In an mma fight, ufc fight or sparring I couldn't do it. I'd break my ****en foot or feet. Htf do ****s do this? Imagine kicking and some **** checks it with their elbow. **** that. Broken toes broken feet. They're tough as **** those that do it.
Its mostly the shins they kick with, when feet are used its usually teeps and front kicks which hit with the bottom of the foot so less risky. Shins are strong and get conditioned over time when you do bag work etc. Plus you need to get your technique right, turning over your hips etc to try and minimize structural weaknesses to your leg when you land.
I used to hurt my fists all the time when punching, until I learned proper technique. Now I only get injured in sparring, because movements are unpredictable and I sometimes end up landing at a bad angle; mainly on the guard, and more often on the elbows. Cant recall the times I have hurt my fists by punching someones elbow. Conditioning likely played a big factor too.
This is all true, but you can also kick safely with the saddle of the foot as well (the curve where the ankle connects with the foot). That's how much high-level strikers from a karate background typically choose to kick, and it's very effective. It's often not quite as powerful as the shin by comparison, but it allows you to kick from further away which reduces the change of eating counter punches. It still is very powerful, though. The toes rarely take the brunt of the impact unless you catch them right at the end of your kick. That does hurt. Broken feet and toes do happen sometimes, of course, but much less than you would expect. Far less than boxers break their hands for instance. It's like anything else. You feet and shins get conditioned to it over time. You "get used" to that type of pain when your kick hits their shin or a painful part of an elbow. Also, the nerves in the shins and feet tend to die or grow weaker after a long enough time which reduces the pain.
