Shin Kick Training

[conach]

I'm convinced, and correct me if mistaken, American Kickboxing doesn't have the kicking power of Kyokushinkai. I recently downloaded some videos at Sherdog (http://www.sherdog.com/videos/highlights.htm), particularly the ones of Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost. My jaw dropped with Aerts's shin kicks to the head and also Hoost's low kicking. I will begin training Kyokushin next year, which has a lot of low kicks, and I was wondering if there's a way to do shin kick training by oneself, maybe through videos... I know of Thai pads and heavy bag, but how could I possibly train properly with them if I don't have a Muay Thai gym to do it? No hitting the shins with a kali stick, a bottle or any bullshit alike to strenghten them, I am aware of that. I read that "this crazy method probably started from the myth that Thai boxers in Thailand kicked trees with their shins. The truth is long ago before the availability of pads and bags, Thai boxers kicked banana trees. The texture of a banana tree is rubbery and is softer than a person's shin. It is not like the wooden oak tree sitting in your backyard". There has to be a way to do it. Any opinions on this matter??

Also another question... In American Kickboxing is it allowed to low kick or shin kick to the head?

Regards...

[BellyOfTheBeast]

You don't need a Thai gym to condition you're shins. Get a heavy bag put it in you're basement and kick the hell out of it with you're shins until you build up. Then you can't hit the hard stuff like kali sticks or bambo or whatever. Or you could just block with you're leg and take a lot of roundhouses if you have someone to train with.