Hi, my name is Frank, and I am from New York. I just began Karate through my college. And its 2 days a week 1 hr sessions. I know its a little but thats what I have =(. I was wondering if anyone can give me tips. Like on my side kicks, I saw one person able to kick and his foot went straight up above his head, and mines doesnt even go higher then my chest. yes its embaressing! I was wondering if theres ways to correct this. Gomen ne for being such a pain in the neck =P.
Hey Frank, Don't worry 'bout what other people can do. Just worry about what you can do. You will always be more flexible than some and less flexible than others. It isn't a competition it is about making yourself your personal best. Give yourself a break- you just started. With proper training and careful warm-ups and stretching you will be kicking higher than you ever thought possible. Go for it!
Greetings Frank, and welcome What style of karate do you do exactly? There's lots of different styles, and they all differ in some way. The person who's side kick you saw has probably been practising years. Practise makes perfect as they say
Hehe sorry to say frank, but if you want to learn vertical side-kick it might be a little too late. Everyone I ever know that can do it, started training there hips when they were young. Is a bit hard for adult to do vertical side-kick even if you start at young age, the hips just too stiff for that kinda motion, but I mean is possible if you really want it bad enough. First get your 180 degree split, then do a lot of condiniton like leg lift side way, practicing holding your side kick. Eventually it'll be up there, but get flexbility first.
Don't worry Frank, I've never yet had to kick a Parachutist who was landing on my head. There are people well into their 50's who have developed a full box split and can display this kind of ability, but the reason you don't see many people of that vintage doing it, is because they have more sense. People who kick like this don't get whacked in the nuts enough. Welcome to MAP
Ack! here he goes again about what is wrong with high kicks... ... but I do believe Andy and I concur on one point about having the ability to kick high, is if you train at achieving a good high side kick it does help you with having more control over your low kicks. Welcome to MAP Frank ... good luck on your training, it's a good start as far as your time allowance goes! You can always work on our stretching outside of class to achieve a greater degree of flexibility. Do a search here is forum on "stretching" and "flexibility"!!
What have I told you about squabbling in front of guests KC? Was talking about Vertical sidekick Debs!
Don't bother what anyone else is doing (except the Instructor of course ), train hard and one day you'll realise that your kicks are where you want them to be. Thats what happened with me! Col
I just find the arrangememnt of those quotes aesthetically pleasing If you'd like to kick high, and hey who doesn't , I saw this thing on how dancers develop this ability. The first thing is flexibility. You need to stretch those legs good. But it's also about strength. Getting your leg up that high is a strength thing- try doing 'stomping grapes'- lift your leg up as high as you can get it and repeat, with the aim of strengthening the leg specifically for the task of getting it up high. That said, it's probably not the most important skill in the world.
Good suggestions there Knight.... Some other helpful squabbles (I mean comments) from me.... You first need to be able to do a good split and strattle if you want to do that "vertical side kick". You further down you can get into a strattle and a split, the higher you are capable of kicking, so stretch stretch stretch. Practice lifting your leg up into it's chambered position, and slowly extending your side kick out. The more you do this, the higher you'll be able to kick. You need to build the hip and glute and you will the more you do this. Focus on keeping the heel of your supporting leg turned out, the toes of your kicking leg turned to the floor, your heel, hip, and shoulder are all in alignment, and that your head should always be looking at your kicking foot. DO NOT overstretch the hamstring of the supporting leg. Stretch it out slowly and gradually. Don't expect to achieve a very high side kick or "vertical" side kick quickly.... you need to work consistently and patiently at it. A good exercises you can do: (besides those found here.... http://www.stadion.com/column.html ) Place your foot up against a wall at a height where you get a good stretch. ...( a little less than head level), and slowly walk your supporting leg backwards. As you move the supporting leg further back, you can also move the foot that is on the wall slowly up. Focus on keeping your weight on the supporting leg. (Oh please be sure to WARM UP PRIOR!!!!) ... sorry, I assumed Frank was implying that he couldn't do a high side kick.... K of Andy assumed it to be a vertical side kick.... so basically these tips are good for both!
