Details of the Axe Kick

[The BB of C]

Prelude:

Last week I moved into an apartment and set my computer up in the living space. My computer has one of those built-in webcams and it's actually really good.

I've been waiting since I got the computer to do two things. Edit a video and use the camera to break down the form of my kicks and make sure I'm actually doing them right. Now that my computer is finally in a place with enough open space for me to do any move I know without breaking something, I got on it.

The story so far:

The first thing I tried was my axe kick. It was either a really good axe or a really bad one. This is because now that I could look at my own axe kick really slowly, I can see everything that my body is doing and freeze-frame it.

The following is the qualities of my axe kick:

The height of the apex is completely straight over my head. My knee touches my shoulder and between my toes and the floor, my legs are completely perpendicular to the ground.

The speed in real time I believe is great.

My arms fly up and almost end up looking like spread bird wings when I do the kick. Especially at the apex.

The toes on the kicking foot are pointed straight up at the apex.

My torso leans into the kick when it's going up and leans back when it's going down.

I connect with the heel.

My planted foot pivots 90 degrees while the leg is going up and stays there.

Questions I have:

Should my kicking foot have straight-pointed toes at the apex?

Should my arms stay at my side, come up, or go down when I'm doing the kick?

Should I keep my torso straight? If so, at what point in time during the kick?

Should my torso be back or forward at any point in time during the kick? If so, where and at what points?

Should my planted foot be pivoting more or less?

[ninjanurse]

Well, IMO:

The kicking foot should be flexed with toes back to get maximum tension on the hamstring. This puts the heel/foot in proper position to strike and gives the kick more power.

The foot of the base leg should not rotate 90 degrees-this changes the hip position too much and you end up engaging muscles that do not need to work thus wasting energy and decreasing the velocity of the kick. A small rotation is Ok-less than 45 degrees (the same as front kick).

The hands should not go out but rather should stay up as the motion of the arms and upper body change your center of mass and waste energy-this affects balance and power. Also-bringing the arms back in to your body during the kick alters the flow of energy-kick goes down, hands go up/or in...the opposing motions "cancel" each other out.

The torso should remain erect on the up swing-this allows for more hieght and maximum stretch of the hamstring. On the downswing a slight lean back does open the hip up more giving the kick more "snap"-but too much learn will direct the energy in the wrong direction.

[DWx]

Should my kicking foot have straight-pointed toes at the apex?

It depends on what you are going to kick with. If you were attacking with the heel of the foot, which in most cases I would personally advise, pulling the toes and pushing the heel out would be better. But if you were going for the flat of the foot, point the toes. Flat of the foot isn't really all that good for impact but for like sport sparring and all that it gives you a little more reach.

Should my arms stay at my side, come up, or go down when I'm doing the kick?

I'd say arms tight either side of the torso ready to punch or whatever.

Torso leaning back does extended the reach a bit more but it'll mean you'll be more off balance and you can't bring as much mass over the top of the kick.

Maybe you could post the video so we could all see?

[The BB of C]

Sure. I'll do it tomorrow. Right now it's 9:00 where I live and even with all the lights on in the room, the lighting is still horrible. Tomorrow afternoon the sun will be shining through my windows and you can see it then.

[bushido_man96]

Should my kicking foot have straight-pointed toes at the apex?

Since you are kicking with the heel, you should have the toes pulled back with the heel leading at the apex; you'll need to get your foot into this position, anyway.

Should my arms stay at my side, come up, or go down when I'm doing the kick?

Keep your arms up in a guarding posture as much as possible. Swinging arms, although they may help in momentum, telegraph.

Should I keep my torso straight? If so, at what point in time during the kick?

Yes, keep the torso as straight as possible throughout most of the kick. As ninjanurse suggested, a slight lean on the way back down would be ok. Here again, leaning = telegraph.

Should my torso be back or forward at any point in time during the kick? If so, where and at what points?

See question above.

Should my planted foot be pivoting more or less?

I think that the 90 degree pivot is about right; that's about what I pivot on a front kick with. The axe kick is a lot like the front kick and crescent kicks, so guage your pivot on those kicks with that of your axe kick. This will also depend a bit on your own level of flexibility, which must be pretty good, if you can get your leg perpendicular to the ground for this kick.

I look foward to seeing the video clip.

Edited September 23, 2009 by bushido_man96

[The BB of C]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpIsKMO3zko

Here's the video like I said I would do. I did left and right axe kicks facing the sides and facing the camera. Don't be nice, I don't deserve it

[sensei8]

I can't truly help you with the Axe kick. What I can tell you is this. In my tournament days, the Axe kick was the bane of my existence, and this was for most TKD kicks...at first. I found success against the Axe kick/TKD by jamming them.

Axe kicks were/are fast, deceptive, and man, they hurt. I've been hit with the heel and with the bottom of the foot, either way...OUCH!

Edited September 25, 2009 by sensei8

[tonydee]

I just watched your video... good to see someone making the effort to create one as it makes the discussions that much more meaningful.

My concerns boil down to:

1) accelerating adequately into the kick

2) having enough space for that acceleration to create speed before striking the target

3) getting more body weight over the leg

Re 1: you want to get the strongest hamstring contraction possible, so it is best to incorporate a plyometric element, which is to say that given the nervous system reacts strongly to contract a muscle that is suddenly strongly stretched - trying to avoid damage due to joints exceeding a safe range of motion - you want to create a tight stretch during the upward movement and maintain or increase it during the downward acceleration. This means not rotating the back foot too far to the side - doing so makes it easier to get the leg up, but that means there's less tension ready to bring it down. Similarly, pulling the toes back will increase tension through the hamstring. Keeping the knee straight throughout the kick is also important: when kicking full power, I typically find my kicking leg swings past my support foot before I can get it back under control and bend the leg. Leaning forward and keeping the body square during the entire kick will increase tension as well as help with issue 3) - body weight behind the kick. As is, you're pushing your kicking hip forward and twisting the torso as you kick - reaching further with the kicking foot but releasing the hamstring tension rather than using it to drive the leg down.

Re 2: acceleration by itself isn't much use. Put a Ferrari against a wall and hit the accelerator and it'll be less impact than a Diahatsu that's had the requisite kilometre to reach its top speed. Similarly, you want to have enough space from the top of your kick to the target for the kicking leg to gain speed. Again, I feel you're reaching forwards too much with the hip of your kicking leg: another consequence is that it extends the foot forwards further before the leg comes down, reducing the room for acceleration to create speed.

Re 3: Leaning the body backwards is releasing too much power from the kick. I see it a lot in sports taekwondo - you get a touch more reach and won't seriously injure your training partners - but it's not so good for protecting yourself, and unexpected resistance near the apex of the kick could spin you backwards onto your back or head.

I think you could feel the issues and difference the suggestions above make if you practice on a target. It's good to use something with significant resistance, but not so much you can't bring the leg through and complete the kick, putting too much pressure on your knee. For example: a friend holding a thick focus pad - such as might be used to protect from thigh kicks during kickboxing practice - but please make sure that the kick will move their joints in a safe way: e.g. bending not straightening the elbow.

I'd also suggest you practice the pick kick, in which the kicking leg bends as it's lifted, straightens in a position like the axe kick, then is being bent again as it reaches the target. It's a very fast and savage kick, with most of the power of the axe kick and without the slower lift and pause at the top that makes axe kick easy to avoid. The mechanics of the axe kick mean it also requires from over commitment and hence recovery is slow, while the pick kick is easy to control and recover from, and the preparation is more generic and deceptive (being akin to front, inward- and outward-crescent kicks).

Cheers,

Tony

[bushido_man96]

That's a nice breakdown, Tony.

One other thing that I noticed what that it didn't look like you were following through with the kick, like you were trying to slow it down before you set it down. Like Tony said, drive through, using your hamstrings to pull the kick down.

Good use of the video.