Holding the Kick Shield

[joesteph]

The video is an instructional one among a number made on kicking combos. This is the video where the instructor includes how to hold the kick shield.

He's making note of open hand instead of fist when you see the video. The other videos in his series just show him with that open hand--no explanation.

The URL is:

http://www.expertvillage.com/video....und.htm

I've changed from using a fist to open hand myself, especially against a strong kicker.

What do you think?

[bushido_man96]

It depends. I don't really concentrate on whether my hand is open or closed so much, as I make sure I position the arm so that the shield isn't smacking me in the face.

[DWx]

I've always used closed fist. The shields and pads we have have a thicker strap on one side for you to hold on to so its just easier to make the fist and grasp the pad. Helps when you get a kick which pushes the pad sideways. What was the reason for open hand?

[tallgeese]

I'm not sure. I don't think it matters much beyond what's most comfortable for you and what allows you to control the shield the best.

[joesteph]

What was the reason for open hand?

At first, I thought it was what he considered for control, but then we had a guest at the dojang who was an unusually strong kicker, and I held the kick shield.

Where he hit would press my fist into my body. It's a concentration of force on a smaller area. When I opened my hand, the force was spread out. The first kicks, with me using a fist, had greater impact on my solar plexus; the following kicks, with me using an open hand, had a noticeably lesser impact.

I've been using it since.

[joesteph]

I make sure I position the arm so that the shield isn't smacking me in the face.

Because of my height (5'6"), the other students often kick higher up the shield than is best for me to hold, and the worst is when that top flaps back against me.

I thought of how, with mitts, someone might put one behind the other to better absorb impact. What I started doing was getting one of the small square targets and holding it behind the top of the kick shield. That extra padding helps me control higher kicks better by reducing that flapping.

[Rateh]

I hold the target how my instructor taught me to. One hand through the straps, grabbing the second strap. The other hand either palm flat on the top edge of the bag (as if you had struck it with a palm heel) or arm forearm across the top edge of the bag with open palm. Which one I do depends on the hight and the power of the kick. Sometimes for very hard kicks I do almost a figure four I think it is called. Instead of grabbing the last strap with the bottom hand, I grab my other forearm just past hte elbow, this makes my top hand at more of a 45 degree angle than straight across. I have only done it that way a few times so I'm not sure just how successful it is verses other methods.

I was specifically taught to NEVER use the top strap, that it is only asking for trouble. I was also taught to push on the top of the bag while pulling on the middle (makes the bag bend in a bit) to better obsorb kicks. I have found this to work very well. Just the other day I was teaching a beginners class and one of the students was frusterated because he was moved back with every kick, I showed him how to hold the bag the way I do it, and immediately he saw the results and stopped being moved back. (Of course stance is also important).

[BKHowell]

I am like Joesteph. When I closed my hand into a fist to hold the outside strap, the kick would force my fist into my body and it hurt at times. I keep an open hand as well.