Easy Peasy! I Don’t Think So….

We sit watching a martial arts movie, and what catches our eye most of all? The high flying acrobatic kicks performed with such ease and grace - and of course we can all do that with a little practice!

Wrong!

Kicking techniques are very difficult to master - there’s no getting around it - and in order to master them the student must work diligently. A good martial artist views a kicking technique in the same light as good punch; elbow or knee technique and only constant training will give you great rewards.

Flexibility Counts

Good flexibility is essential to perform good kicking techniques, so hopefully you have been stretching through my previous articles during the winter months. Some of us are very lucky to have natural flexibility and some of us have to work extremely hard to obtain the elasticity to perform great kicks. If you are naturally flexible it will be much easier to grasp the difficult techniques involved in kicking.

Black Belt Challenge

With a view on this watch out for a new feature coming soon where we take a student (our own Kerry Lucy Taylor) with good flexibility, and try and push her through the rigors of martial arts training to become a Black Belt in quicker time than they would normally take due to their good flexibility.

More Powerful than the Punch!

Kicking techniques are much more powerful than punching techniques and the legs have greater reach than the arms. The advantages of strong kicking manoeuvres are fairly obvious, but many martial artists tend to overlook the long hours needed to perfect them, with arduous stretching, co-ordination drills, bag work, form work, pad work, running and weight training that are all required to master the kicking tool.

It is much harder to master the kicking tools than punching techniques, so much more time is required in kicking training.

It is wrong to think one is more important than the other as both skills are essential to become a good all round martial artist. A good puncher will grab your opponent´s attention before you unleash the power of your kicks - their distraction through your punches will become their downfall when you kick, leading to your victory.

Speed, Power and Control

Good kicks will have good speed, power and control which result in graceful and explosive techniques.
It is important to remember to obtain this - the whole body is involved in a kick, not just the leg and foot.

Strong Abs

Good strong abdominal muscles are very important when kicking as they are used when raising the leg in readiness for a kick; also good abs will allow you to twist your body more which is essential for good explosive power.

The Hips

The hips are used extensively when performing a kick, when turning you maximise power as you are injecting the force of all your bodyweight into the kick. Turning your hips will also give you greater reach directly in front of you and also in height.

Footwork

Good footwork and positioning of feet are also very important in performing a good kick. To make your kicks more effective use your footwork to move your body towards or away from your target depending on the kick you use, the motion of your body will give you an extra surge of power.

Strike Points

When striking a target or opponent with a kick there are many strike points on the foot depending on the kick used. These are:

• the ball of the foot
• the top of the foot
• the sole of the foot
• the foot’s inside edge
• the foot’s outside edge
• the bottom of the heel
• the back of the heel

Strike points do vary from style to style. For example Muay Thai fighters prefer to use the ball of the foot when executing a front kick whereas a western style kick boxer prefers to use the whole sole of the foot.

The Four Basics

Over the next four articles I will explain the first four basic kicks used in martial arts especially in kickboxing, on how to perform the kick correctly and indicating the correct strike point on the foot.
The four basic kicks for most styles of martial arts are:

• the front push (commonly known as the front snap kick)
• the rear push kick
• the roundhouse kick
• the side kick.

While waiting for the next article continue with you stretching exercises so that you are ready to perform your kicks with ease.

Train Hard ! Fight Hard ! Sleep Easy !

(www.kickboxing-london.co.uk)