Questions tagged [kicking]

Striking with the leg, including the knee or shin, or the foot, including the instep, toes, heel, ball, outside edge or "blade", inside edge, or any other part of the lower extremities. Arts that are renowned for kicking include Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and its relatives, Savate and others.

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18 votes
3 answers
6k views

What are ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?

What are the most effective ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?
plmaheu's user avatar
  • 335
16 votes
7 answers
34k views

How bad is kickboxing for your brain?

I'm not asking for medical advice, I'm just asking this out of sheer curiosity: To me it seems that kickboxing is the best kind of workout I could get, nothing else gets me in shape quite as quickly ...
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22 votes
3 answers
49k views

Good exercises for higher side kicks?

I've been training martial arts for several years but still aren't impressed by the height of my side kicks. I think its a combination of strength and stretching since I can use my hands to lift my ...
David Rönnqvist's user avatar
6 votes
6 answers
11k views

The 180 degree leg split

I started taking kung fu lessons from my shifu around 2 months back. However, I have yet to achieve a full 180 degree leg split. When I attempt this, my inner thighs and outer hips hurt a lot. I am ...
MathMan's user avatar
  • 234
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

When training spinning kicks, is it more important to prioritize control or height?

I am tremendously out of shape and out of practice, but I would like to get back to practicing Capoeira. Unfortunately, my schedule does not allow me to attend local classes, so I will have to train ...
Macaco Branco's user avatar
14 votes
7 answers
2k views

Going up on the ball of the foot for a front snap kick

This may be getting into technical minutia, but it's something that's been bugging me since I first came across it. I've seen multiple different views (as one might expect) for the position of the ...
David H. Clements's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Any conditioning exercise that can prevent concussion caused by a punch or kick to the head or neck?

I have noticed that during kick boxing every time I receive a punch or kick on the head or even neck I tend to go into concussion. I initially suspected it to be vertigo but it seems more like ...
CSinha's user avatar
  • 278
22 votes
7 answers
73k views

How do I increase hip flexibility for round kicks?

In the process of doing a round kick, or roundhouse kick, you need to turn your kicking leg over, to be perpendicular with your body. When I do this I loose significant height on my kick and can ...
Swift's user avatar
  • 1,970
17 votes
8 answers
24k views

Exercises to improve balance when kicking

When performing kicks, I quite often lose my balance, which results in me being positioned in a stance where I'm more exposed to attacks. This is normally due to me trying to raise my leg for the kick,...
Samuel Slade's user avatar
13 votes
10 answers
9k views

Low kicks vs high kicks in street fight

Many martial arts spend time in practicing high kicks, for instance to the face. Is there a situation in a street fight where high kicks would be the best choice? Why not prefer low kicks? With low ...
Avi's user avatar
  • 1,587
11 votes
13 answers
67k views

How can I speed up the recovery of a bruised leg?

There are those who say you have to cool and those who say you have to warm your leg, there are those who say you should rest and those who say you should keep using it as you would normally. It makes ...
Bart Burg's user avatar
  • 486
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Mawashi Gheri Vs Dollyo Chagi

Over the last 20 years or so I have been trying to incorporate several styles into one that is suited for my needs. My stance is now pretty much a Karate’s one, but my kicks have elements of Karate, ...
Lex's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
329 views

How can I improve my precision when performing a split kick?

For my next grading, I'm planning to demonstrate a split-kick break, similar to the kick shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox46E-GNVQ8&feature=related (In case the video becomes ...
Rophuine's user avatar
  • 1,032
4 votes
1 answer
213 views

Should I arch my back in a butterfly kick?

I don't have a problem with the takeoff and landing of my butterfly kick, but various people have suggested different way to perform the kick. Usually when I do the kick, I launch my lower body ...
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4 votes
2 answers
3k views

How to counter a grab to a kicking leg?

While kicks can be very powerful techniques, they carry some risks and may leave you very exposed to the opponent. A particular case is when the opponent grabs the kicking leg: things can go bad very ...
Daniel Reis's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
139 views

Is there a mathematical model of how much force is applied to joints during various tae kwon do activities?

Related (on a different site): How does one typically determine the energy and force in a foot stomp? I recently got a knee injury and was trying to understand when it was safe to continue to ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

What are the advantages to adding a jump to a kick?

...even theoretically? I've taken ITF TKD for years, and we do a few, but the only situation I can think of where it might be of some use is a jump spin side kick, which will let you do that kick at ...
user6768's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
272 views

How do I set up a sliding/hopping power sidekick?

How do I set up a sliding/hopping power sidekick? In 2 and 1 videos, you can see Scott Adkins demonstrate the sliding/hopping power sidekick. I have been trying to do this, but every time I do it, my ...
RoundHouse's user avatar
  • 1,321
2 votes
1 answer
77 views

Which of these 2 shuffle roundhouse kicks is preferrable?

My lifestyle these days don't allow me to train in a club, but I do try to recall drills from college kickboxing class. I recall 2 ways of doing the shuffle roundhouse. I'm trying to choose the ...
user2153235's user avatar