Kicking Shield Drills

[bushido_man96]

We did some kicking shield drills in class the other night, and I thought that would be a good topic to share ideas on.

What are you favorite kicking shield exercises? What are some that are't so favorite, but are really great, anyways?

I'll share a few.

We did these the other night in class:

Back leg round kick/front leg round kick/switch: Holder holds shield on side, for a round kick. Kicker does a back leg round kick, followed by setting the foot down in front and then bringing it back up for another round kick (or a switch foot round if it was set down behind); the holder then switches the bag to the other side, and process is repeated. We did this for 30 seconds, then switched holders.

Stop kick to round kick/round kick, the switch: Like the first drill, but start with the bag to the front. Kicker does a front leg stop-kick of some kind, front or side kick, but with no stepping motion. Holder then moves bag to one side, and kicker initiates the round kick sequence from the drill above. This drill allows more autonomy, as the first round kick may be with the front leg, depending on which foot the kicker starts with, and where the bag is moved to from the initial stop kick.

[DWx]

Those are some good drills. I prefer to use thai pads myself for drill work but for the kickshield:

Switch back kicks.

Start close to the pad so your shoulder is almost touching then back kick off of the back leg whilst switching and moving away from the target to create the distance (so the front foot ends up further back than the back foot was). Progress onto having the person holding the pad chase after you and keep doing the switch kicks. Good drill for when you get rushed in sparring.

Jamming the side kick.

Attacker does a side kick (front or back leg) and the pad holder comes in closer to jam it before full extension. Attacker then has to somehow react; just move off, move off and attack again or retrieve the leg and throw out a couple of in-fighting attacks against the shield.

Front/side pushing kicks.

Can do any combo leading up to the pad and then finish with a strong push kick and try to push the shield holder backwards.

[tallgeese]

I too prefer MT pads for most kicking drills. I think it allows for more fluid drilling. That being said, kicking shields really let you power things. It's hard to outshine them for doing power work on rounds, sides, stomps and the like.

As for drills, aside from repping power, I have a few standards:

Front leg front in a push, back leg MT round, knees.

Lead round (inside quad), back leg round, close and knee.

45 stomp to knee, MT round, holder bails, chase down with thrust front.

Back leg thrust front, set down thru, round w/ shin to body, set down thru, MT round.

Start w/ collar tie and knees, holder shoves away, MT round, back to knees as an option.

Just some thoughts.

[bushido_man96]

Great thoughts guys. Thanks for sharing them.

Another drill...

Chase/push drill: This one is good to do in equal portions of time, like 30 seconds of chase, and then 30 seconds of push. Basically, the holder will let the kicker "chase" him around a ring by backing away and circling, so that the kicker can get some combos going. When its time to switch, the holder "pushes" toward the kicker, cramming them, so they have to make space, and kick as the holder comes into them. Really kills the legs.

[isshinryu5toforever]

One that requires both the pad holder and the kicker to think fast, and make sure they're on the same page:

Start in closed stance:

single round kick

pada-chagi (a round kick while simultaneously sliding backwards)

double round kick

double pada-chagi

triple

triple pada-chagi

continue until you're doing 10 continuous round kicks forward and 10 continuous pada-chagis backwards

This is a good way to get people to recognize high vs. low target strikes from inside. Higher target strikes require greater flexibility, especially inside, but can be valuable in tournaments.

With a larger shield:

two to three punches to the center from a neutral stance, the shield holder moves the shield either horizontally left or right for a mid-level round kick, or up and to the left or right for a high level kick. This requires the shield holder to think a little bit, and keeps the striker from getting too comfortable in a rhythm.

Another one I like to make people do, especially WTF players, is the create space drill. The person with the shield will crowd them, like they're in the clinch. Sometimes you allow people to use their punches to get out of the clinch, and throw a kick to get back into clinch range. Other times, you tell people that they must rely on their flexibility and strength to get either a close quarters side kick or front kick between them and the other person, and perform a push kick followed by a round kick.

[bushido_man96]

One that requires both the pad holder and the kicker to think fast, and make sure they're on the same page:

Start in closed stance:

single round kick

pada-chagi (a round kick while simultaneously sliding backwards)

double round kick

double pada-chagi

triple

triple pada-chagi

continue until you're doing 10 continuous round kicks forward and 10 continuous pada-chagis backwards

Are these done with the back leg each time? And when sliding backwards, do you switch feet and round kick, or slide back and do a front leg round kick?

[Rateh]

We do a drill to work on both falling and jump away side kicks (obviously these would be only effective under certain rule sets), but it does force a student to do a quick and effective chamber.

Basically one student gets into a side facing fighting stance, and the other student holds the kick shield against their shoulder. The student holding will then press the shield against the kickers shoulder and then keep plowing on like a train.

The kicker must then jump in the air and side kick the target hard enough to stop the attacker for the jump away side kick. For the falling side kick they must fall to the floor, again kicking the shield hard enough to stop the opponent.

This kick necessitates a quick correctly executed chamber in order to strike the target hard enough to stop them, with the little space they have to do so.

This drill is generally started at the blue or red belt level.

[isshinryu5toforever]

One that requires both the pad holder and the kicker to think fast, and make sure they're on the same page:

Start in closed stance:

single round kick

pada-chagi (a round kick while simultaneously sliding backwards)

double round kick

double pada-chagi

triple

triple pada-chagi

continue until you're doing 10 continuous round kicks forward and 10 continuous pada-chagis backwards

Are these done with the back leg each time? And when sliding backwards, do you switch feet and round kick, or slide back and do a front leg round kick?

Back leg every time. It makes you work on your offensive and defensive footwork.

[bushido_man96]

Cool, thanks.