https://vimeo.com/397868989
Most martial arts students love to kick! Actually even those that don’t train love to kick!
It is important, however, to learn to kick correctly to avoid injury and perform at your highest level.
Some points to remember:
Always warm up and gently stretch before kicking. Think about moving in a similar motion that you will use to kick.
- For kicks that snap, like the front snap kick and the roundhouse kick, remember to relax the lower kicking leg, but tense the foot. Slightly bend the base leg rather than locking the leg.
- Keep your body upright, tightening the abs to help with your balance. Find something straight ahead to focus on and as you lift the leg keep the rest of the body still.
- First cock the leg, focusing on foot formation for the kicking foot and the base foot position. Remember the points above for balance.
Front snap
- Base leg should pivot to angle outside just slightly, perhaps 15 -20 degrees, no more than 30 degrees. Everyone is different in the flexibility of their Achilles tendon so do the best you can if it is tight. If it is extremely tight remember to warm up and stretch before kicking. You do not want to pull your Achilles!!
- Cock the leg with the lower leg directly under your knee and tense the foot with the toes pulled back to expose the ball of the foot. A great way to check the foot position is to flex the foot with toes pulled back and tap the floor with the ball of the foot. If you wait until the kick is complete to think about retracting you will end up pulling it back rather then having a quick and clean retraction.
- Control the way you place the foot on the ground. It should not pull you forward. You should be able to decide if you want to land forward or place the leg back where it started.
Roundhouse
- The reverse or rear leg roundhouse requires you to pivot the rear leg to the front. Refer to the above points for balance. If you are unsure of your balance kick low until you are better with the balance.
- Pivot on the front foot moving from your waist.
- As the rear leg comes forward and points to the target pick up the foot so it is level with the knee. The foot should be pulled back to expose the instep. Our style uses the instep as the striking surface. The base foot toes should be pointed to the rear, or with the heel pointing toward the target.
- Relax the lower leg and snap out to the target, think about relaxing the leg just before you reach your target.
- Control the way you place the foot on the ground. It should not pull you forward. You should be able to decide if you want to land forward or place the leg back where it started.
https://vimeo.com/397868989