There is no kicking in the game and there are no fists fights. The melee system is focused around sword fights, parrying and blocking with them.
People are under the impression that this game is going to be Dark Messiah 2 essentially. It's not. Though it may be from Arkane it has more the feel of Thief and Deus Ex with a simple but solid melee system than anything else. Dark Messiah is a good game but I want to see the studio do something new and I find this system to be better.