My kicks are whips....

[gong fu]

i agree with what gabbah said there 100%. "As for the weight training, I wouldn't recommend it at first. You should focus on getting the form right first. So maybe after a year or so you could try weights out."

yeah sorry if your form isnt already correct while kicking then i dont recommend you use wieghts yet to aid you, when your posture and form is perfect using your own bodywieght then use wieghts but not untill then. i already assumed you had perfect form while kicking, but if you dont then listen to what gabbah said there, then try the wieghs.

[Abe]

I wouldn't know about my form being perfect. But it's pretty good as told by my trainer, apart from that my standing feet dont turn enough. Think that need practices as well as working on my chicken legs. All of your advise have been great and helpful, i think know my problem now. Just need to hit the bags. Cheers

[gong fu]

hit the gym aswell, build up your leg muscle in every way possible, try to eat more than you ate before, starting the day off with a big healthy breakfast is the best way to eat more and better. the more you eat in the morning the more hungry you get later on in the day. it opens your stomach up so you can eat more.breakfast is the most important meal of the day. i train lots of people and always need to say something about breakfast lots of people neglect a good breakfast, and when bodybuilding/trying to gain muscle mass, you have to eat a big breakfast every day.

[Hardball]

You've only been training for 3 months, nobody really becomes a hard kicker after 3 months. Keep practicing and remember, the way you kick in practice, is the way you will kick in a fight or sparring match.

[gabbah]

You've only been training for 3 months, nobody really becomes a hard kicker after 3 months. Keep practicing and remember, the way you kick in practice, is the way you will kick in a fight or sparring match.

Well that's not the whole truth. There are different levels to be reached I would say. FIRST you learn to throw the kick on the bag, that is towards a static target. Then you learn to do it against a moving target in light sparring. Then to an opponent that might try to avoid you kick and moves in and out of range, which means you have to maintain a proper stance and always have correct balance so you can throw your kick at will.
When you can do that the next level is in an actual match, where the guy across the ring is trying to hit you as hard as he can... the first time this happens, technique goes flying out the window, and your arsenal is decimated.
The techniques you have used and trained the most will be the ones you actually use in a match.
So what I'm saying is just because you can kick the bag hard, does not mean you can actually use that technique in a fight or match, because so many more things are involved and keeping your mind busy... so it's not that easy

Oh and your trainer probably means you technique is good at your level. But you must keep perfecting it until it feels as natural as breathing.
When you feel totally relaxed as you throw the kick, and you can throw 10 kicks in a row with full force without loosing balance, then you can consider yourself as having pretty good technique (on the pads, not in match). When I say 10 kicks in a row I don't mean kick pause kick pause... I mean that as soon as your kicking leg lands you kick again.
Btw, that is a good way to learn how to kick relaxed. Throw 5 kicks in a row then pause... 5 kicks then pause.. All kicks should be equally hard.

[Abe]

Breakfast! yes, i always skip that as i never wake up on time for it.
Balance is important as gabbah said, and i've notice that too from sparring. Also, is strengthening my core gonna help my kicks too? isn't part of the movement coming from the hip and waist?

I've been in couple of heavy sparrs(beatings) with one of the trainer, he went pretty hard, lucky for the 16 oz and chin pads tho. And yes, all techs goes out of the window, first one i was mainly trying to stay on my feet, and second one i was just throwing front kicks while covering my head for dear life. Shameful..

[gabbah]

I would say 90% of the power comes from the rotation. I don't think your kicks will get much harder by strengthening your core, but it will help you a lot in many other aspects. Balance, slipping punches, taking punches and kicks to your midsection. So you should definately train your core regulary. But when it comes to the kicks, you have so much more to gain from using your body correctly (effecient), than by adding muscle mass or strength.
But it's always good to have a well trained body.

[gabbah]

I've been in couple of heavy sparrs(beatings) with one of the trainer, he went pretty hard, lucky for the 16 oz and chin pads tho. And yes, all techs goes out of the window, first one i was mainly trying to stay on my feet, and second one i was just throwing front kicks while covering my head for dear life. Shameful..

Yeah this is the usual way for beginners to defend. Covering head, backing up and trying to throw half hearted front kicks. There is nothing shameful about it, it's just a phase you have to go through.
The front kicks are for keeping your opponent away, but it didn't work very well right? Many beginners don't use the full length of their legs, so they try to front kick when the opponent is too close.
If your sparring partner goes too hard when you are not ready for it, that is just bad training most of the time. They need to go slower and lighter, letting you trying to hit them instead, and forcing you to find the openings.
Some people just like to show they're by good beating up beginners... silly.

[Abe]

Yeah this is the usual way for beginners to defend. Covering head, backing up and trying to throw half hearted front kicks. There is nothing shameful about it, it's just a phase you have to go through.
The front kicks are for keeping your opponent away, but it didn't work very well right? Many beginners don't use the full length of their legs, so they try to front kick when the opponent is too close.
If your sparring partner goes too hard when you are not ready for it, that is just bad training most of the time. They need to go slower and lighter, letting you trying to hit them instead, and forcing you to find the openings.
Some people just like to show they're by good beating up beginners... silly.

Actually i meant front round kicks sorry. didn't work well neither.

I actually coped pretty well with others, even beating some who's been trainer longer. Apart fromthe southpoles which i always tend to have trouble with. Just that think that trainer who i sparr with has a "toughen students up" mentality in his head, which i won't argure with as i see it kind of neccassary.
But after the rounds he give us a hug and tell us what we went wrong. My first advise was "hit me! dont just stand there" "I can't, can barely breathe!"

[Khun Kao]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Khun Kao

2. Lean your upper body away from the kicking leg: This sets up a counter-balance so that the weight of your upper body actually transfers into the kick.

Huh? I agree with your other points but this sounds sounds wrong to me. Leaning back when kicking is what I see beginners doing, loosing all the power in the kick.

Can you please point out to me at what point in my explanation I said to lean back? I said NO SUCH THING! I said to lean away from the kicking leg, which is something ENTIRELY DIFFERENT than leaning back!

You also completely ignored my further explanation referencing the 'see-saw' action that your body employs with the kick. If this explanation doesn't make sense to you, then how about swinging your leg through the target like a baseball bat? Does THAT make more sense?

I say you have to keep your upperbody pretty much straight when you rotate. If anything, you should lean forward as you land the kick (doing a crunch with the stomach).

If you keep your upper body straight, please explain to me how you're going to get your upper body to properly transfer its weight into the kick. If you "perform a crunch" as you kick, that is just plain WRONG! Crunching with your abs as you kick not only does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING besides REMOVING your full weight from the kick, but it puts your head right within easy punching range. I have seen fighters do this, and I've seen them get KTFO'ed for it.

All beginners have problems rotating the hip enough when they kick. And they try to land the kick before the hip is fully rotated. I always say hip first, then leg.

Yup, I agree with this statement. MuayThai 101

Also, some beginners have their feet in line with the target before the kick, which will decrease power a lot. You should work at 45 degrees angles.

Again, I agree. MuayThai 101

Here are a few pic's to illustrate what I'm talking about....





These 1st two pics are of me goofing off with a friend in the parking lot after my last title fight. As you may be able to see, I am kicking to the leg, but I am also leaning away FROM MY LEG! I do not simply "lean BACK", that will cause you to be off-balance and your kick weight. I lean away from the leg throughout the entire kicking motion to counter-balance the kick, and using the physics principle of centripidal force, transfer the weight of my upper body into the kick.

As you can also see, if I were to stand upright, or 'crunch-in' as you suggested, I'd be putting my face right into his punching range....



Another example (this time of an actual Thai) leaning AWAY FROM HIS LEG as he performs a roundhouse kick. This is a mid-body kick, obviously.

cont'd in next post.....

[Khun Kao]

Above is a pic of one of my fighters just starting his kick. As you can probably see, he is starting his kick by stepping at the 45 degree angle as he leans away from the leg he is kicking with (the slight sideways lean).



Above is another fighter who trains with me. I believe this picture most clearly illustrates how you lean away from the leg as you kick. You can see his kick in mid-technique. He is CLEARLY leaned completely away FROM THE KICKING LEG, which allows his upper body weight to transfer into the force of the kick when it hits the pads.

And to further comment on something else you stated.....

I would say 90% of the power comes from the rotation. I don't think your kicks will get much harder by strengthening your core,

This is incorrect. I understand the line of thought, because you do generate a good portion of your power from rotation, but 90% is really rather off. You are not factoring in the momentum your body generates by stepping at an angle, and your discounting how your core muscles create the solid structure you will be striking with.

There is a LOT more to throwing a good kick than simply being able to rotate.

[gabbah]

OK, seems I missunderstood your post, thanks for clearifying.
I understood "lean away" as leaning back I guess. Not always easy to undrestand things in writing, nor explain them. The baseball analogy makes sense to me, yes.

If you keep your upper body straight, please explain to me how you're going to get your upper body to properly transfer its weight into the kick. If you "perform a crunch" as you kick, that is just plain WRONG! Crunching with your abs as you kick not only does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING besides REMOVING your full weight from the kick, but it puts your head right within easy punching range. I have seen fighters do this, and I've seen them get KTFO'ed for it.

I think this is just a matter of missunderstanding again. When I say keep upperbody straight, I mean that you should not lean too much to in any direction, as little as possible.
About the crunch, it's hard to explain, it would be much easier if I could just show it
It's just a detail which can add some power, and it's barely visible. So it's not a big movement. You do the little crunch just before your leg hits the target, so your head would move slightly to the "side" (if forward is towards your opponent).
However, I think this little detail is best used (perhaps only used) when doing the sort of muay thai kick that come straight from the side, as opposed to the faster one that comes at a 45 degree angle towards the opponents ribs. So it's for the slower and more powerful muay thai kick.

[gabbah]

Yeah sorry forgot to mention the power that comes from stepping in. I guess what I meant to say is that 90% of the power is rotation AND the stepping... not from the leg, as many beginners believe.

[gabbah]

about leaning back

Good pictures you found.
About the leaning, I say you should try to keep your upperbody straight as much as you can. That is, don't aim to lean, aim to be straight.
I say this because I see many beginners leaning forward or too much back. So try to keep straight, the leaning will be there anyway.
I believe that if you "think straight", you will improve your kicks faster.

[Khun Kao]

Its all good, gabbah. I was a bit uppity earlier cause I've knocked back a few and the Redskins lost....

LOL