High Kicks

[aubreyirons]

also do the kicks slowly to build the muscles sorry i keep posting but i keep remembering stuff right after i post lol

[Jiffy]

The ability to kick high is generally determined by three things..

1) flexibility. This is genetic and you have a limited ability to improve it. Work as hard as you can with stretching. Make sure you are nice and warm first.

2) Strength. The muscles down the side of the body are not particularly strong. Do some leg lifts, or better and more specific, very slow Mawashi Geril, over and over.

3) Technique. Make sure you are pointing your knee to the target before kicking. Rotate the supporting foot 180 degrees and flex the hips forward.

[Zorbasan]

there is another thread, i beleive in the TKD section called "help with roundhouse kicks"

the TKD roundhouse kick and the mawashi geri are pretty much the same thing. check it out, there is a lot of help in there.

[Black_Crane]

Thanks everybody for your help. I really appreciate it

[Jiffy]

NW

[Zorbasan]

thats why we are here

[savedbygrace]

Welcome to the forums, Black Crane. Glad you are here!

As for your situation. First of all, make sure to stretch a lot. Every time your muscles are warm, do some stretching if you can. You can also stand with your arm against a wall for support, and get into kicking postition. Chamber your leg, and hold it high for 10 seconds. Then, slowly kick out, and hold the extended kick for 10 seconds as high as you can. Make sure it hurts, and your hip is knotting up. Then rechamber, and hold for 10 seconds again, and set down. Repeat 3 times or 5 times on each leg.

This should help you out.

Oh, yeah, and remember to stretch!

Man, those are KILLERS.......great workout..thanks for the input....

[bushido_man96]

No problem!

[koryu]

First of all, I don't believe that a kick to the head is necessary. All I have to do is kick your knee or quadricept and bring your head down to a good kicking height.

A few things that I always found helped me out with higher kicks, since I'm not very flexible. If you pivot correctly on your base foot, it will open up your hips and allow for a higher extension. I also recommend doing a lot of your flexibility training after a long workout where your muscles are good and warm, this will allow them to move more freely. There are also several different training devices that you sit in and crank until your legs go behind your back. you could use these as well. just stretch a lot and practice.

[daikento shukokai]

Stretching and improving flexibility is the key to high kicks. Why not try stretching with a partner. Stand agianst a wall to assist your balance, then place your foot onto your partners shoulder and hook your foot around the back of your partners neck while they are in a kneeling position. Then ask you partner to slowly stand up. This will then begin to stretch your inner thigh muscles. When you feel the stretch ask your partner to hold their position. Hold the stretch for 10 - 15 seconds then slowly release. If you use this technique during your training sessions on a regular basis you will soon be able to allow your partner to fully stand and hold the stretch in the Jodan position. If you combine stretching with gradually increased focus mit hieght or pad work you will soon be achieving jodan mawashigeri