kicking

[NidaninNJ]

my sensei made us do some drills last lesson involving extension of the legs from a crane stance. i.e. bring the knee up and extend the leg in maegeri position to c how high and how long u can hold it. i just cudnt hold it out at all! and also it wasnt high at all. any ideas on how to improve this coz i think it will make my kicks much better...my sensei called it passive static something. any ideas?

I think that's called 'Daniel-san you must have balance!' (Mr Miyagi in KarateKid movie)

[shogeri]

in goju ryu...that was used for balance.

We must put our legs, and hips (and our entire body for that matter) through the motions in order to keep them "up to par".

That means kick alot, using the major kicks.

That means do deep knee bends, knee raises, leg raises (swing the leg up), and static stretches (sitting on the floor along with toe touching from a standing position) as well.

I also use the pulley method, were I place my leg in loop, hanging from the ceiling or beam, and crank away, going as high as I can, outdoing the previous stretch every week.

The pulley methods is good for balance as well.

It serves a good purpose when you don't have a stretching partner.

Good luck!