flexability/kicking

[the beast]

Has anyone else experienced this?

I have horrible leg flexability but can still kick higher than anyone in the dojo. I just dont know how this is possible. My senseis cant understand either.

[DWx]

Everybody else has really really bad flexibility?

What type of flexibility are you talking about?

Might be you're just not "good" at a certain stretch. To get a decent height on most kicks you have to be more than just flexible one way. I struggle to get past 110° in side splits and have to really force myself, doing something like side kicks though and I can easily place the leg at head height because I have the front splits type flexibility. The higher it goes though the more my hip has to be rotated over and the less upright my body which is not what I should be doing.

A lot of factors influence kicking height. Its not all flexibility. You need the strength and the dynamic flexibility too.

[bushido_man96]

A lot of factors influence kicking height. Its not all flexibility. You need the strength and the dynamic flexibility too.

I think that this is what you have going for you, right here. Where your muscles may not get loose enough for you to stretch statically, your legs may be strong enough to hold your leg up higher, and the dynamic flexibility you have probably allows you to kick high.

However, make sure that you strive to improve your flexibility through stretching exercises. You'll be glad that you did.

[the beast]

Thanx I just didnt know if this was normal or if as my sensei says Im just a freak

[bushido_man96]

Its just one of those things.

You will see hyper-flexible people who can stretch beyond the splits, but don't have the leg and core strength to kick above their waest or head. Then, you see really strong-legged individuals who aren't flexible enough to kick over their waists. Everyone is a bit different, and will have to take a different focus when it comes to strength and flexibility training.