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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3answers
2k 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 ...
9
votes
5answers
240 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 ...
9
votes
5answers
4k 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
503 views
What are ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?
What are the most effective ways to increase flexibility for karate kicks?
6
votes
3answers
289 views
Pivoting for a kick
While in training, it is advised to pivot on your foot when going in for a kick (such as a side or round-house kick), so that your foot is facing as much in the opposite direction as possible. The ...
5
votes
1answer
98 views
How do I increase shin strength?
I just recently started kickboxing/Muay Thai and my round to the bag causes a great deal of pain after a while. (20-30 kicks)
I know you build up strength in your shins overtime, and most people ...
4
votes
8answers
496 views
Do shin guards defeat the purpose of training?
I'm into Ninjutsu. We have just started some boxing + kicking: Gloves, mouth guards. I'm speaking "friendly" here - this is in-house sparring, not MMA competition.
So, the instructor has recommended ...
4
votes
4answers
293 views
I have very little toe flexibility - are there other front kicks I can use?
I have very limited mobility in my toe joints, to the extent that I can't pull my toes back the way you need to to perform a front kick, so currently the only forward kicks I know I can manage are axe ...
3
votes
6answers
2k 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 ...
3
votes
4answers
240 views
Value in Practicing Spinning Kicks
In hapkido we have a large number of kicking techniques, ranging from sweeps and kicks from the ground up to and including spinning kicks, skip kicks, jump techniques, etc.
My question here is in ...
3
votes
1answer
108 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
264 views
Backspinning Heel Kick, Hapkido Origins
A lot of techniques in Hapkido have clear derivations from other arts. A lot of our kicks come from either TKD or from a parent art of TKD, while a lot of the hand-techniques seem to be derived from ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
Stretches for kicking?
I started Muay Thai today, and when doing a basic kick (a straight teep) above my waist level, I felt strong resistance/mild pain where my leg connects to my hip, right at the top of the leg, by the ...
2
votes
5answers
210 views
Proper Toe Position for Boots with a Front Kick
In Hapkido we have a variety of striking positions for the foot using a front-kick-like motion. What we use for a front kick is to point the ball of the foot, curling back the toes, and using the ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Training front kick
What is the best way to train my front kick. By this i mean raising the leg and thrusting forward.
I have problems getting the right height and also i'm not stretching my leg fully. There is always a ...
1
vote
1answer
66 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 ...
