Good ways to strengthen legs and to improve kicks

[KempoGuy06]

I looking for some good ways to improve the strength of my kicks. I have power when going to the mid region, but as i start to go higher i loose power and speed therefore my control goes out the door. I was wondering if anyone knew any basic workouts i could do to make them stronger.

B

 

[Trent]

Hello,
From your description it appears that you may need to work on your flexibility as well as your strength. Be sure to stretch only when your muscles are warm. Tired is even better. You get more bang for your buck that way and reduce the risk of injury by quite a bit. The old school way (of which I was trained in) of stretching cold before class can actually be counterproductive.

On the leg strength issue-- single leg squats, some folks call them pistols, a great leg strengthening exercise; dumbell weighted lunges; front squats with a barbell; deadlifts with good form; zercher squats; we also have some leg strengthening exercises in Kun Tao Silat that have humbled folks with just body weight. If you are interested, shoot me an e-mail. Be sure and stretch after your weight routine.

(Note: I left out back squats, frequently called the king of weighted exercises, due to the rash tendecy of folks doing them incorrectly and tearing up their knees and back especially if you're tall. You can't hardly screw up a front squat, dumbell weighted lunge, or zercher squat and they are more direclty related to martial arts in my humble opinion. Deadlifts are the Emperor of exercises ;-) and shouldn't be neglected. Make sure your form is spot on and leave the ego at home; works more muscles than any other weighted exercise.)

 

[MJS]

I looking for some good ways to improve the strength of my kicks. I have power when going to the mid region, but as i start to go higher i loose power and speed therefore my control goes out the door. I was wondering if anyone knew any basic workouts i could do to make them stronger.

B

You could do some body weight exercises, such as squats and lunges. Holding onto a pair of dumbells while doing these, will give added resistance. When I work my legs, I don't do anything fancy. Leg extensions, hamstring curls and calf raises..thats it. Jogging/running will build leg strength as well as walking. If you opt for the walking, do some on an incline.

Mike

 

[Bumblebee]

Another possibility is balance. If you're not firmly planted on the ground, depending on the kick you want to do, you could lose some power. I only know of one way to increase your kicking power and that's to kick. During sparring, on a heavy bag/wave bag, pad. It could also be your technique. You should talk to your instructor about this and see if there's anything wrong with your kicks technique-wise.

 

[KempoGuy06]

we also have some leg strengthening exercises in Kun Tao Silat that have humbled folks with just body weight. If you are interested, shoot me an e-mail. Be sure and stretch after your weight routine.

Thanks for the advise. Those sound interesting PM me your email adress

You could do some body weight exercises, such as squats and lunges. Holding onto a pair of dumbells while doing these, will give added resistance. When I work my legs, I don't do anything fancy. Leg extensions, hamstring curls and calf raises..thats it. Jogging/running will build leg strength as well as walking. If you opt for the walking, do some on an incline.

Mike

Thanks MJS always good advise from you. Weight are an issue because of my knee. So body weight would be better. Is it possible to do leg extensions and curls with out weight and still benifit from it? Would riding a bike or stationary be a viable alternative to running/walking?

B

 

[Bumblebee]

I personally like to spend time on an elliptical machine. I'm not sure if you have access to that, but it's a great machine that helps simulate running, but works out more muscles than running. Also since your feet never leave the bottom of the machine, there's minimum stress on the knees if at all.

 

[KempoGuy06]

That is also a good option, didnt think of that. Thanks

B

 

[meth18au]

Thanks MJS always good advise from you. Weight are an issue because of my knee. So body weight would be better. Is it possible to do leg extensions and curls with out weight and still benifit from it? Would riding a bike or stationary be a viable alternative to running/walking?

Leg extensions and curls done on a machine are basically no impact on the knee. It's the free weight squatting and lunging etc that'll impact your knee more. You could just use lighter weights or body weight instead for those exercises.

Elliptical machines are brilliant, as are hydraulic cross-trainers. Very challenging yet no impact!!!

I had the problem of my high level round house kicks losing a lot of their power a while ago. I did a lot of drilling of my high kicks on Thai pads, and it eventually just got better. Better flexibility and technique were the biggest helpers in my case.

Good luck buddy

 

[Odin]

goodways to strengthen and improve kicks...practice them when ever you can!

 

[Logan]

I think ultimately if you want to get better at kicking.....then kicking should be your focus.

You need a combination of dynamic and static stretching (or its relatives) to improve your kicking flexibility.

Kicking can itself provide a dynamic stretch - the secret is never force it. Basically start low and gradually kick higher until you've reached your max, finish with some leg swings in all directions and some static stretching (you can do leg swings at the start as well if you want).

For best results, dynamic stretch in mornings and evenings - it should only take a couple of minutes. Stop if you feel fatigued, as this will prove counterproductive.

If you do the above, you will reach your max in about 6-8 weeks of training. From that point I would consider different weight training exercises to supplement further.

 

[zDom]

While all the advice above is generally pretty good, Odin and Logan are right on the money.

Training is highly specific. If you want to improve kicks, KICK. A lot.

Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of reps each week. Roughly, 1,000 or so.

I recommend starting with some low and midsection kicking to get warm and some light stretching before working on high section kicking.

 

[Bumblebee]

I told him to kick too....

 

[Kacey]

In addition to everything else that has been said - especially the people who said the way to improve your kicks is to practice more kicks - remember that you're going to lose power at higher levels, not just because the of balance and flexibility issues that have been mentioned, but because you get the greatest amount of power when your kicking tool (or punching tool, or whatever you're using to strike with) is perpendicular to your target. As your kicks go higher, you are no longer perpendicular to your target, and you are going to lose power. That's why you're seeing power in the middle region; your kicks are more or less perpendicular to your target at this point. This happens with lower kicks too, but it less noticeable because you can get more weight behind the kick.

 

[MBuzzy]

Hopefully Terry takes a look at this thread - he taught some incredible warm up exercises during the meet and greet. I have been doing them frequently and have noticed a difference in leg strength and kicking ability already.

Basically, get yourself a medicine ball and practice the kicks down the floor and back. We did this with front kick, roundhouse, and side kick. Just holding those extra few pounds WHILE doing repetitions of the kicks will help strengthen your planted leg.

Also, if you are just interested in power, concentrate on your hips. Just by throwing them a bit further and in slightly different ways can significantly affect the power of your kick.

 

[Touch Of Death]

This may have already been addressed, but rather than doing more kicks I would spend a fair amount of training time simply kneeing a bag with partner assist. Just keep striking that bag until you drop. Work to position your body with good posture for maximum power and -get your hips into it-with this knee strike. Then go train kicks and know that the knee strike should be where they are comming from.
Sean