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I've also had over 20 years of training in various types of martial arts (several of them in their native countries) including:
Tae Kwon Do
Judo
Muy Thai
boxing
Aikido
Aiki-Jujutsu
Shotokan and other styles of Karate
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Sambo/Shooto (Shootfighting)
If you have time for only one martial art, I think that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is it. It is simply the most effective one-on-one, unarmed combat system, proven by numerous no-holds barred AND challenge ("garage") fights.
I've seen someone who trained in BJJ for one year render unconscious (with a choke) someone who trained in Karate for over ten years. Mind you, the latter outweiged the former by over 35 pounds (not to mention being much more muscular). The whole thing took two minutes.
To ansnwer your original question, high kicks are not only useless, but highly dangerous to the kicker himself. Whenever you kick high, you unbalance yourself, and make yourself vulnerable to counters or, worse still, takedowns. Then you'll get mounted and get your face beaten. You'll then turn on your back and your opponent will back-mount you and choke you out.
There are, however, two effective ways of kicking. One is the BJJ style low front (or low side) kick to the knee. It is, however, only useful in keeping your opponent away OR as a distraction to set up a takedown.
The other is the Muy Thai style roundhouse kick to the thigh (more specifically to the nerve center underneath your thigh). I've seen Muy Thai boxers who weigh 150lbs. bring down 200+lbs. gorillas with this kick. It's really something to see these giants crumble on their leg, because they cannot support themselves on one leg. The downside to this kick is that it has to be applied repeatedly (good 10-15 times) to be effective against strong, muscular, large opponents. Against trained grapplers (BJJ, Sambo, Judo, wrestling, etc.), this type of kick isn't going to work for very long unless the opponent has never dealt with Muy Thai fighter before.
Really the most effective striking technique involving the leg is the Muy Thai style knee to the sides or, better still if you can, to the face. That you get high hit probability and an instant knock-down power. Of course, a trained grappler will know to position his body to render ineffective your knee strikes (in fact, many grapplers use your knee strikes to take you down).
My two bits. If you have any more questions, or need some website addresses, contact me either here or by e-mail.
Skorzeny
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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
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