Front kick

The front kick in martial arts is a kick executed by lifting the knee straight forward, while keeping the foot and shin either hanging freely or pulled to the hip, and then straightening the leg in front of the practitioner and striking the target area. It is desirable to retract the leg immediately after delivering the kick, to avoid the opponent trying to grapple the leg and (unless a combination is in process) to return to stable fighting stance.
The front kick described is the typical basic front kick of karate or taekwondo. But the front kick can also be defined more broadly as a straight forward kick directly to the front, and then include several variations from many different styles. A front kick can be delivered forward in a penetrating way (hip thrust), or upwards to attack the head.
Details of the technique.
In martial arts implying either barefooted combat or very light footwear, the strike is usually delivered by using ball of the foot (while pointing the foot toward the target area and keeping toes up to prevent injury) or by heel. When heavier footwear is used, there is an option using whole sole as a striking surface. It is also possible to kick with the top of the foot (the instep) in cases of striking at the groin or under the arm which can be very damaging.
Using ball of a foot is preferred in karate. This method demands more control of one's movement, but allows for narrow, penetrating strike. Taekwondo practitioners utilise both heel and ball of the foot for striking. It is common to perform tempering exercises to strengthen ball of the foot, as many new practitioners are unable to exercise full-power front kicks on training gear, such as body bag.
With specific techniques and in certain styles, the impact point of the front kick can be more exotic. Certain Japanese styles have a front kick generally used as a stop-kick where the blade of the foot is used to connect, like for a side kick (the foot blade front kick). The heel is often used straight () or with the foot tilted (tilted heel front kick), especially in stop-kicks, close kicks or high front kicks. Japanese nin-jitsu has variations using the straightened and hardened toes. Front kicks to the groin (