I have a general question

[Carbon]

When doing a side kick what part of the foot is suppost to hit the opponent?

Is it the entire bottom the heel or the ball?

I also want to know what part of the foot is supposed to hit in very other basic kicks, I don't know the names of these kicks so if you could give me some examples that would be great.

 

[Shinzu]

with a side kick you can hit with either the outside blade or heel of your foot. the whole heel would be used.

a front kick you want to hit with the ball of your foot.

groin kick = instep

roundhouse = instep or ball of the foot

back kick = heel

ax kick = heel

the more fancy kicks have other points of impact but those are the basics.

 

[KumaSan]

The Muay Thai round kick hits with the shin. Our version of the front kick (teep) usually hits with the ball of the foot as well.

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Shinzu

a front kick you want to hit with the ball of your foot.

The Uechi-ryu front kick uses the knuckles of the toes; see this thread.

 

[Shinzu]

never heard of the knuckes of the toes but that sounds very interesing..

 

[Ty K. Doe]

If your doing a step-over side kick, it will almost be just like a back kick. It is a very powerfull kick and will cause the most damage with the heel of the foot.

 

[karatekid1975]

Side kick: I use the "blade" part of my foot, or the heal. I perfer the heal for breaking.

Front kick: The ball of my foot. Eventhough, when I started TKD, they told me to hit with the instep .... NOT lol. I don't.

Round kick: This is a toughy, because I use all kinds of round kicks. I use the Muay Thai kick (with the shin), TKD "turning" kick with the instep, or the TSD version with the ball of my foot.

Back kick: I hit with the heal.

 

[BlastU]

Well, I use the heel for sidekicks, and sometimes I get spasms because I kick too fast, too hard, so I suggest you do it gently if you have no fear of spasms..

 

[Chiduce]

In the system that i teach, we do not use the side of the foot in side kicking. The thrusting heel impact side kick, the thrusting outward looping heel impact side stomp kick , and the thrusting inward looping heel impact side stomp kick, and their variations are used. Sincerely, In Humility; Chiduce!

 

[Shinzu]

cressent kicks will also use the inside or outside part of the foot to deflect or strike.

they are pretty basic kicking techniques also.

the hook kick will use your heel too.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I agree with all the kicks that have been mentioned.
I would like to add to the back kick and say that it can be done like a side kick with the side of the foot and heel.
I belive it can also be done with the heel moveing in an upward motion than scooping the foot forward , rakeing and tearing with the sole or side then the toes.
Shadow:asian:

 

[FLY]

I also agree with what has been said already regarding kicking, but I would like to add that I think it also depends on what your target is.
eg. a thrusting side kick to the throat, I would use the blade(outside edge) of my foot whereas a thrusting side kick to the body I would use my heel.

:asian:

 

[tshadowchaser]

A good point made by Fly, on the target area. Also the range one is in might be considered. There are times when the shin may be used but the ball of the foot ( roundhouse kick) might be unable to be used efectively because of proximity.
Shadow:asian:

 

[Carbon]

How do you build lots of power?

I was also wondering if anyone has some good stretching excercises I could do to help with my agility.

I can only kick maybe 5 ' 10'' into the air, this isn't very high and I can only hold kicks for about 6 to 10 seconds which isn't alot.

So I was wondering if anyone knows any methods to strengthen balance and agility.

Also when yall do side kick is your knee bent sometimes if it hits the target before your leg can go straight?

 

[tshadowchaser]

My leg is always bent befor contact ther wise the kick becomes a push not a thrust.
As for kicking high I won't say because I prefer to kick from the groin down. You will probably need a TKD person or Chiness practictioner to answer that Question.
Shadow:asian:

 

[FLY]

I agree with tshadowchaser. IMHO, if you are kicking (say a side kick) to the body, your target shouldn't be the front of the chest, it should be closer to the spine so you kick through the target. Same thing applies to a kick to the knee. You don't want to just kick the kneecap, you (at least I, hehe) want to kick through the knee to break it.

I can only kick maybe 5 ' 10'' into the air, this isn't very high and I can only hold kicks for about 6 to 10 seconds which isn't alot.

Question? Why do you need to hold your kick? Is it just a balance/control type of exercise that you do?

:asian:

 

[tshadowchaser]

Good question Fly.
I remember back when I first studied TKD we would hold the kick when doing forms and sometimes durring stretching. It looks good in forms, shows control of the body. At least IMHO.
This question wasn't asked of me so Carbon what is the reaon you hold your kick. By the way I couldn't hold mine over waist level for longer than it takes to throw the kick these days.
Shadow

 

[FLY]

Thanks for the quick reply tshadowchaser

It looks good in forms, shows control of the body.

That is pretty much what I was thinking too, kinda like how a tai chi practitioner moves(of which I have no experience in)

I can hold my kicks at waist level for awhile, but not any higher even though I can front kick above my head fairly easily. I recently began doing squats while holding one leg in front of me at waist level....maaan, does that ever burn but it has definately helped me with balance

:asian:

 

[Rob_Broad]

Never fully extend your leg when kicking the impact can do terrible damage tothe ankel and the knee. I only kick above my waist when sparring for sport application. In a real situation kicking that high can be dangerous to the kicker.

A great way of building your stretch is to lie on your back with your feet up and butt against a wall. Let your legs open and this will allow gravity to do the work for you. This is a slowprogressive stretch. I like to read a book while doing this stretch. In a few weeks you will notice higher kicks and greater flexibilty.

To increase the length of time you can hold your leg out, the only thing I know that can help with that is continue doing it, in time you will be able to hold the leg out laonger.

In the words of Bill Wallace, " the only way to get better kicks is to keep on kicking". Nothing else will make your kicks better that kicking.

 

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by FLY


Question? Why do you need to hold your kick? Is it just a balance/control type of exercise that you do?

:asian:

Here's an explanation I've heard, and it sort of makes sense to me:

The height at which you can hold your kick is the height at which your high kick will have it's most power, since you are able to effectively employ muscle at that height. You may be able to kick higher than that, but that kick would have less power since it would most likely be relying more on momentum and the whipping motion of the hip pivot and have little-to-no muscle strength added.

Example: you can hold your side kick out at neck level, though you can actually kick at forehead level. Since your muscles are working more with the neck level kick, it should be more powerful than the forehead level kick.

Cthulhu