Stretching and kicking?

Question

I have been attending a karate dojo for about 1 month and I love it. I started to learn the basic kicks the other day. I cannot kick that high. Is that something that will come in time or is there some stretching or exercises I can do to help with this. Also is there any thing I can do to help with my balance while kicking. I am all over the place.

Answer 1

Since you are in Karate, you should have no problems. A good Karate man doesn’t like to get his kick much above the bottom of the rib cage. Strike the targets that have proximity to your weapons. That is - high targets with your hands and low targets with your feet. The ratio of kick to punches varies for Karate. Some folks say 30% kicks / 70% strikes (particularly true for novices). I’ve found most of Karate people I fight tend to be around 10/90. Personally I am an old man, my best success come at around 5% kicks / 95% punches, and I NEVER get my foot above my opponent’s belly.

Feet are slow. Big muscular legs have to travel great distances. Hands are fast. Try striking a bag as quickly as you can, then try kicking it. Most folks can strike the bag 3 to 4 times as many times as they can kick it. Don’t worry about your kicks you’ll be fine. Focus most on the form and function of your front thrust kick.

Spacing control is the primary purpose for kicking in Karate, keeping that opponent from standing closer than you want him too.

If you throw high kicks, or kick with great frequency, you’ll just get your kicks blocked or worse caught. Once your kick is caught you will end up paying a price to get that foot back. There is nothing quite like receiving a hard punch in the ribs, while you are leaned over and standing on one foot. The pain and injury are enough to convince you not to do that again.

For balance there are several keys. First get that foot back as quickly as you can. You are most out of balance at full extension, and most vulnerable too. Second focus on keeping your body up right, DO NOT bend over to kick. A lot of guys cheat and do this to get greater kick height - Very bad idea. This leaning back is a particularly bad habit for most people with the side kick. Third focus on your chamber, practice coming up into and back out of chamber. Hold chamber for extended periods of time.

Now if you were in Tae Kwon Do, then you would absolutely have to do those high kicks. But I have a low opinion of TKD.

Answer 2

Flexibility, balance, and coordination are something that you can build if you know how to do it or try to do it properly. If when doing say a rear leg front kick you lose your balance on your front knee laterally your knee is a little weak. It will get stronger with practice. If you are losing you balance backwards or forwards you have to do a better job of shifting your balance out over your front foot. If you are having to hurry the kick so that you can put your foot down before you fall then your balance is off but it like everything else can and will get better. Just like when you tried to walk when you were a toddler or tried to ride a regular bike when you gave up that tricycle.

That all being said have heart, listen to everything your instructors tell you, attend class regularly and I bet they will have you up doing things that you could not do six weeks earlier. If you do that your balance, coordination, flexibility, and skill will progress well beyond what it is now.

Answer 3

Just take it really slowly at the start, make sure you get the technique right, there are different things you have to do with each kick so liten to your instructor for all the hints, you will get more height and speed as you technique improves and ofcource if you want to kick even higher you will need to stretch but dont push it atm, is better to do a lower kick with power than a really really high kick with no power and thats probably going to push you back on your *** if they block

The most common stretches that will help are splits to each side/forward/the sit down in the splits and stretch to each side and forward, then bring your feet together touching eachother while your sitting down and push your knees towards the ground and then try and lean forward

Answer 4

When it comes to stretching, most people either do not do enough, or they do too much. Once people realize they need to be more flexible, they usually think that they need more than they actually do need.

Everyone should do some daily stretching, but martial artists need to stretch even more to offset the muscle-shortening effects of their training. When you train, your muscles tend to reset to a decreasingly shorter length with every workout. Stretching helps counteract this. A problem is that, while most only people exercise their anterior muscles, they only stretch their posterior muscles.

To correct this, you should do your serious stretching after your workout. Research has shown that static stretching before a workout decreases performance by about 20 percent. To get the maximum benefit from stretching, you should stretch after a workout, after your heart rate has dropped below 100 beats per minute.

While most people do static stretching, where they stretch to the point of discomfort, hold for 10 seconds, relax, shake it out, and then stretch again. However, a more effective way to stretch is the contract-relax method, where you stretch to the point of discomfort, and inhale and hold your breath while contracting your body, especially the target muscles and the glutes. Hold your breath and contract for 10 seconds, then relax, and exhale; taking care to insure you are completely relaxed and your lungs are cleared of air. Wait 5 seconds, and then repeat.

If your practice this method of stretching, you should see results soon, even after you have reached a plateau with your previous stretching routine.

As for balance while kicking, this comes from practice. One important point is not to use your arms for balance. Arms are for guarding, blocking, and attacking, not for kicking. Keep your arms in a guard position while kicking, Use minute knee, hip, torso, and head movements to maintain balance. When you use large body movements to maintain balance, you tend to overcompensate, which leads to more overcompensation and eventual loss of stability. With more flexibility, greater leg strength, and practice, your balance will improve.

Answer 5

It is something that comes with practice. Do the warm up exercises at home each day, whether you go to the dojo that day or not. Practice standing on one leg for minutes at a time to improve your balance.

Answer 6

it gets easier with time.
start with lower body kicks and gradually raise the height of ur kicks.

also stretch ur groin and hamstring daily trying to get closer to a split.

as for balance thats something you learn over time but you can try what she said and stand on one leg without moving. to add on you can have someone throw weight at you or you can swing a heavy object while on one leg.

Answer 7

this my freind which u r asking will come in time with practice and determination. try to work on your balance and keep at it.

Answer 8

it comes with practice just keep going