A kick shield is a large, thickly padded pad held by a training partner, usually with two forearm straps and hand grips on the back, that allows a training partner to throw kicks, knees and sometimes elbows at close to full power. Its size and depth of padding absorb impact that would be unsafe to deliver to a person directly.
Kick shields are common in kickboxing, Muay Thai and taekwondo training for developing power, since the holder can brace and angle the shield to receive a strike cleanly, and give feedback on whether a kick landed with proper structure. They are also useful for combination drilling, where a holder calls for a sequence of strikes and moves the shield between them.
Because the person holding the shield absorbs real force, bracing technique and body position matter for the holder as much as striking technique does for the kicker, and rotating who holds the shield during a session helps prevent fatigue related mistakes. See our training at home guide and the entry on the heavy bag for a comparable but stationary alternative.
