I looked briefly for a post along these lines and didnt see one. If I missed it I apologize for the redundancy. When I first got into martial arts it was pounded into me that one should NEVER EVER leave a punch or kick hanging in mid air nor should one over extend a punch or drop a kick in a forward position. Kicks especially should be rechambered in case you need to throw the kick again. Now, however I'm being told that what I want to do is follow through and land a kick well beyond my target, often times with my back facing my opponent. To ME this is HORRIBLE and makes little sense. I can see its application in a tournament setting but in self defense I think its a huge mistake. I think thats why I cant seem to NOT rechamber my kicks which now threatens to count against me during this upcoming grading. Has anyone had a similar issue? Oddly, I would expect this of TKD being as tourny oriented but not HKD. Perhaps this is a problem with schools that teach BOTH TKD and HKD?
Our school has both TKD and HKD classes, but we almost never have people compete in tournaments, and we do not teach people to kick the way you describe. You should always maintain your balance, never lock the kick out completely (hard on the knees). I've fought in tournaments in the past, I can't think of any time where ending a kick with my back to my opponent would ever have been a good idea. If you don't rechamber your kick and leave it hanging out there chances are someone is going to grab it and throw you when we do free sparring in HKD class.
Ah well, 6 more months. I can play their game for 6 more months, get my black belt and then go do something else.
I really enjoy Hapkido, if you do too I would suggest maybe somewhere else instead of something else. Hapkido covers a lot of ground from schools that are essentially TKD with a couple grab releases, to some that are almost Aikido, to hard Combat Hapkido. The trick (as it always is) is to find the right school for you. Don't despair, don't give up. I know 'rank doesn't mean anything', but honestly if I were you and was that close to black belt I'd likely stick it out too.
Sounds completely illogical. We've been told to kick through the target but only by about a foot. You still need to rechamber the leg afterwards. Good luck with your black. Is it that bad you will change after black?
Exactly, I'm so close to finishing why the hell not just stick it out, dance the dance they want me to and then find something/somewhere else afterward. I will always continue to keep up with my HKD because I DO LOVE it. But I want to augment it with something more. Unfortunately choices in my area are severly limited. I BELIEVE there's a boxing gym a few towns over but I'm not sure. There are a plethora of TKD schools - seemingly one on every corner almost, lol, but few other styles. I THINK there might be a wing chun school, a jeet kune do school, a shotokan school and 80 BJJ schools. At any rate, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Why do you have to wait for your black belt before you can go somewhere else? If you feel that the techniques they teach you to become a black belt are not of the quality you think it requires, what is their black belt worth to you in the first place? Back to the kicks. It would help if you would have told which kick it concerns. There are a few kicks that come to mind where following thru instead of rechambering could potentially give more power, but yes do require to to expose your back for an instance. Thinking of a spinning back kick, in a certain situation this kick could be used, but yes you have to expose your back. So yes, you also have to be very careful about when you use this kick. Still a great kick to have in your toolbox.
eh, my shool has some of the trappings of a McDojang and while I've learned a great deal, I feel I might be challenged more somewhere else. Besides, I think it would be valuable just to get a different take on things. If I stay with HKD and simply find another school that doesnt teach forms, I've no doubt that a new teacher will help me discover things I might not have found otherwise. Also I'm interested to see how HKD might blend with other things. Like wing chun or boxing, lol. AS to the response you gave regarding my initial question, EXACTLY! Thats what I've always been told. I think I remember being told the reason turning my back toward my opponent is ok is because it sets me up for a back kick.... not sure about the validity of that.
It depends on the kind of kick and how much contact you make. For longer ranged kicks you want to follow through to a position where you can attack again and to a position where you are able to protect yourself. This could be returning to a "chambered position" or following though such as with a spinning technique. However, for close ranged kicking, the idea of composite attacks can be used. This is where every movement is an attack... for example, a knee to the face, as the knee drops, this can be a front kick to the knee, then a stomp with a hammer fist. Or a crescent kick across the face can come across a grabbed arm and transition into an arm bar take down. Or a spinning kick can go into a scissors take down if they catch your leg. Another thing is just when kicking slower. One might hold a kick out so the training partner can work counter techniques... this isn't sparring but more a drill. Edit: What I was getting at is that different ranges on kicks makes a difference on the follow through. Extremely long ranged kicks are done with momentum and strike through a target in a linear way. Long ranged kicks tend to either follow through a target with rotation such as spinning kicks or they recover back to a more chambered position for kicking again. Medium and short ranged kicks use composite movements where each movement can be an attack. Much of what is in hapkido can be considered the shorter ranged kicking or composite movements. A spinning kick could instead lead into an arm bar for example.
Its more about finishing what I started. For me, I made a commitment to be the best student I could be and do all I can to learn what I was being taught to the best of my ability. Just because something isnt what I think it should be doesnt mean I should quit or break my commitment before I'm finished. Besides, its only 6 more months. Not a big deal. If I can survive 6 years of marriage to my first wife, satanicus mistress of pain, I can handle 6 months of this, lol. The kicks are the following: The round house. I've been told to not kick through the target and rechamber but rather to kick through the target and allow my foot to touch down on the mat before returning to my fighting stance. Previously I was taught to kick through the target, rechamber and then return to my fighting stance by returning my foot to its place without touching down. The inside crecent - same deal. Back kick and lastly but not least, the hook kick.
That round kick is like the Muay Thai round kick. Think of it for attacking the legs like chopping down a tree (your kick is the ax and their leg is the tree). Inside crescent that way to ensure you are coming down with your weight behind the kick. This can be part of an arm bar where your leg comes over the top of an arm. Should be a clue that you are using close in kicking now, opposed to further ranged TKD kicking. Close in kicking is combined with grappling, for example.
ABSOLUTELY AGREED! At the very least I can get my fundementals where I am now and go on to somewhere else for further study - sort of like high school vs college
You may very well have it nailed. I plan on asking my instructor about it on wednesday just to hear what he says. Maybe I've missed something or simply cant see it. At the very least it'll be interesting to hear how he fields the question. Who knows, maybe after I hear his answer I'll drink the coolaid again and never ever leave, lol.
It seems like Rebel Wado has hit the nail on the head! When I read your initial description of the kick I thought it sounded like the range had changed. Kicking through and placing the foot is stronger and much more stable at the closer range. It would make sense that you would be reducing the range and increasing the pressure in a black belt test and I suspect this is in preparation. Just my jjj 2cents. Dao
I was taught to kick through the guy. if it hits him bring it back. if he steps back, spin all the way through and back round to the start - for a short while your back is to the guy, but because he's backed up, he's too far to rush you.
Hi, maybe your instructor want to tell you that you should kick through the target? Maybe he reffers to a kicking rule where you actually hit beyond the target, to go through it. So, if you want to hit the nose, you actually hit try to hit back head ; if you hitting plexus, you actually hitting spine ; when you giving earslap on left ear, you actually try to hit right ear.. But however, after any kind of kick you must be able to defend or attack, not lose balance and open back to your opponent..
Landing with your back facing your opponent does seem rather off, however landing after a kick rather than rechambering isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. You can land in a good, solid stance after a kick, ready to move into a new attack or to defend, more quickly than you can reverse the momentum and rechamber the kick. If it's delivered with a good amount of follow-through and power then you shouldn't have a problem doing this. It may be that your instructor is exaggerating the movement for now to get you to commit properly to the strike rather than pulling it in order to rechamber. I've seen this done before to teach people a movement, and most arts start with highly exaggerated mechanics when teaching people a new strategy to make sure that it's imprinted. Once the movement is natural and can be done without thinking, it can then be cut down to the bear minimum. From a roundhouse kick I was always taught to land in a side-ish stance. Yes, you can rechamber if you want to kick again but kicking with the intention of doing so does reduce your commitment to the strike. If you follow through and complete the movement by landing in a new stance you can then immediately follow up with another technique, or be ready to defend, rather than being off-balance because you're forcing the motion to reverse and still have your leg in the air. Obviously if the kick hits then that extra bit of follow through will tell in the impact, and you'll be able to rechamber naturally as the momentum's gone (or been absorbed by the target). If the kick misses or is deflected then you'll be going straight into a new position to attack from rather than trying to halt and control the movement, taking a heartbeat to pull it back and rechamber.
