Slow Kicks

[G95champ]

We have all saw people just messing arround and throw round kicks and side kicks really slow in place.

Now I'll be the first to say I don't train for that but I've been in Martial Arts for 13 years now and I can't come close to doing that. LOL.

Bach when I was a color belt I remember us standign at the wall and picking our legs up and holding them and stuff but even then I never could do that. Is there any specail training anyone does to develope that skill?

Im sure my size hurts me in that but I can do a split and Leg Press 1,000lbs so Im sort of lost as to why I can't do it. LOL

Any hlep would be great.

[DWx]

All you have to do is keep practising. There's a form in TKD called Juche and at the start you have to do a slow side kick, hold and then turn slowly as you do a slow hook around 180 degrees. For ages I couldn't do it properly until my instructor told me one exercise to do.

Ideally you need a partner but you can do it without one. To start with, find a wall or something to lean against and then later progress onto no support. You wanna lift your left into a sorta side kick position as slowly and as controlled as you can. Have you partner place their hand out about 2-3" higher than your foot. Then, keeping your leg straight, raise your leg up to touch your partners hand and then lower you leg to where your original kicking height was. Do about 30 reps. off of each leg.

The next bit is exactly the same apart from instead of raising your leg up, you will need your partner to have both their hands either side of your leg horizontally. Move your leg back and forth to touch each of their hands. Again do about 30 reps where 1 rep is to touch both the left and the right hand.

To improve your roundhouses, chamber your leg slowly then again have a target that you can touch with your foot. Kick with your lower leg as slowly as you can and then pull back so that your heel touches your bum (at normal speed).

Hope this helps

[G95champ]

Yeah we did some partner drills tonight.

It wa something we never did much when I was going up in rank but we will give your stuff a try next class.

[bushido_man96]

Those are good drills, DWx. I do slow round kicks on the wall, 5 seconds out, 5 second hold, and 5 seconds back. I do the same with side kicks sometimes, as well. As for the slow turning heel kick; I have had no luck with that, yet. However, I will try a few times, here and there, for fun. It isn't a form that my school does, but I do like it.

Really, it is just about muscle control. If you do a lot of fast kicking, and never try to "lock out" the kick (hold it in place for an instant), then those muscles that you use to hold the kick slowly won't develop as well.

[AngryDelldo]

Very good drills, sound painfull!

[marie curie]

As far as slow kicks go, I just know that I was waaaay better at them when I was more flexible.

[ps1]

Everybody is giving good advice. As far as being able to leg press 1000 lbs though, it won't help. The leg press is a function of the gluts and hamstrings. However, holding up a side kick and a round house kick is more a function of the abductors (muscles on the outside of your leg). They tend to be rather small muscles (in comparison to the others in the legs) and they do not have a great mechanical lever above a certain height. That's why it takes so long to develop.

As everyone said, keep practicing it. Good luck.

[RichardHangHong]

As a simple bit of advice to build up leg strength for kicks, try doing the kicks slow and low whilst wearing ankle weights, then gradually increase the height and hold it out there to work the muscles. There's a work for this specific type of workout on the muscles but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. Any sports physios/personal trainers in here that can remind me please?