Hey again people, Ye look i was wondering if any black belts ( or high graded belts) would give a comment on "how they came to learn good and proper kicking techniques"? As in,over their training years, what did you guys do in class that would practice the techniues? ( I know this question doesnt sound right...). For example....in class, did you guys do repetitions of kicking the air? or did you guys train on holding bags? or did you go through the techniques of kicking in slow motion?.... in other words, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO IN CLASS THAT GAVE YOU THE PERFECT TECHNIQUE over time? I ask this question cause i think iv spotted a major difference in the training methods of WTF and ITF classes ...................( or maybe im a sloow noticer) all views appreciated as always !
we have done everything you mentioned, meaning kicking the air, bags, pads etc in different ways, for different purposes. know that it is not possible to sum up years and years of training in one post. also know that we can't see you and thus can't judge your technique, in other words we cannot say what you are doing wrong. that is why you should attend classes and it's the instructor who should let you know if you're doing something the wrong way. if you're interested in getting to know the differences between WTF and ITF, please continue your posting in the following sticky: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2677
ye i do train regularly. I just wanna know what sorta training you guys do MOSTLY...or USUALLY. and this question is just for me to confirm or reject my own thoughts on the diferent training methods used by ITF and WTF.
that you train regularly is great, and anyone who wants to improve should do so, because it's all about practice, practice, practice. if you have a question as to how a certain specific technique is done, ask, because it might be easier for the members that way, anyway, we've got a thread for that too: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29083
Slow motion kicking helps, particularly if you practise slow motion consecutive kicking, helps build strength up well. Other than that, just keep kicking and kicking and kicking. Of course, keep an eye on your technique. No point practicing kicking badly, you'll just become good at kicking badly!
Practise makes perfect. That's the best way. As stated earlier by other members, first start slowly to check the technique , than progress to faster kicks. Also practise kicking in different heights... varying between low , medium & higher kicks !
hour of what you have mentioned. But most importantly good instruction from a qualified, quality instructor.
Over the years, I've trained in all the above mentioned methods, I also spent a lot of time doing consecutive kicks without putting my leg down. e.g. 100 roundhouse over the top of a chair. Heavy bag work is my favourite. I don't think there's any real difference between WTF and ITF in this respect, the differences are between different Dojangs.
I found that when I was about black tag i inscreased my flexibility tremendously which helped my kicks, this means you can kick to any height you want without struggling. That intern means you can focus more on the shape of the kick than struggling with height. I just did this by streching, if you increase the length of your stances you can also increase the the strength of your kicks. I would also say that breaking makes a huge difference to kicks, obviously if you are quite a muscley person you can break through strenght but if your not then breaking boards will imporove your kicking technique as you cant break with poor technique. Personally I think I am quite good at side kicks and this proves to be the only kick I can break the hard boards with.
Getting screamed at by my first instructor for an hour at a time seemed to work. That and about a thousand repetitions of each kick tend to ingrain it in your head and body.
Having an Instructor demonstrate exactly how he wanted you to perform each technique, and then wanting to do the techniques just like he did it. Nothing like an angry Korean Master having you repeat a side kick or piece of a form 100 times until you get it right to build good technique.
Kick,kick, kick, and after you finished kick some more. The more you practice the better is your technique going to be. At my dojang we do different techniques. Air kicking, kicking a heavy bag, kicking directly to the chest guard, kicking focus mitts, also sparring. In sparring you can see if your technique works or not.
Pad work, line work, kicking slow, kicking fast, kicking in different directions.....Yeah, just by kicking really, lots and lots of kicking.
Don't forget to pivot, of course! I was always flexible, so I don't have any suggestions about how to kick higher. Repetition made my kicks better and better, even just seeing a good kick and trying to copy it. I've had two different instructors, both with a different side kick style, and I always copied theirs. I even changed my own kick when I changed instructors. Keep in mind, flashy kicks aren't necessarily weak or strong, but a well performed technique will look flashy (does that make sense?).
