Hey guys, The below seems like an excellent exercise to sharpen up Roundhouse kicks but it's irritating my knees for some strange reason. Anybody else familiar with this exercise? Am I putting too much weight on the leg on the platform? I only go to a boxing gym but have been shadow boxing thai kness/elbows/kicks. I've NEVER had any kind of issues with knees before so also just wondering if this is a good exercise? I've wrapped it in spoilers as there are two bad words but nothing serious. Exercise starts at 1:30 Spoiler [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qF0V_GgFoo"]Easy Hip Mobility/Flexibility Exercise For Throwing Roundhouse Kicks - YouTube[/ame] Thanks
The gentleman in the video is young and looks fit and strong and we'll trained. That basically means he can get away with a lot that many of us can't (and he won't get away with it indefinitely ). Firstly, are you pivoting correctly on your supporting foot? Until you are 100% confident that you're pivoting right, I would most definitely not recommend exercises like that. Regardless of foot pivot, note how he us supporting his stretch. His leg is like a bridge. Strong leg holding up one end, immovable object at the other end, knee right in the middle. A knee, I might add, that is being asked to support all that force on the very worst angle for a knee to take force on. Knees are not designed to take force in that direction. It is common in martial arts to learn that kicks to the side of the knee can destroy the knee. He is voluntarily putting significant force through the knee is the very direction that as martial artists, we're taught to kick them to destroy them. Bottom line. If you're doing it exactly as the gentleman on the video intends, you will hurt your knees slowly. If you're getting them wrong, then you will hurt your knees very quickly. There are better, safer ways to improve the range of your roundhouse kicks.
Thanks for taking the time to read and answer my question. I decided not do this exercise anymore. What I've learned so far is there is a horrifically high amount misinformation in the Martial arts world and that includes combat sports!
The bulk of the stretch in a roundhouse happens in the hamstrings of the supporting leg. To enable a good high and fast roundhouse, it's all in the hips, but to unlock the hamstrings on the supporting leg, it's all about the foot pivot. Your supporting foot should end up pointing almost backwards. Before working on height and power and range etc, I'd work on form. Once you get everything happening in the right sequence like a single flowing action, then build it up. If you go for height, range and power first, you'll start tearing things.
Found a better one: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wSvT89qtMo"]Round Kick/ Turning Kick Tip: How to Pivot with Power - YouTube[/ame]
That is indeed a better one. Good find. Nail the pivot then start adding in kicks. I'd recommend don't kick full speed or at max height at first. You put a lot of forces through a few places. Get the forms right and the forces are shared out a bit rather than tearing through one or two points. Also, with the roundhouse, because it's not really a natural motion, initially your muscles won't be used to firing in the right sequence. Go full on and all that happens is your brain recruits the wrong muscles in the wrong order and so wear and tear happens. Practice at maybe 30% max, until the technique starts to feel natural. Then step it up. In class we mostly practice against think air, with limited pad work, and of course each other in sparring. I like to practice against focus pads too. Some say kicking think air is pointless, but it teaches balance and control. In combat some of your fully committed kicks will miss. If you're not used to kicking thin air then you lose your balance.
