kicking

[Tom Yum]

I did alot of yoga-type leg and hip stretches before each class.

The biggest help for kicks was practice, practice, practice - working on form and repetition. As I got better, I was able to speed up and snap them out.

Holding onto the chair was good. As was leaning against the wall.

I don't kick as much these days - if so, they are low-line or to the center of mass.

[mellow]

It's a balance thing, right Hardball?

[Hardball]

Long Range Weapon

agreed it can take years, but with holding the chair I don't think thats a good idea, try kicking over the chair slowly whilst watching yourself in the mirror, make sure you get the dynamics of the kick right, it's a much better way to practice kicking as you don't learn to user the chair for support.

I've used kicks bouncing saved my scrawny ass a few times

The purpose of holding the chair is to teach my beginning students the mechanics of pivoting the support foot.

Kicking over the chair is more of a technique for my intermediate students.

Yea, I've used low to mid level kicks in the street--they are a Respect getter.

[Movement]

Yea it can take months to be a good kicker and years to be a great kicker. Definately a "Must Have" for any self defense arsenal. I learned by holding on to a chair for balance.

agreed it can take years, but with holding the chair I don't think thats a good idea, try kicking over the chair slowly whilst watching yourself in the mirror, make sure you get the dynamics of the kick right, it's a much better way to practice kicking as you don't learn to user the chair for support.

I've used kicks bouncing saved my scrawny ass a few times

[Hardball]

Covert Weapon

me i like shin or ball, but it really does depend on what i'm wearing easy example been that if i have heavy boots aka steel caps on i'm gonna kick with my toes rather shatter bones then bruise them

Along with steel toe boots I have several pair of steel toe sneakers but I've never had to use them.

[Hardball]

Yea it can take months to be a good kicker and years to be a great kicker. Definately a "Must Have" for any self defense arsenal. I learned by holding on to a chair for balance.

[Movement]

Do you prefer the instep, shin or ball?

me i like shin or ball, but it really does depend on what i'm wearing easy example been that if i have heavy boots aka steel caps on i'm gonna kick with my toes rather shatter bones then bruise them


kicking is probably one of the harder things to learn well in martial arts

you have to remember speed balance,control, rotational force in correlation with your step, body position, hip position, target area kinda hard to write down and hard to teach, but deffinantly worth taking the time to learn as good kicks only add to your arsenal

[Hardball]

Roundhouse Kick

Do you prefer the instep, shin or ball?

[Hardball]

Have to rely on fist

Kicking to the head is an awesome skill to have, unfortunately I have never been able to do it--even in my youth.

[Hardball]

Old Guys

For street kicking I teach my students to stretch 20 minutes a day, keep the kicks around torso level or lower and if it's ugly then it probably works. Pretty and flashy probably does not work. Bruce Lee had it right when he said " a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick"

Tournament and MMA kicking is a horse of a different color which I am not qualified to speak on. I'll be 52 next week thus I'm definately kicking low. LOL

[Hardball]

Kick cold, kick low, kick hard, both front leg and rear leg. It's simple.

[Movement]

but from the more modern systems of TKD particularly the ones claiming to be authentic, they tend to forget the basic fundamentals behind the basis of kicking. every kick i have ever seen from any style i have ever seen should be running on these principals, and if you have a look at old martial arts training/sparing videos they do, but during the 90's you can see a global de-evolution of kicking especially in TKD

wtf tkd kicking is a joke seriously it is and i have a black belt in it. itf isn't far behind

[Movement]

over the past 20 years I have mainly been working on kicking, and how kicking has evolved

unfortunantly I think that kicking in TKD has degraded and is now days pretty damn useless


but what are your opinions