Checking Kicks
Some principles of checking roundhouse kicks — these will both help you from eating kicks to the rib, arm, or shoulder, and also discourage your opponent from kicking more, as the attempts will hurt him/her as much or more than they hurt you.
Though checking kicks is simple in theory, it can take a lot of practice to develop the balance and the reflex to execute them correctly and use them to actually block an opponent’s attack. Don’t give up doing them — it will get easier and easier.