Answer from Loren W. Christensen:

Hi Jim,

So the big guys are ganging up on you. You must have some sidekick! Good for you; keep up the good work. I always liked an answer Joe Lewis gave when a reporter asked how he always scored with his sidekick, even when his opponents knew that it was one of two or three techniques he consistently used. He answered with something similar to this: That's simple. I just never throw my sidekick the same way twice. Here are some ideas that might help you make those black belts eat a little humble pie.:

Practice as Joe Lewis did and devise as many ways to launch that sidekick as you can. Set yourself a goal of 20 different ways to launch it; don't rule out any possibility. You'll find that one variation will produce another and that one will produce yet another.

Think angles. Instead of always shooting in on a straight line, as quick as a blink step out to the left or right and drill your sidekick in where it's more awkward for him to jam with a push kick. Try stepping to the outside of your opponent's lead leg and see if it's harder for him to turn in that direction and do a push kick.

Practice broken rhythm. Throw a couple of sidekicks just to draw out his push kick and block it. The third time, step in, chamber your sidekick, but throw something completely different. For example, drop your sidekick foot quickly and whip your rear leg in a crescent kick to hit the inner thigh of his push kick.

Throw a partial sidekick and drop it to the floor the instant you see the push kick coming. Lean away from it and as he retracts it, take advantage of his vulnerability and lunge in with your killer sidekick for the score.

Don't throw any sidekicks. Just before you spar, let your opponent see you stretch your sidekick muscles and tell him how hard you've been working on getting your kick even better. Then when you spar, throw everything at him but your sidekick. When his mind is cluttered with anticipation for one technique, you can hit him more easily with other things.

Loren 

Loren Christensen, www.lwcbooks.com