The push-kick is one of the coolest shot used in the game of foosball. However, it is not as much of a high percentage shot like some of the other shot used. I have seen people who use this shot as their primary weapon in their offensive arsenal. They are so good at this shot that they can hit "deadman" long, go short, slice, or even mix it in with a soft push. Still, as good as some of these players may be, the push kick is rarely used in a high-level foosball game like the rollover or the pull shot is. The shot is just too difficult to control comparatively, especially when the defense has the upper hand.

I found that most people will use a push-kick quickly rather than taking the time to set it up. In other word, using it as a surprise shot. Still, those who are so dedicated to the push-kick as to live or die by it like I once was, will take the time required to set up the shot, look over the defense, and then shoot.

It has been my observation that the push-kick is a less popular shot to used for a high percentage shot by most players during tournaments. It might be because of the simple fact that the push-kick is a combination shot. Most players do prefer to do a more high-percentage shot like the pull shot and rollover when it comes down to crunch time. Nonetheless, there are those who are willing to use the push-kick as their ace shot and those people have my sincere admiration.

There are two traditional ways to do a combination shot. One way is away and the other is towards. A push-kick is what I call an "away" combo shot because the ball is moving away from the player attempting the shot and pushing the ball towards the second man which is usually the middle man. A pull-kick is what I call a "towards" combo shot because the ball is moving towards the player attempting the shot and pulling the ball to the second man which is usually the middle man.

Usually, the push-kick combination shot involves two of the front offensive 3-man rod. The middle man on the rod is usually the "receiving" man or rather the "contact" man. The man that hits the ball in the hole. The other man involved in the push-kick shot is the "passing" man, which usually is either one of the end man on the rod.

I will start out talking about the variations of the push-kick beginning with the long push-kick. .A player who has mastered the skill of doing a push-kick can go long "deadman", split, or go short when the opportunity appears or when the situation calls for it. In other words, they can do what ever it takes to penetrate a defense using just a push-kick.

The "deadman" long psuh-kick

The "Deadman" Push-Kick
The "Deadman" push-kick is where the shooter attempts to place the ball in the extreme far corner of the goal from where he has the ball set up at, which is closes to wall near him. This is an extremely difficult shot except for someone who lives and dies by it. The Percentage Scoring Ratio (PSR) is low for beginners and some novices, and is slightly increased by the experts. Even on a good day with everything working (like longs, shorts, and splits) the PSR may get only get as high as maybe 80-90%). This also depends greatly on how good the defending goalie is.

It takes a lot of power to do a "deadman" push-kick, especially from a stand still, yet there are many who can do it with very little effort and with deadly accuracy. This shot requires a lot of practice to master, mainly because it has to be done with extreme accuracy. However, with a little understanding of how the shot is done and lots of practice then this shot can be mastered in a reasonable period of time. Now I will attempt to show you how to do a "deadman" pushkick and hopefully it will be a benefit to you.

1) First, you want to set the ball up in front of the pushing (or passing) man. In so doing, you want the ball to be slightly or more to the back. Usually, the push kick. The greater the distance of the shot, the more to the back the ball should be. Remember when doing combo shots you do not want the ball to be too far forward or too far back, because you do not want to turn the ball over.

2) Next, you want to determine the distance of the shot so that you do not over shoot the hole or under shoot and hit the defending men. Pick a location on the playing surface that is in front of the open hole and aim for it. If you are playing on a Tornado table and I hope you are, you will see that there are several white dots on the playing surface which can be used as aiming points. Altogether there are seven dots. The center dot is bigger in diameter than the other six dots. I found that if you aim between the center and the second dot beyond it, then that will usually hit the far "deadman" corner. Remember this is not an easy shot to do and it does require lots of practice.

3) Finally, you push the ball to the middle man and from there the middle man does the shot. If everything goes well, when the middle man makes contact with the ball, the ball should be squarely in front of the man and directly under the rod or slightly forward. The ideal shot is a square (or 90 degree right angle) "deadman" push-kick like the one in the illustration above.

The push-kick split

The Push-Kick Split
The push-kick split is just as a difficult shot to do as the "deadman" push-kick. Generally, a split is not an easy thing to do when using any type of shot. Mainly because there is a tight hole between the defending men. Usually, the split is done with a short stroke, at a shorter distance than the "deadman", and quickly before the goalie figures out what you are doing.

To do this type of shot you basically follow the same procedure on how to do a "deadman" long described above. Remember this type of shot requires a lot practice to master but it is a very effective shot to use. Also, if you are smok'n the goalie with your long and short push-kicks, he will attempt to split his men in order to shut down your offense. This is when you want to do a split. When you make it then the goalie is really in for a long night because now he is aware that you can go long, short, or split.

The push-kick short

The Push-Kick Short
The push-kick short is just the opposite of the "deadman" or push-kick long. Instead of hitting the far corner you want to hit the near corner. In most cases than not, a player will usually do a soft push shot from a push-kick setup. A lot of times a goalie will leave the short open hoping that you will not see it, so that they can block the long or split push-kick. Again, you must learn to recognize and then capitalize on the opportunity. In so doing, you will create havoc on the defense.

To do this shot you basically follow the procedure on how to do a push-kick that is mention above. Remember that this shot, like any other push-kick requires a lot of practice, but when all the variations are mastered you can destroy any defense, especially on a good day. As mention previously these variations of the push-kick can also be used with angle shots and push shots for an even greater offensive effect.

The push-kick is a very cool shot to see done and to do. However, it is not a shot I would consider as a high-percentage shot, and I probably would not ever use it during tournament play unless I felt confident enough to attempt it. Nonetheless, it is a highly affective shot to use. Especially, when there is a situation where the shooter is a skillful push-kick shooter who is shooting against a not-so-skillful goalie.

A good skillful push-kick shooter will know to mix up his or hers push-kick attack by going long, short, or even incorporating the push shot or a angle shot when the situation calls for it. For instance, a skillful push-kick shooter will keep pounding away with a deadman push-kick as long as it is there. But, when the goalie changes her defensive scheme to cover the long, then a skillful shooter will know to adjust and aim for the short or split that has opened up as a result of the goalie's attempt to cover the long.

Because the push-kick is a combination shot, it requires a lot of practice, good eye-hand coordination, and some arm strength to master. If a shooter decides to use the push-kick a his primary weapon of choice, then it should not take too long for him to become skillful with the shot. Like anything else, how well one gets at using the push-kick will depend on how determine one is to master this beautiful and exciting shot.