i have trouble doing side kicks?

Question

I can do high front kicks easily but for some reason when i try doing a sidekick my leg can not go high and i get a clicking sound in my hip

Answer 1

Try putting both hands on a wall and swinging your foot and leg up along the wall in a stiff leg type motion. Chances are your lower back is not so flexible.

Answer 2

This is very typical of the begginer.... I don't want to tell you the mechanics of the kick, because each style is a little different, and to all these ppl who say you don' need to be able to kick high.... it's not about really sidekicking someones head off their shoulders... its about flexibiliy, balance and coordination... If you can kick 8 feet in the air, you can probably kick much harder at 2 feet high. Talk to your instructor to get the mechanics down, then as you practice put one hand on a wall or a ring rope to help with your balance and practice... If it is hurting your hip, odds are you are not doing it the way your instructor intends for you to do it... also depending on your gender... hips are different for men and women (thank god :) and side kicks take more time for women than men... But for either, in the beggining stages, hip high is all you should be shooting for, as that is the height where the power is greatest.

Answer 3

First things first, check with your instructor/s to ensure that you are technically doing everything you should be to form the kick properly and safely. If they confirm that everything you are doing is correct, then it really does come down to flexibility and hip position.

High front kicks are easier as the leg moves through a relatively normal motion i.e. the leg is designed to move linearly forward and backward through the pelvis line. Side kick is more challenging as the leg is not really meant to go out to the side of your body, and the pelvis basically limits that range of motion.

Everyone executing a high side kick must ensure that the pelvis rotates to allow the maximum extension point of the leg to be adjusted through the tilting of the hips i.e. the kicking side rises while the anchor side drops. If your maximum extension with hips level is your opponents hip line, one to two inches of adjustment in your hips can translate to six or twelve inches of increased height by the time it is transmitted to your kicking foot at the end of your leg.

If you are trying to throw an advanced high side kick without tilting the hips, then it really is not a typical traditional side kick that is thrown but a slight deviation of that through a line that is slightly forward of the full side of the hip. This takes practice, skill, and is rarely taught before senior rank.

Other things to watch for are ensuring your anchor foot turns through a minimum of 90 degrees up to 180 degrees in the opposite direction to the target. You and also lean your upper body away from the target line to help increase the range of motion which may help.

As for the clicking, if your instructor confirms you're doing everything correctly, it may be something to check out with your doctor.

Good luck!

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 4

Well you got some good tips from posters above if you're asking coz you want to be flexible. But if your goal is merely to be able to kick someone in the face and you have a problem reaching that high with a side kick, then why don't you just kick em in the balls and when they double over from the pain, you can now reach their lowered head with a waist high side kick : P

Answer 5

Rotate the heel of your plant foot about 45 degrees toward your target. That will open up the hips a little bit which will give you another inch or two in distance and noticeable increase in height.

There is also a technique of using a rubber tube wrapped around your toe and holding it near the opposite hip that is supposed to be good to increase flexibility and strength at the same time.

Answer 6

Try this stretch:

Sit in a butterfly position with your toes against a wall. Then, lie down flat on your back, and let gravity pull your knees to the floor. Concentrate on relaxing your hip and inner thigh muscles completely.

If your hips are tight, your knees will not touch the floor, and you should feel a good stretch right on the outside of your hip. If you don't feel any stretch and can touch your knees to the floor, then the problem isn't flexibility...

Answer 7

i use to do this and some others.

1. wax your floor anywhere and stand with your legs open as if you are going to do a side split. force of gravity will assist you in doing a side split. will be somewhat uncomfortable but over some time you'll be good.

2. with an assistant..stand by something that'll assist you with your balance while someone is slow raising your leg as high as possible. you planted leg should be as if you are kicking so it should be pivoted. lower the leg and keep them raising it as high as possible.

3. this time without an assistant swing your kicking leg high while still in the side kick stance, remember to switch legs so you'll give both the same amount of practice

Answer 8

You have got to have a flexible body. Stretch you body. Don't try to kick high till you hear a cracking sound in your hip. No everyone can do a high kick, Don't try to imitate others, it will be you who will suffer if anything were to happen to your hip.

Answer 9

Side kicks are not ment to go high. They usually are ment to strike between the knee and lower floating rib. Any higher and you are setting yourself up.

Answer 10

Do butterfly streatches and keep practicing. You have to roll your hip to some degree to do them. Not like you would for a roundhouse but similar.