Flexibility for kicks , and Kumite

[Amobir92]

Hey all fellow karatekas! I have been practicing shotokan karate for a little over a year and I will be advancing to my green belt soon, G-d willing. I have been a little frustrated lately and as a result my self confidence is suffering. Whenever we practice kumite in class i never know what to do and i feel like i lack the speed and flexibility to carry out an attack. A main target of interest that I would like to work on is the height of both my Mawashi, and Ura Mawashi Geri kicks. I would also like to know how to gain that explosive power that I see so often in competitions.

Thanks,

Amiel

OSSS!!!!!!

[pers]

My fellow shotokan practitioner ,you are on the beginning of a long and hard but a rewarding path .

Do not take any short cuts ,be patient and practice basics a lot , and I mean a lot ! the more basics you do (as correct as possible) the better you will get at kumite .

Do not worry about the height of your Mawashi geri at the moment ,rather put your effort into performing a correct Mawashi geri .one that would actualy work for real ,even at lower heights .

karate is not about jodan mawashigeri alone ,once you bulid a sound foundation (basics ) your technique and movement and thus your kumite will improve .

Needless to say the instruction you receive and the knowledge your instructor has is very important in your development .

[bushido_man96]

Welcome to KarateForums.

To improve the height and explosiveness of your kicks, there are two things you can do. First is get into a good stretching routine where you focus on flexibility improvement. Second, is set up a plyometric exercise program to build up the explosiveness in your legs. There are lots of good exercises that you can find on the internet, and if you pick a few to do two days a week, along with focusing on proper technique work with your kicks, then I think you will begin to see improvements.

Best of luck to you!

[DWx]

As said above, good technique at a lower level is worth lots more than a bad technique at head height. However streching is something to work on, particularly the hips for those kicks. I would recommend lots of general exercises that focus on the legs too to improve speed. Things like squats, burpees, sprinting etc.

[tallgeese]

Bushido man h it the nail on the head for training for explosive power. Just out of curiosity, which kicks, in english, are those?

[Amobir92]

Thank you everyone for your input, it is very much appreciated. And Mawashi geri is a roundhouse kick, ura-mawashi geri is a reverse roundhouse (aka hook kick)

[tallgeese]

Now we're cooking with fire. As above, a good plyo program will do wonders. Box jumps and the like, weighted routines, ect. Stretching of the groin, hammies, and don't forget the quads will go a long way as well. Strength training can be helpful as well for things like this. I prefer a high intesnity program, one that is focused on functional activity. (I like crossfit.com for an overall program)

Once we're past that, focus on skill training. Bushio man posted a "how to" of sorts ealier in the year for front kicks. With some adaptation, I'm sure it would also work for round house improvement. Build power, proficiency, and accuracy low. Then move up. I don't use the hook kick much, but with the round, check your hip rotation thru the kick, make sure it's where it needs to be. Secondarily, make sure you're snapping that extension on the knee when you need to be, just prior to the point of impact. Video taping your exectution of these things for review is helpful for breaking down where you may be losing power.

Lastly, work on the heavy bag. Nothing promotes power with form as good bag work. Pound the thing on off days. Work by rounds, not rep to get the most out of your work out.

Then, keep throwing them during sparring. Against any and all targets that are allowed by your organization and school. Don't be afraid to mess up, this is where we learn, espicially by pressing the envelope during training.

Good luck.

[ShoriKid]

Tallgeese is dead on with what he's saying. Doing frog leaps are a good, no equipment polymetric leg work as well. Bag work will build the power. Just make sure to get your technique down first.

One of the things to check on your hip rotation is to make sure that your supporting foot is turned fully out, or nearly point 45 degrees away from what your kicking. If your foot is not at least turned 90 degrees, your cutting off your hips. Not getting full rotation is robbing you of a lot of power.

Last thing to mention, and it's secondary, but it helps put the extra little bit on the round kick once you've got it down is to work the abs. If you don't, your just kicking with the legs instead of involving the whole body. Bag work for round kicks will help build the abs, but supplimenting your work out by hitting the abs too is never a bad thing.

Working on the hook kick is about hip flexibility and using some body tilt to get the right angle. I use it with an angled advancing step to set it up and then think of trying to kick my own butt. Sounds weird, helps me though.

[bushido_man96]

Strength training can be helpful as well for things like this. I prefer a high intesnity program, one that is focused on functional activity.

10-4 here. Unfortunately, I think that many Martial Artists tend to overlook the value of strength training, especially the legs, for fear that increased muscle will decrease range of motion or flexibility. The only thing that is going to decrease flexibility is not stretching. Along with doing the typical squats, leg extensions and curls, try to find the machines that work your hip adductors and abductors as well. Those muscles help to contribute to the holding up of the leg while kicking.

Last thing to mention, and it's secondary, but it helps put the extra little bit on the round kick once you've got it down is to work the abs. If you don't, your just kicking with the legs instead of involving the whole body.

Along with the leg muscles, you will use your abs a ton when kicking, especially the oblique abdominals (along the side of your torso).

One of the things to check on your hip rotation is to make sure that your supporting foot is turned fully out, or nearly point 45 degrees away from what your kicking. If your foot is not at least turned 90 degrees, your cutting off your hips. Not getting full rotation is robbing you of a lot of power.

I agree here, too. One of the things that I see and correct a lot of as an instructor is the pivoting of the base leg. You have to focus on the base leg just as much as you do on the kicking leg for complete efficiency.

If you are interested in some reading material, there is some good stuff out there. The Achieving Kicking Excellence series is a good set of books, and each book focuses on a specific kick. I have 3 of the set so far, and the others should be just as good.

Here is the one on the Roundhouse kick: http://www.amazon.com/Roundhouse-Kick-Achieving-Kicking-Excellence/dp/0970749686/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227766479&sr=1-3

And for some old-school stuff, I recommend GM Hee Il Cho's books: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Complete-Masters-Kick/Hee-Il-Cho/e/9780929015019/?itm=3

[mizu]

I found the thing that helped me the most was when I started doing just some general stretches every day, rather than only at training. I didn't do much - just 30 minutes or so, and my flexibility improved quite quickly.

Good luck!