Knee/Thigh kick.

The knee and thigh is used when the ball comes fast towards the area between your knees and your waist. This skill is used to "bump" or deflect the ball up enough to use an inside kick to control the ball. It is also used when kicking consecutive kicks or in a circle and the ball gets to close to your body. The motion is like a high step marching motion. Simply raise the leg with your hip allowing your knee to bend.Try to contact the ball on the thigh where possible instead of the knee as it provides better control. Make sure the ball hits the fleshy part of the thigh to "bump" the ball up and out a bit. Try a few back up to your hands. Once you feel comfortable, try to link with one inside kick, then catch the ball. Do this over and over until it comes naturally. Once you get this combination and doing it naturally without thinking, you will be aware of your improvement in skill.