craknek Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 I do have a question about me personally. All throughout my MA career (currently TKD), I have always had a lot of hitting power with my hands. My kicks... however, are powerful when I do thrust versions of kicks, straight kicks, or side kicks. Crescent kicks and roundhouses, no matter how much I strectch, I just can not get enough zip on it. With a thrust kick, I can easily take someone off of there feet. I have fairly large legs... from Football... and it gets kind of difficult for me to swing them high into the air... anything in the mid section though.. I can do great.. really great..... My question is, can you be effective at TKD at higher lvls, if you can not execute the high kicks with enough power, or should I go and do Karate which is 50/50, which would probably do me a lil better since I like hand strikes?? "A man can fail many times, but a man is not a failure until he blames someone else""I will not fear...Fear is the mind killer...I will let my fear pass right through me..." Dune.
ATAFury Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 I think you will enjoy the spin kicks, and find them most advantageous to your repitoir. Fury ~Traing in Songham TaeKwonDo since 2001~
tommarker Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 I don't see it as a problem. How long have you been training? It is easy to get hung up on high kicks if you focus on them. As a football player, you're going to have superior upperbody strength, which probably means you're going to want to fight in close. Most people will recognize this, and try to keep you out of that range with kicks. (And of course, a lot of people may be intimidated and throw some really lame kicks your way. ) So something to keep in mind... working on your kicks will round out your abilities, and really surprise the crap out of your opponent when you can throw a good kick. The key lies within the teacher. Do the students fit the art, or does the art fit them? You want an instructor who will adapt to you, but still challenge you to try new things. I.E. you're still responsible for learning everything (after all, you may one day be teaching it) but they can still show you what is most optimal. I'm no longer posting here. Adios.
craknek Posted March 23, 2003 Author Posted March 23, 2003 Yea, my instructor said he can work with me to make me a more optimal fighter. Your also right, I do like getting in close and throwing a good punch combo.. im not afraid of getting hit. your also right, I like trying to overpower my opp... being 235 lbs, that comes kinda easy to me. So I have kinda adapted the Muay Thai theory of kicking... Quick, powerful and devestating kicks.. .to the mid section. Nothing flashy for me. lol. Nick D. "A man can fail many times, but a man is not a failure until he blames someone else""I will not fear...Fear is the mind killer...I will let my fear pass right through me..." Dune.
karatekid1975 Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 Good thinking, dude I can kick high, but I feel that low to mid section kicks are more powerful (for me anyways). I have kicked someone over with a high kick in sparring, but I wouldn't try it for "real." Just my opinion. Do what works best for you. Don't worry about kicking high. Work on your week kicking techniques for now. Then go from there Laurie F
SandanPJ Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 I am 230 and can kick to the head but I prefer using my hands. It takes time to develop your legs to kick for maximum speed and power on snaps. Kicking is not a natural thing, think about when you first learned. Kicking to the head is almost impossible your first time out. Especially if you have some meat on you. Karate, traditionaly only kicks as high as the floating ribs. The same thing with kenpo, even though modern schools teach kicks to the head. Most Kenpo Karate schools teach Juijitsu, so I believe that would suit your body the best, especially if you want to stray away from the high kicks.
tommarker Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 Hey Nick, Sounds like you're on the right track then. Just keep in mind that those Muay Thai fighters are surprisingly flexible. A pal of mine is roughly your size and I was shocked to watch him drop into the splits when we warmed up together for the first time. He had an absolutely wicked roundhouse and wheel kick. Don't entirely discard those high kicks yet I'm no longer posting here. Adios.
Mr. Hall Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 With putting an emphasis on body shots as your primary attack, remember you may have to work a little longer to weaken your opponent. Get your cardio up so you can feel comfortable and focus your strikes so nothing gets wasted. "And it is this lack of fear that makes for the dance" - Anne Morrow Lindbergh (https://www.loudounmartialarts.com)
Jae Hoon Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 how do you do TKD if you cant kick? my best kick is probly a (dont know what you would call it) handless cartwheel and when your feet are facing the ceiling you spread them into the splits and your front foot comes down into an axe kick and you land into the center splits, i can also do alot of 360 and 540 kicks http://www.gamegen.com/fightgen/characters/jae-repeated-kicks.gif
ATAFury Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 It's flashy, but not effective. I have "stuffed" many a jump kicks to level my opponents. Jump kicks are for show, not fights... imo. Fury ~Traing in Songham TaeKwonDo since 2001~
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