Slow Round Kick

[lordtariel]

My sensei's been having us work on a couple of combinations including round kicks.(jab, round kick, reverse punch) I'm finding that I can execute the round kick just fine, but from the point of connection with the kick to the time I actually plant the foot and strike, nearly 3-4 seconds have passed. Any tips on speeding this up without falling on my face? Thanks

[Ironberg]

Running...

Heavy Bag kicking...

Learn balance by one-legged stretches...

Kick lower/faster and go from there...

Stop practicing Tai Chi (just kidding, there)...

Just my 2 cents.

[marie curie]

Keep doing it. It's slow now, but if you just practice it over and over again, your muscles will get more acclimated to the motion and you will be able to go faster.

[Whitefeather]

Do it again, again, and again. Then do it some more. With things like that--unless you have a huge flaw in the actual technique which is preventing you from becoming faster--the only way to get faster is sheer volume of practice and repetition.

David

[HumanTyphoon]

Yeah, keep practicing it over and over again. Maybe you'll start out with 100 kicks a day, then move on to 500 kicks, and onto 1000 kicks, and then 1000 kicks with 10 lb weights and then 15 lbs, and then you build yourself robot legs, and etc.

Train and put limits on yourself, and then exceed those limits!

[Superfoot]

In addition to what has already been said, the speed of a kick, and its replacement back to the floor, not only requires you to be able to throw the kick, but also to be able to retract it successfully. The hamstrings are largely responsible for retraction, so running is a good place to start.

- Also practise Hook Kicks whilst wearing ankle weights, gradually increasing speed, to get used to the motion of bringing your foot back

-Perform Hindu squats, to develop your quadriceps and hamstrings. The development if these muscles together without the use of weight will gradually develop muscle and also help maintain the well being of your knees. The development of the quadriceps will aid the extension of the kick, and the hamstring the retraction.

-It is also a good idea to invest in a rope ladder, and perform various exercises whereby you can run through each individual rung with various footwork patterns. This will help develop agility, and is also covered in greater detail at many athletic gyms. Titleboxing.com even has two videos out on "Getting Faster" and "Getting Quicker" to help develop the dynamic speed and thrust needed to improve your bodies abilty to shift muscles to move in many directions quicker (e.g. punch, then kick, then punch again)

-Ab exercises. The rectus abdomminus plays a key role in being able to raise that leg quickly, and pull it away from the target. Also, your obliques are important too, as these facilitate the twisting motion presented in the roundhouse kicks, and will aid you in again, bringing that leg away from your target and back to the floor.

Superfoot.