Kicking the air?

[Nevinyrral]

As everyone said dong go all the way because its easy to over extend your knee. Try to go full force but at the end tighten all your leg muscles to stop the kick and protect your kick from overextending.

[Soheir]

I have found in the past, and it's never changed, that my balance and delivery with this kick are better when I'm hitting something solid than when I'm not.

I believe this goes the same for everyone. But it's sometimes weard to notice, that some people can't kick slowly and well, or with less power and with good technique. Because being able to do the technique in the air with good control, makes the kick better controlled no matter where kicking.

Not saying you're one of them.

[sensei8]

Kata is done by...guess what?...kicking/punching/etc in the air! These same techniques, as executed in Kata, are done with power, or they should be, imho. In Kata, power must be felt in the execution of any said technique! If you're hurting yourself while kicking/punching/etc...then...you're doing 'it' wrong, imho!!

[pers]

When my instructor has us go up and down the floor doing kick combinations in the air how far are you suppose to kick?/quote]

Just like in kata or forms you imagine the opponent right in front of you in perfect kicking distance , the opponent is always suppose to be in a perfect distance in these drills. if you do that then you will never over extend the kick .

All the comments I read were very good with some great tips ,most important is to never lock out the knee when kicking thin air ,always leave a little gap and as mentioned retract the leg as fast as it was delivered.

[Kuma]

Kata is done by...guess what?...kicking/punching/etc in the air! These same techniques, as executed in Kata, are done with power, or they should be, imho. In Kata, power must be felt in the execution of any said technique! If you're hurting yourself while kicking/punching/etc...then...you're doing 'it' wrong, imho!!

Kata is a bit different though as you don't have the same repetitions being placed on your body you do when you're firing off techniques into the air. That's why I was always taught to never fully lock out a technique when training in the air.

[bushido_man96]

Kata is done by...guess what?...kicking/punching/etc in the air! These same techniques, as executed in Kata, are done with power, or they should be, imho. In Kata, power must be felt in the execution of any said technique! If you're hurting yourself while kicking/punching/etc...then...you're doing 'it' wrong, imho!!

Kata is a bit different though as you don't have the same repetitions being placed on your body you do when you're firing off techniques into the air. That's why I was always taught to never fully lock out a technique when training in the air.

This is true. Doing one or two side kicks in a form is different than doing a set of 10 or 12 up and down the floor during basics.

I've also "locked out" a lot of techniques over the years in basic and forms work, to build leg strength and to "show" the kick in testings and competitions. I've never hyperextended my knees during this kind of work, but the wear and tear does show over time. I try not to lock out completely, but this is done more easily with arm techniques than with kicks.

[Jay]

I think the point is that you have to be careful at all tmies not to hyperextend yourself.

Has anyone ever gone to hit a target with a kick and then the target wasn't there anymore, it hurts you just have to be really careful.

[JohnASE]

We're primarily a wholesale martial arts supply company so almost all of our customers have been training for a long time, and most know what they're doing.

The most frequent chronic problem we hear about is bad knees. Many long time martial artists have them. One VERY experienced martial artist was telling me a couple days ago that he hasn't been able to kick air for a while, and now he can't even kick a bag without a lot of pain. The relief he got after his knee surgery years ago (maybe a decade?) was only temporary.

[Kuma]

Has anyone ever gone to hit a target with a kick and then the target wasn't there anymore, it hurts you just have to be really careful.

This is how I actually injured my right hamstring with an ushiro geri because I ended up at full extension with no target. It's still not 100%.

[ThrobbingBob]

You see, I'm a part time TKD and Kyokushin Karate instructor part time because I'm only 15, when he says to go slow he doesn't mean how hard you kick, it's the pace that he wants you to move at, and when you do kicks in the air, you're not supposed to focus on the power of your kick, but the height and effectiveness of your kick.