Complete Kicking (29 page)

4. Release your foot to the target while maintaining balance by finishing your rotation directly over your other leg. Land in fighting stance.

PRACTICE TIP: Practice on the ground slowly without jumping at first to get the mental image of this kick. Then turn and kick fast with a minimal jump. As you acquire precision and confidence, jump progressively higher.

JUMP SPIN WHIP KICK

how to

1. From fighting stance, shift your weight to the neutral position.

2. In place, jump vertically, rotate your body to the rear, and either swing your rear leg in a circle to the rear or bend your knee and prepare to snap it at the target as you complete your rotation.

3. At the peak of your jump, snap or throw your foot at the target while keeping your torso upright and your supporting leg bent under you. Land in fighting stance.

PRACTICE TIP: Jumping requires leg strength. Spinning requires coordination to create torque in your hips. Kicking is a release of force created by both jumping and spinning. Visualize these three elements before kicking and when you kick, perform all three simultaneously.

EXPERIMENTAL TRAINING:

Experiment with ways to enhance awareness of your body and how it works. Here are some suggested training experiments:

1. Verbalize the movement sequence:

For example, for side kick:

1) Turn sideways.

2) Knee up.

3) Stretch the leg.

4) Hold it.

5) Adjust my stance.

6) Hold it as long as I can.

7) Return to fighting stance.

2. Discover what makes your body tick. Is it your torso, your head, your brain, or the angle of your chambered leg that is most influential for initiating each kick?

3. Empty your mind: Does your consciousness hinder your performance? Are you attached to negative feelings about what’s going to happen? Then, forget them. Start fresh. Don’t think. Pay attention only to each kicking sequence and fill your mind with the feeling of what happens in your muscles.

4. When you find something that works in your training, immediately repeat it at least 100 times to create muscle memory.

5. Have a quiet, non-active post training moment, such as walking or meditation, to synthesize all you have learned.

MULTIPLE KICKS

A multiple kick is any kick that consists of more than one impact, often with the same leg. The key to successfully

executing a multiple kick is distributing your energy properly as a result of understanding which kick is the primary technique. Generally, the initial technique is used to set up or distract the opponent and the final kick is the one that impacts the target powerfully. Practice diligently so you can maintain your balance throughout the kicks, especially if you are standing on leg for the entire technique. At this skill level, a flawless execution is critical. If you lose your balance in the middle of the technique, withdraw immediately and start fresh.

MULTIPLE KICKS

purpose

Multiple kicks are used to overwhelm or confuse an opponent. To be successful, control the distance and pace of the attacks. Your rhythm should be fast but unpredictable. Often flashy techniques like these are ineffective in a hard hitting fight, so know their limits and capitalize on the strengths of multiple kicks, especially the strength of striking multiple targets in quick succession.

key points

Coordinate your entire body to promote agility, balance and versality. Center yourself over your standing leg, keep your torso erect and control your arms for balance.

striking area

Ball, toes, blade, heel, bottom of the foot, bottom of the heel, instep, knee

targets

1. groin

2. lower abdomen

3. solar plexus

4. chest

5. neck

6. face

7. temple

8. rib cage

9. knee

SINGLE LEG LOW-HIGH ROUNDHOUSE KICKS

how to

1. From fighting stance, shift your weight to one leg (front or back according to the situation) and chamber the other leg for roundhouse kick.

2. Throw a low section roundhouse kick, striking the groin or thigh with the instep.

3. Chamber your knee back to position 1 then quickly throw a roundhouse kick to the face, lowering your torso to gain height.

PRACTICE TIP: Focus on the lightning speed of the second kick. The first kick is used to set-up or distract the opponent. To be effective, you need to appear relaxed and disguise your intent.

SINGLE LEG ROUNDHOUSE-WHIP KICKS

how to

1. From fighting stance, shift your weight to one leg (front or back according to the situation) and chamber the other leg for roundhouse kick.

2. Throw a middle section roundhouse kick to the groin or rib cage,

striking with the instep.

3. Immediately hook your leg up into a whip kick, striking the face or head with the bottom of your foot while lowering your torso for added height.

PRACTICE TIP: The first kick needs to be horizontal or near-horizontal in order to reverse the kicking direction for the second kick without straining your back. This also helps you stabilize the center of your body for a quick, powerful transition between kicks.

SINGLE LEG DOUBLE SIDE KICKS

how to

1. From fighting stance, shift your weight to one leg (front or back according to the situation) and chamber the other leg for side kick.

2. Throw a side kick to the neck or chest, striking with blade of the foot.

3. Briefly chamber you knee and throw a side kick to the neck while lower your torso to facilitate a high section kick.

AWARENESS EXERCISE:

Blindfold training heightens your awareness, because the absence of visual cues limits your movement potential. You’ll be forced to internalize the movement path of a skill.

Find a safe area, free of obstacles, and try this exercise:

1) Choose one kick to practice (begin with front kick) and observe your movement carefully with your eyes open. You can do this in front of a mirror or simply by visually checking the various parts of your body as you practice.

2) Pay careful attention to the physical patterns of your movement and try to memorize the way you move.

3) Close your eyes (or use a blindfold) and visualize the kick while standing in ready stance.

4) Execute the kick with your eyes closed or blindfolded. Go slowly at first because the lack of visual cues will impair your balance.

5) When you feel comfortable, try kicking a handheld target while blindfolded. Face the target in fighting stance, note its position and then close your eyes or put your blindfold on. See what happens: is your kick landing where you think it is? Keep practicing until you can hit the target consistently, then try other kicks in the same way.

SINGLE LEG HIGH ROUNDHOUSE KICKS

how to

1. From fighting stance, shift your weight to your rear leg and chamber the front leg and throw a roundhouse kick to the face.