Front kick

[joesteph]

In chambering for a side kick, say you're raising your kicking leg into what is like a front kick chamber, only you've turned your body, so that the kick will snap out against the target/opponent.

OK. I don't do side kick at all, so i'm hazy on that . . .

You'd lose a bit of power waiting until that late to swing the shin out, especially given that you are moving past the target all the time that you're doing it.

I would think that your side kick would be limited by whatever power you had available after checking your own rotate.

I know. I don't like the side snap kick myself. I was originally doing it with a much smoother and faster action, and it was a thrust side kick, but I was admonished that it wasn't the accepted way in my art, therefore I perform it this way when I've been called upon to use/demonstrate it.

I used to do the side kick two ways, one being the snap when in the dojang, the other being the thrust when at home against a WaveMaster. But I couldn't keep doing that and have proficiency when in the dojang, so I only practice the side snap kick even at home. Since I've found it hesitant and telegraphing what kick I'm about to do, I don't use it while sparring.

[JusticeZero]

Actually, I mean we don't do side kick, period; it violates several fundamental principles of form, alignment, and such. We occasionally do a back kick, but it's rare.

[tdiedwards]

It seems I have a problem with my front kick and I would like to know if you guys have any idea on what exercises I could do to help correct it.

I can not fully extend my leg when doing a front kick. Just in case not everyone does the front kick the same way, we do it by lifting the knee to waist level or higher and extend the lower leg.

My sensei tried to support my leg and lifting it horizontally and I did not feel any stretching pain either in the back of the knee or the butt area. Then my instructor said that it was probably my muscle that lift my leg that are not train / strong enough to support my leg standing horizontally and allow it to extend.

What type of exercises would be good to help strengthening those muscles? Or maybe you guys have other idea on why I can not do it.

If any of this not clear, do not hesitate to ask.

i had the same prob. Agonising but effective exericise was to use a chair back (a low one to start with) and perform the SLOW movement (raise leg - extend) over the chair WITHOUT touching it - and return the leg SLOWLY and with form. repeat until your legs buckle. and do it every day. even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps, it's good. most important thing is not to sacrifice form. move onto a higher chair when you can.

good luck. my silat instructor used to destroy me with that exericise at regular intervals throughout the session. could hardly walk home. i loved it though. hehe

[white owl]

i had the same prob. Agonising but effective exericise was to use a chair back (a low one to start with) and perform the SLOW movement (raise leg - extend) over the chair WITHOUT touching it - and return the leg SLOWLY and with form. repeat until your legs buckle. and do it every day. even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps, it's good. most important thing is not to sacrifice form. move onto a higher chair when you can.

good luck. my silat instructor used to destroy me with that exericise at regular intervals throughout the session. could hardly walk home. i loved it though. hehe

This is a good one because if you do not have the proper chamber you are going to hit the chair.

You can also do it with side kicks.

[FushinRyu]

bouncing.... i know it sounds strange but bouncing on the balls of your feet constantly works the calves. it also is a good cardiovascular workout. bounce straight up. side to side, then front to back. i'd say 5-10 min. would be a good work out. for me i guess

[bushido_man96]

Actually, I mean we don't do side kick, period; it violates several fundamental principles of form, alignment, and such. We occasionally do a back kick, but it's rare.

A student that was in my TKD classes years ago was an exchange student from Brazil, and did some Caporiea. He did what I think he called a "hammer" kick, which looked kind of like a side kick that would shoot straight up to the head level. Do you do a kick like that at times?

[JusticeZero]

Let me detail this a bit more. My lineage doesn't do side kicks, because to us, it looks a bit like some of the taiji postures with arms separated and away from the face with chin high would look... to a boxer, who has 'keep your head covered and chin tucked' drilled into them from day 1. However, that specific resistance is in part based on a form peculiarity in my line. Some schools do use side kick, apparently related to a difference in their footwork that is probably a geographic variant or some such thing, or they do side kick because someone along their line wanted to add it to their system even if the body dynamics didn't quite mesh.

That said, there are a lot of kicks in Capoeira, and the terminology is not standardized; all of the schools and books I have encountered so far personally use the term "Martelo" (lit: hammer) to describe a roundhouse, but there is plenty of disagreement on any technique's name from line to line. I think i've heard "hammer" used to describe the so-called "capoeira" kick, which I have seen described by at least four names in portuguese and which our line does not use either for similar reasons to the side kick - specifically, the lineage I am in enters esquiva lateral and au by turning to the side fully, and both techniques are based on positions related to au and esq. lat with the hips perpendicular to the direction of travel.

[Kuma]

Interesting to see all those differences in Capoeira. I know I attended a few classes in SoCal with a friend of mine who was very good with it and I remember learning a side kick called "chappa" or something like it. I guess it has many of its own variations just like karate.

[JusticeZero]

Yes, and for pretty much the same reasons. There are many of what would be considered ryu or styles of Capoeira, but for various reasons, there is no actual language to describe them well. To say "I practice Capoeira" is actually only about as descriptive as saying "I practice Kung Fu" - there are a lot of different kinds of Kung Fu out there, even if they tend to have quite a few common features.

I know Chapa as a back kick with the knees together, usually with the hands on the ground, though I have seen it used in another school to describe a more typical sort of back kick.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the clarification.