Being short sucks for kicking... What do you suggest?

Question

I am around 5'6" and weigh 140lbs.
Whenever I train, it's very difficult for me to kick higher.
Even when I try to kick people's ribs, I have to put so much effort to just to get my legs up that high.
So the only kicking that I am descent at it is low kicks...
Should I just give up on trying to kick high and work on my low kicks?
I have pretty strong and quick punches but middle to high kicks are what's brining me down...

My flexibility is not too bad...
My hips are just pretty low.
Anyways, I know I should stick to my strengths.
However, I want to have a large variaty of attacks.

Answer 1

You should just work at perfecting what you have. Improve your quickness. Work real hard on your defensive skills. Become a very elusive target, darting inside with your offensive attacks and then back outside before your opponent can find you.

High kicks are nice, they look pretty and they can be effective when they land, but the higher you raise your leg into the air when delivering a kick, the longer you are in a vulnerable position. Having one leg on the ground and one leg in the air makes it very difficult to maneuver defensively and it can leave you open to attack.

I was able to kick high, but I realize there are some who cannot, for whatever reason. You should continue to work at it though, because even though it is difficult, it would be a good tool to have in your bag even if you are not as effective as someone else in using it. Throwing a high kick, even once or twice in a fight, keeps your opponent honest.

If your opponent knows you will never kick high he will see that as a weakness he can exploit. It may give him an advantage and allow him to effectively employ certain techniques that he may not be able to otherwise.

Answer 2

I know exactly how you feel. I'm 5,5 190lbs, and heavily muscled so high kicks are not an easy thing.

I have worked a great deal on low kicks, and can do serious damage with them. As a short person your fighting style must be close to your opponent, where reach is not an issue, if you have good hands then you have a fighting chance.

Work on your low kicks as they will be easier weapons, but DO NOT give up trying to high kick, the fact that something is hard just means you need to work harder on it, just don't make high kicks your primary weapon.

I hope this information was useful

good luck!

Answer 3

I am just under 5"10 myself and can kick people up to 6'5" in the face; 5'6" is not that short. I would do some stretching and exercises for the lower back and hips. If you have good flexibility in your hips and lower back along with your hamstring and groin muscle groups then your kicks will be higher. One of my newer students was like this and after seeing his doctor discovered that it was due to low back problems. He is now on his way to getting his kicks up without pain or straining himself due to working on his lower back problem and doing the exercise that a sports medicine place gave him to do.

The other thing you can do with respect to fighting is start using angles, motion and movement, along with fakes and feints more to set up your attacks and break that distance down and close the gap between you and those taller fighters. There are a number of books and articles out there and if you do some reading and research you will find some good ideas on how to accomplish this. Try some of those things you learn with lesser skilled and younger students first. As you develop your skill and ability in doing them and finding what ones work best you can then try them with the taller more advance students that you are having more difficulty in sparing with.

Answer 4

If you want to be able to kick higher you need to work on your flexibility. I am 5'6" myself and have no problem kicking people taller than me as high as the head (even though I don't kick anyone in the head in friendly sparring matches)

If you don't want to work on your flexibility it's not really an issue as in a real case of self defense lower kicks (to the knee or groin) would be more effective and quicker anyway.

Answer 5

stick to your strengths, low kicks are great and you could still kick to the body. Watch some fights however, not sure what style you do, but if you watch some kyokushin fights from the world tourny you will see many small japanese guys kicking much larger guys in the head, you have an advantage of suprize there!

Answer 6

that's kinda weird. in 5'6" and 145 lbs and i can kick people about my height and even a little taller in the head. I'm not super flexible at all, so maybe its just a body-build thing. it also just takes practice. if your a beginner I'd not worry about it, and even if your advanced, i wouldn't give up. ask your instructor about some exercises that can help. it sounds to me like you just need to strengthen your leg muscles. try squats.

but anyway, just don't give up on it. high kicks were hard for me when i started too.

Answer 7

The blogbaba never kicks highter than waist level in a fight, there is no need to. Ken Shamrock tried a high kick against Tito Ortiz and paid dearly for the miss. kwonthai gets a thumbs up from the blogbaba, he is right, use what is effective, and discard the rest.

Answer 8

I'm 5'7" and 127 and often go up against people 6'5", landing a high hit isn't easy and usually ends up with a fall if they tower over you, my suggestion is practice your flexibility and jumping as high jumping kicks will hit their mark so long as you have a target. You can't be complete without head kicks in my opinion so don't give up on them or else.

Answer 9

Always play to your strengths - if you can't kick high then use low kicks and take advantage of your lower centre of gravity to keep your opponent off balance.

If you try to out-kick a taller person with a longer reach chances are you'll come out second best. Use his height to YOUR advantage and his disadvantage rather than takling him on areas where he has the advantage.

Answer 10

nonsense, drag the side of your foot hard and fast down the guys shins, as he moves his legs back his head will drop. That's when you let him know you've got good puncing power. And once he's on the ground, you don't need to kick hi at all. This is very effective unless it's a sparing competition.