kicking height.
Posted by: Jer_sm
kicking height. - 02/01/08 01:49 PM
OK im SURE you guys get this a lot. Im trying to get more flexible legs so that i can do head kicks. i believe this involves being able to do the split.
YES i KNOW there are probably other posts about how to get flexible iwth the dif types of stretching and stuff. Right now all that is too much to regiter for me. If one of you wouldn't mind acutally posting a reply on how i should go about doing this directed to me that would be great. Then i can ask questions beacause the reply is to me.
Posted by: MattJ
Re: kicking height. - 02/01/08 02:18 PM
Not trying to be lazy, but this thread really has many of the answers you are looking for:
http://www.fightingarts.com/ubbthreads/s...=0#Post15909217
Posted by: BodhiHuss
Re: kicking height. - 02/01/08 02:27 PM
Quote:
Im trying to get more flexible legs so that i can do head kicks.
Why? If you want to kick someone in the head, kick his knee first and wait until he falls to the ground. Then kick him in the head. You don't even have to be flexible. 
Stop practicing head kicks. They lack power, they are easy to avoid/block, and they leave the kicker open and vulnerable. Try stricking above the waist with weapons that are located above your waste (hands/forearms/elbows). Use your legs to block and attack below the waist. High kicks only look cool in tournaments.
Posted by: MattJ
Re: kicking height. - 02/01/08 02:34 PM
Quote:
High kicks only look cool in tournaments.
Maybe he IS going to do tournaments. 
Posted by: BodhiHuss
Re: kicking height. - 02/01/08 02:46 PM
In that case . . . good luck and happy stretching!
Posted by: everyone
Re: kicking height. - 02/01/08 03:04 PM
This is my personal way of stretching, it may not be the "correct" way but it works...
1) 3 sections of my stretching routine
-warmup/dynamic warm up
-static stretches
-dynamic stretches
2) What to stretch?
For higher kicks, I focus mainly on hamstrings. However, stretching everything you can is good.
Focus on:
-back
-hamstrings
-calves
-hips
-quads
-inside of thigh
Since you want higher kicks lets focus on that...
First thing to know is that dynamic stretching improves your kicking height better than static. You cant kick to your full potential only doing static stretches. That is why I incorporate the dynamic into it. (If you dont know dynamic stretches look some up)
For your benefit I wont make you look up the static stretches, I will just give you some hamstring stretches. (However make sure you look up the other major sections I gave you).
1. elevate your leg on a chair or a table. Then bend towards the leg. (I usually do 3 sets of 30 seconds on each leg)
2. on the ground put your feet out, bend towards you knee (2 sets of 30 seconds)
3. stand up and bend towards you knee
4. feet apart, go down towards you knee
5. work on splits, and straddles if you are comfortable enough with them
Now this was very brief, and obviously just doing this wont do the work. So look up the other stretches. And do not forget the dynamic stretches. Do them before and after static and you will see major improvement.
Some tips
* Dont forget to breathe nice and slow.
* Focus on the area that is being stretches
* Dont overstretch
* Take your time, you wont get to head height right away
Posted by: Jer_sm
Re: kicking height. - 02/02/08 02:24 PM
thanks whitedragon, those are very helpfull tips. I didn't know about this. "do not forget the dynamic stretches. Do them before and after static".
and ide like to learn to head kick beacause you it just adds to my arsenal
. why limit yourself, not to mention working more on my legs will over all make me feel better being more flexible. Also i find my balance has improved beacause im working on my legs.
I think it there would be more benefits if you learn it, you dont have to apply it though.
Well no problem.
And I agree head kicks help me all the time. I use them routinely throughout my sparring, and it helps. Once you get the speed on them, they can do a lot to your martial arts skills.
Posted by: BodhiHuss
Re: kicking height. - 02/04/08 10:35 AM
Quote:
and ide like to learn to head kick beacause you it just adds to my arsenal . why limit yourself . . .
Why limit yourself? Because in order to use your techniques in a real, chaotic, and possibly life-threatening situation, they must be reflexive. Do you know how many times you have to repeat a motion in order for it to become reflex? Some say 10,000.
That being said, you MUST limit your practice to the most effective techniques. There is only so much time in a day and most people have jobs--practice is often limited and one must be careful to get as much useful training out of this time as possible.
I guarantee that a person who only practices one punch 1000 times a day will knock the crap out of a person who knows 1000 different punches but only practices them once or twice a day. High kicks take time to practice. This time could be better spent on other, more useful martial techniques.
Quote:
Quote:
and ide like to learn to head kick beacause you it just adds to my arsenal . why limit yourself . . .
Why limit yourself? Because in order to use your techniques in a real, chaotic, and possibly life-threatening situation, they must be reflexive. Do you know how many times you have to repeat a motion in order for it to become reflex? Some say 10,000.
I agree that is takes numerous hours of training to get a move or a technique. And yes its true that what you will do in a fight will be distinctive. However, if he wants to learn how and puts the effort in there is no reason he cant. Everyone has to begin somewhere. Thats like telling every Tae Kwon Do member who used high kicks that is a waste of time. Now to get it into use, he will have to practice them over and over again. But there is no saying whether he will or wont, so we have to leave it up to him.
Posted by: JohnL
Re: kicking height. - 02/05/08 08:44 AM
Jer_sm
Kicking to the head does not require you to be able to do any kind of splits.
I am 52, of limited flexibility, but can still kick to the head.
It is more a question of having good mechanics. Have those and you don't need to be able to do the splits.
Posted by: BrianS
Re: kicking height. - 02/05/08 11:13 PM
I'm 34 and kick to the head as long as they aren't over 7'6".
Bodihuss,
People practice martial arts for many reasons. Would you like kicking to the head to fall to the wayside for everyone? Maybe he is not interested in reflexive action or self defense? Maybe he just wants to look or feel cool?
I practice goju, it has low kicks,but I can still kick high from my tkd days. I'm into self defense, but that's just me.
My coworkers are only impressed with how high I can kick. Everything else is misunderstood.
Posted by: clmibb
Re: kicking height. - 02/05/08 11:55 PM
Brian I can kick just as high as you. How tall are you?
Casey
Posted by: BodhiHuss
Re: kicking height. - 02/06/08 07:36 AM
Quote:
Maybe he just wants to look or feel cool?
Buy a Stay-Cool suit:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/07/the_staycool_su_1.php
Posted by: Jer_sm
Re: kicking height. - 02/06/08 03:49 PM
plus im already doing some pretty nice round house kicks to the ribs and leg kicks. i just cant reach the head lol. i cant even touch my toes bending foward, I think i should work on my hamstring.
Yeah hamstrings are a major factor when it comes to kicks. However, I would work a lot on the inside of your thighs too. Eventually when you want to get nice side kicks, that will be important.
Also work on slowly doing the movements of the kicks, in steps. So here is an example:
Front kick- bring up back leg (hold), extend leg (hold, bring back in (hold), back to fighting stance...
This will help a lot with the technique which will make it more useful once you get there. AND if you have a bag to work on, I would recommend using one. Since its good to have contact so you will get used to it before you use the kick sparring.
Posted by: Jer_sm
Re: kicking height. - 02/06/08 07:58 PM
ah ok thansk
yes i do have a bag i have it hooked up in my room. its acutally right behind me. im always at it
Posted by: BrianS
Re: kicking height. - 02/07/08 01:46 AM
Quote:
Brian I can kick just as high as you. How tall are you?
Casey
Taller than you. I do it flatfooted.
Posted by: clmibb
Re: kicking height. - 02/07/08 05:12 PM
I do as well....I'm 5'6"....nope wait, I can kick someone who is 6'6" in the head. I was thinking that I can kick Michael Jordan in the head and forgot he was a "short" guy in the NBA. Oh well, kicking a foot over your own head is still ok I suppose.
Casey
Posted by: Jer_sm
Re: kicking height. - 02/08/08 10:37 AM
yeah thats great!!
i am 5' 9" and i cant reach my own head height yet.
sooo good job!!
Posted by: BrianS
Re: kicking height. - 02/08/08 06:32 PM
I'm 6'2" and can't really do a good split.
As John said, splits are not essential to kicking height.
Posted by: Jer_sm
Re: kicking height. - 02/08/08 10:45 PM
hmm i should look up the mechanics to a nice round house kick.
im assuming a kick the the legs rib or head is somewhat the same emchanics? just different heights.
Posted by: clmibb
Re: kicking height. - 02/08/08 10:52 PM
I've always been told to point your knee where you want your foot to go. You still want to kick across and not up. Of course this is one of those things that's easier to show than to convey on a forum for me.
Casey
Posted by: UKfightfreak
Re: kicking height. - 05/03/08 08:45 PM
Quote:
And do not forget the dynamic stretches. Do them before and after static and you will see major improvement.
Sorry white Dragon, this is bad advice.
If you need to do static stretches at all, stick them at the very end of your workout.
Or, if you are doing morning stretches do your dynamic then static.
DO NOT do static then dynamic immediately afterwards.
Posted by: preangel
Re: kicking height. - 05/04/08 12:57 AM
UKfightfreak you're right on. a friend of mine does dynamic four times a week and static the other days (this is before school every morning) then during the day he has a habit of kick stretch kick etc. when overly happy & not sparring me. (i stand @ 5'9" and he's able without trying kick a good 3" over my head)
Hmmm...
If this is bad advice, then why does my method work.
My stretching involves a warmup/dynamic, static passive, dynamic. The warmup and dynamic loosen the body and get the blood flowing. Then the static just lightly stretches anything that is tight and gets its looser. Then the dynamic afterwards gets the blood running again, and finishes your stretching.
I understand doing static stretches after a workout, I totally agree.
However can you give me your reasoning behind not doing dynamic stretches after static stretches?
Posted by: UKfightfreak
Re: kicking height. - 05/04/08 05:44 PM
Hi WhiteDragon,
Quoted from Stretching Scientifically (4th edition p22) by Tom Kurz:
Quote:
"Some reasons not to do static stretches before exercises according to Shrier (1999; 2000):
- There is no scientific evidence that static stretches before exercise reduces the risk of injury.
- Even mild static stretching can damage muscle cells.
- Static stretching increases pain tolerance.
In the words of Dr. Shrier (2000). " it does not seem prudent to increase one's tolerance to pain, possibly create some damage at the cytoskeletal level, and then exercise this damaged anesthetized muscle".
Further to this on page 23 there is an outlined paragraph which reads:
Quote:
Cation: If you try to make a fast, dynamic movement immediately after a strenuous stretch, whether static or bouncing, you may injure your stretched muscles.
Hope this helps.
Well I guess those are good facts, I have no reason to deny them. However, I have not come in contact with any problems with my stretching. Thanks for the help though.
Posted by: BrianS
Re: kicking height. - 05/06/08 11:10 PM
Quote:
Well I guess those are good facts, I have no reason to deny them. However, I have not come in contact with any problems with my stretching. Thanks for the help though.
Yeah. When I was 15 I could have done just about any type of stretching good or bad and been fine,for the moment.
Try doing that stuff when you are 34 and your body has been traumatized and broken down,lol!!
Then,you will listen. 
I dont get ALL my stretching info by what I do. I seem to be very observant on the guys at my school, since they are all older and pretty flexible.
Posted by: TKD_X
Re: kicking height. - 05/07/08 11:01 PM
regardless of the benefits of static stretching, dynamic has really helped me. just try to go as high as you can without hurting yourself. slowly that will increase you height. i'm 6'2" and i can only do about 75-80% of a full split.
Well while you are doing dynamic stretching, you are not supposed to do a full swing as high as you can. That can lead to injury if you are not well stretched. Instead, start with light dynamic stretches, and then after your warmed up you can perform to your maximum ability.
Posted by: UKfightfreak
Re: kicking height. - 05/21/08 06:24 PM
Quote:
Well while you are doing dynamic stretching, you are not supposed to do a full swing as high as you can. That can lead to injury if you are not well stretched. Instead, start with light dynamic stretches, and then after your warmed up you can perform to your maximum ability.
There shouldn't be any reason (if you have been doing them for a while) why you shouldn't be able to get to your maximum dynamic stretch in one set.
I do a set of leg swings each morning with just a few joint rotations. I can kick maximum height at any time of the day.
Posted by: jclemm00
Re: kicking height. - 05/22/08 02:30 PM
Muscle control is a must. Being flexible is important, but having the strength in your lower back and butt is just as important when trying to kick higher and more accurately. You should try to do not only static stretching, but dynamic stretching as well. Good luck!
Posted by: itfoldschool
Re: kicking height. - 08/10/08 10:10 PM
Muscles work in relationship with each other. Not only do you need to stretch the underside of the legs, you also have to strengthen the muscles which raise them up. Slow motion kicks, holding them a second or two at full extension while in the air is my favorite.
Yes like itfoldschool said, it is definitely beneficial to do the kicks in slow motion.
Sure you can be flexible, but if you do not practice the kicks, you are not gonna see the results you want. I usually practice a kick in 3 different ways.
1st way- do it in steps... knee up, extend leg, back to starting position with knee up, and then fighting stance
-try to hold the positions for about 5 seconds
2nd way- instead of doing the kick in steps, you just kick in slow motion. There are no breaks in the kick, make it smooth. The slower you do it, the more it stresses the muscles that will help you achieve the better kick.
3rd way- fast and powerful
Posted by: hotrice
Re: kicking height. - 12/24/08 09:14 AM
so just so to understand, kicking at your own head level is considered "kicking high"or a "high kick"
Posted by: Ilove2Hit
Re: kicking height. - 12/24/08 09:22 PM
iŽd say kicking over ur hear... hmmm
Posted by: trevek
Re: kicking height. - 12/29/08 07:44 AM
Quote:
so just so to understand, kicking at your own head level is considered "kicking high"or a "high kick"
My old TKD coach used to ask, "Can you kick head-height?" If the student replied in the negative, he'd tell them, "Then a high kick is as high as YOU can kick".
Posted by: Ilove2Hit
Re: kicking height. - 01/17/09 09:25 AM
nice coach