What muscles hold up the leg in "ready" position f

[turbo wrx]

Hey guys,

Long time since I've visited this forum.

I guess this is a fitness/training question... I noticed that my instructor and advanced students are able to hold their leg up while preparing for a kick (i.e. knee bent), and even hold their leg up and foot out after performing the kick. Well, I have two issues:

1) Flexibility, which I have to keep working on through regular stretching.

2) Holding my leg up, particularly for roundhouse kick. My instructor, when demonstrating, can lift his leg up in proper position with knee bent, and then snap out his leg and bring it back to ready position at will. It's awesome. My question is -- what muscle(s) do I need to develop in order to hold my leg up like this?

Thx!

[tallgeese]

The muscles involved are the hip abductors and the outer head of the quad. But more important to this ability is flexibility, balance and core strength. I'd put more priority on training those facets than sheer muscular work.

[tonydee]

Sorry - just the mention of roundhouse kicks from a Shotokan guy... had to

. The movement's very different to my style of turning kick, so I can't suggest much, though I'd hazard Kanagawa-sensei must sleep in a side split...

It's also worth being aware that different stretching routines have vastly different returns on effort... if you're putting in a couple hours a week and not making huge progress in a couple months, you should do some research or ask for tips in here. A reasonable starting point used to be the Usenet FAQ on stretching and flexibility, though there are certainly more concise and tangible programs suiting specific goals... many of them commercial though.

Cheers, Tony

[isshinryu5toforever]

To work on true flexibility, you should be doing dynamic stretches rather than static ones. Static stretches, if you're not sure what they are, are the ones you learn in gym glass. You put a leg out, reach to your toes, hold it, etc. Dynamic stretches are movement based that will allow your muscles to stretch in a natural manner, and lengthen on their own. This link has a pretty good definition of dynamic stretching:

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dynamicstretching.html

As far as strength is concerned, tallgeese is right, you need to work on your core strength a lot to be able to hold kicks out like that. A drill I make students do is to break down the 4 steps in every kick. Bringing the knee up into the chamber, the extension of the kick, the retraction of the kick back into the chamber position, and setting your foot down. By breaking down the parts, I can make them hold in any single position for 10-15 seconds depending on the skill of the class as a whole. This forces them to engage those muscles. At first, you might only be able to hold a kick at full extension for a few seconds, but with time and dedication, you can hold it out for much longer. It all really takes time, dedication, and hard work. Just like everything else in the martial arts world.

[tallgeese]

Also, bushido man has an article up in that section about breaking down kicking drills. They'd probably help you along as well.

[bushido_man96]

Also, bushido man has an article up in that section about breaking down kicking drills. They'd probably help you along as well.

Thanks for the reference, Alex.

A drill I make students do is to break down the 4 steps in every kick. Bringing the knee up into the chamber, the extension of the kick, the retraction of the kick back into the chamber position, and setting your foot down. By breaking down the parts, I can make them hold in any single position for 10-15 seconds depending on the skill of the class as a whole. This forces them to engage those muscles. At first, you might only be able to hold a kick at full extension for a few seconds, but with time and dedication, you can hold it out for much longer.

I agree with this exercise, as well. Height won't be important at first, but keeping everything level and consistent will. In time, you'll notice improvement.