the other as far backward and as high as possible, with a movement suggestive of the kick delivered by a mule's hind leg. The legs are alternately employed in this backward kick, and by degrees the utmost speed possible is acquired. ”

“ In the same manner a diagonal kick, short, over the heads of the first men of the opponents, was exploited by some of the adventurous captains. But toward the end of the season the problem narrowed itself down to a question of the relative value of a kick, short enough, and in a sufficiently high slanting direction, to enable the rushers to get fairly well down to its falling-point, and a long kick driving the opponents back, admitting, it is true, of a run [Pg 922] in because the rushers cannot reach the dropping-point in time to down the man receiving the ball. ”

“ Kick, kik, v.t. to hit with the foot.—v.i. to thrust out the foot with violence: to show opposition or resistance: (of a gun) to recoil violently (see also Bullet) : (print.) to work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.—n. a blow with the foot: the turn of kicking the ball at football, the person who kicks or kicks off: the recoil of a gun: (slang) fashion.—adj. Kick′able.—ns. ”

“ Trying to kick this dog was like playing football with a ball that was never there—not when you went to kick it, but after you had started to kick it, and had gone too far to stop yourself, so that the kick had to go on in any case, your only hope being that your foot would find something or another solid to stop it, and so save you from sitting down on the floor noisily and completely. When anybody did kick the dog it was by pure accident, when they were not expecting to kick him ”

“ How much kicking can be done depends on the direction of the wind more than upon anything else.
Do not wait until the third down to kick. Your opponent expects you to kick, because you must. Good judgment should be exercised in the placing of the kicks. A team should not kick from right under its own goal-posts, because of danger of the ball's striking an upright or the cross-bar. Change the territory by running a play out on the end, then kick.
Signals.—A signal is a sign of some kind given to indicate to the player the play to be used, and the time of its execution. ”

“ Rule 9 proscribes tripping, kicking, or jumping at a player, intentionally handling the ball, holding or pushing an opponent, or charging an opponent violently or dangerously, or charging from behind unless the player charged is intentionally obstructing an opponent. In other breaches of the rules the outcome is a free kick. ”

“ A bullock can kick in any direction. There is terrible power in his side kick, also his front kick, throwing his hind leg forward with a speed that is remarkable for such an unwieldy animal. But his back kick, when you stand back to back with him, has not the least power to cause hurt. The other watchman and myself had about an equal number of cattle under our charge, and when I was in difficulty he kindly came to my assistance, and I did likewise for him, although he seldom seemed to need other help than his own. ”

“ Definitions of terms A 'Place Kick' is a kick at the ball while it is on the ground, in any position in which the kicker may choose to place it. A 'Free Kick' is the privilege of kicking at the ball without obstruction, in such manner as the kicker may think fit. 'Hacking' is kicking an adversary intentionally. 'Tripping' is throwing an adversary by the use of his legs. 'Knocking on' is when a player strikes or propels the ball with his hand or arm. 'Holding' includes the obstuction of a player by the hand, or any part of the arm below the elbow. ”

“ You want all the kicking practice you can get. I never saw anything feebler than that shot of yours after Drummond’s try.”
“I’d like to see you take a kick like that. It was nearly on the touch-line. Still, when we play you, we shan’t need to convert any of our tries. We’ll get our thirty points without that. Perhaps you’d like to scratch?” ”

“ A good jumper can clear a reed the height of his own chin. For the long jump a flat stone is put in position to take off from, and the mark which counts is that made by the jumper’s feet in landing, whether he falls backwards or not. For the “jump-and-kick” [83] (nshü) the jumper makes a standing jump and while in the air kicks with both feet together at some mark such as a leaf stuck on the end of an upright spear. It is quite common for a man to be able to kick a mark as high above his head as he can reach with his hand. ”

“ The kick is completed and the legs straightened before the left hand is replaced ready for the next stroke. As the legs are opened the upper leg is kicked forward with the knee slightly bent, and the foot kept in its ordinary position. The lower leg is bent double until the heel approaches the thigh, which is brought backwards slightly. In the actual kick the upper leg is sent forward, and as it is straightened vigorously the under leg from the knee downward come/forward to meet it with a vicious kick; the swirl of the feet/Shd closing of the legs drives the body forward. ”

“ It depends upon the style of the kick, however, as to which of these two moves is of the greatest importance, for if the kick is a high one little can be done against the on-coming ends, and every effort should be made to protect the catcher. ”

“ Thus you add to the blow the force of a kick, and the stroke comes with such terrific force that I have seen a tall man lifted fairly off the ground and deposited on his back by a straight shoulder-hit, even though the two were merely sparring with the gloves.
Never draw back your hand before you strike, as that tells your opponent what you are contemplating. Your stroke should flash out like the lightning, without warning and straight to the mark. You cannot strike too rapidly, and you cannot recover yourself too quickly. ”