Jumping Kicks

[DWx]

When doing any jump kick do you tuck the back leg in or throw it out in the opposite direction?

I think tucking it in is probably the way most people do it but in The Complete Master's Jumping Kick by Hee Il Cho he says to shoot the back leg out in the opposite direction because it adds torque to the waist. I've tried doing it this way, it does add a bit more power but you sacrifice some of the benefits you gain from tucking it in.

[joesteph]

The reason I selected "Other" is because I do a modification of the jump kick, jumping forward and then executing the kick. I realize that most think of a jump kick as an airborne one, but many cannot do this due to knee issues or simply lack the coordination to execute good ones. I preserve my knees from the impact of landing, learning from years of weight-training that taught me what my knees can and cannot accept. That jump forward covers ground fast without heavy pounding on the knee joints.

This modification is accepted by my certified instructor. The former assistant instructor, who is presently a certified instructor with his own school himself, had operations on both knees in the past, so standard jump kicks are forbidden by doctor's orders. When I was first doing these jump forward kicks, he told me that he's seen many in the martial arts do the same to protect their knees.

[The BB of C]

I always have the leg extended but I have been trying to tuck it in.

[bushido_man96]

I usually tuck it in, but at times, I fail at that, too.

I like the way that Cho does his non-kicking leg, but a serious range of flexibility is required to do it that way, I have found. So, I don't always get it when I do it his way. I have found that by doing it the way that GM Cho does it on the reverse/spinning side kicks, it is easier to keep from over-rotating the kick and missing the target, because it tends to snap your body to a stop at the appropriate time.

[DWx]

Thanks for the replies so far

I like the way that Cho does his non-kicking leg, but a serious range of flexibility is required to do it that way, I have found. So, I don't always get it when I do it his way. I have found that by doing it the way that GM Cho does it on the reverse/spinning side kicks, it is easier to keep from over-rotating the kick and missing the target, because it tends to snap your body to a stop at the appropriate time.

I know what you mean about the flexibility, I always think I'm going to pull something if I really throw it out. Do you not find that you have to jump a lot higher to compensate for the back leg being lower to the ground?

[bushido_man96]

Well, the jump spin side kick is the only one I try it with, and I don't think I jump much higher. However, I don't try to fling that back leg out there if I am just doing a really quick reverse side kick, which is more like a switching kick than a jumping kick.

I haven't attempted it on a flying side kick like in Choong Moo hyung. Have you tried the method out there? How did it work for you? Did you have to jump a lot higher?

[DWx]

I don't jump too high in any case but with throwing the leg out I find I touch the floor quicker so I have to jump higher if I want to retrieve the leg before landing. I did have a go at doing the side kick and it sort of worked, but by leaving the leg out it kinda goes against some of the principles of jumping kicks for us. We told to tuck it up because you don't want to leave the leg to get caught and if you are having to jump, most times you're jumping over something so leaving the leg out is counter-productive.

I think that shooting the leg out has some advantages though, like the torque, and actually that fits quite well into our training philosophies (e.g. the reason we pull back the opposite hand when striking/blocking is to add torque to the body). I've been working on trying to do both methods by tucking the leg up but also shooting it back, like Master Cho does but I keep the leg bent. Takes some getting used to but I find it is sort of working.

[bushido_man96]

Its cool that you are experimenting with it. I think that using Cho's kicking method can definitely help in developing some of the more difficult kicks in TKD, like the two-direction kick, and other two-legged kicks, if that is something that one wants to do.

One thing is for sure, I think that guy is one of the greatest kickers around.

[KarateEd]

I chose "tucked in" because I usually do, but there are some kicks and some situations where I just don't get enough air and I don't really tuck the leg in much.

[joesteph]

The reason I selected "Other" is because I do a modification of the jump kick, jumping forward and then executing the kick.

In the May 1996 issue of Black Belt, there's an article on shito-ryu by Thomas Williams. There are photos of the jump kick in this art on p. 53, with the caption:

"In shito-ryu, jumping kicks are used primarily to cover distance, not altitude."

The photos and full caption are at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=H9oDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA52,M2