most improved kick [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

Ikken Hisatsu

12-03-2003, 08:24 PM

just out of interest, what one kick do you think you have improved on the most since you began training?

for me I would say hook kicks- when I started I just couldnt get my body to turn properly and I had no force in it. now, I can whip it out as fast as a roundhouse, with power, and its easier to recover if I dont connect. same with spinning hooks (although I dont really go for spinning anythings)

SevenStar

12-03-2003, 09:31 PM

MT has given me an awesome roundhouse kick, both rear and front leg. My tornado kick and hook kick have improved also, but since I don't do tornado kicks anymore, I probably suck at them again.

Ben Gash

12-03-2003, 10:28 PM

Yeah, I'd have to say my roundhouse kick (I was always good at hook kicks). It just has so many variations and lots of physics.

ZhouJiaQuan

12-03-2003, 10:38 PM

this might sound wierd, but since we are talking about kicking. anyone have a problem kicking at air. It seems when i have a target, even if its someones hand held out for me to kick, my kicks are better. If i am just throwing in the blank air, they tend not be as good. not with front kicks too much, only with side/round/hook

i dont throw round or hooks that much anyway(actually these really suck without targets and my sidekick is ok, but i think better with a target)

most improved: definetly Side, i can now throw it up there with that XMA hieght...

err...wait i minute....should i be proud of that, hahaha :p

Peace :D

Starchaser107

12-03-2003, 11:19 PM

I will never reveal the wutang secrets.

ok, roundhouse is pretty decent but if we are talkingf about most improvement , i would have to say that recently i've developed a pretty decent spinning back kick.
theres always room for improvement but its light years ahead of where i was once.

Bluesman

12-03-2003, 11:57 PM

I have to admit that I could never generate the power I felt that I should have in the hook kick. I can do it, and it looks nice. But I never really use it.
My side kick and roundhouse are strong. I think that the flexability in my hips allows me to chamber higher and that it is easier to kick . I can get decent power from those.
Does anyone remember the guy who died from a broken neck back in the '80s from a spinning hook at a tournament? Now that is the power I want:eek:
Funny that this topic came up as I have been practicing the hook on the heavy bag. Practice, practice,practice. Gee, wish that there was some secret :mad:

SevenStar

12-04-2003, 01:18 AM

Originally posted by ZhouJiaQuan
this might sound wierd, but since we are talking about kicking. anyone have a problem kicking at air. It seems when i have a target, even if its someones hand held out for me to kick, my kicks are better. If i am just throwing in the blank air, they tend not be as good. not with front kicks too much, only with side/round/hook

How hard are you kicking? it's possible that you are kicking to hard, which is a bad thing to do when you're kicking air. Also, it's possible that your balance is off when you are kicking the air. Check those two things. Dunno if either is the case though - it's only a guess.

Sho

12-04-2003, 05:56 AM

I'd say my back thrust kick (dang chang geuk) has improved most, as I've learned the proper mechanics behind it.

Shaolinlueb

12-04-2003, 07:28 AM

i would say my tan tio and my roundhouse and sidekick. i wasnt any good at any of them. i would never raise my knee up on tan toi i would let it dangle.. and my roundhouse i could never balance. and the sidekick was probably the best of the 3 but no power in it.

MasterKiller

12-04-2003, 07:40 AM

My roundhouse sucks because my hips aren't very flexible. I only use it as a setup because I can't generate a lot of power with it.

My best kicks are spinning back and spinning crescent, both of which I can use with a fair amount of success.

Judge Pen

12-04-2003, 07:52 AM

My side kicks have improved the most. They are not high, but my mechanics in chambering the kick are better and I can generate a good amount of force at the solar plexues level and down.

I have poor hip flexibility alos, but I've learned to cheat my hips on hooks and round house kicks. I have pretty good power on my round and my set-up and timimg is descent enough to overcome my poor hip flexibility. My hook kick still needs a lot of work.

My best kicks are my front thrust kick, spinning back kick, and my crescent kicks.

Pork Chop

12-04-2003, 09:21 AM

I'm gonna say Donkey Kick (jump spinning back kick)...

but it's still nowhere near my Donkey Punch...

Tak

12-04-2003, 09:24 AM

Shin kick.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 09:38 AM

Hmm... I'm going to have to say round kick. For the same reasons that Ben Gash and Sevenstar mentioned. There are lots of variations that I've learned over the years. And the muay thai round kick is a thing of beauty.

Now if you were to ask me my favorite kick, it'd be a tie between that one and the sipa (oblique kick, cross kick, whatever).

Oso

12-04-2003, 09:54 AM

kicks that got better from 1990-2001:

roundhouse
front kick/roundhouse combo
butterfly
hook/slap kick

kicks that have gotten worse since 2001:

all

SevenStar

12-04-2003, 11:34 AM

Originally posted by MasterKiller
My roundhouse sucks because my hips aren't very flexible. I only use it as a setup because I can't generate a lot of power with it.

My best kicks are spinning back and spinning crescent, both of which I can use with a fair amount of success.

Turn your hip over and cut the roundhouse inward and/or downward. turn your base foot as far outward as you can. Use the ground to drive your kicking foot off of. you won't really need amazing hip flexibility using this method, and you get a ton of power out of it.

SevenStar

12-04-2003, 11:37 AM

Originally posted by apoweyn
Hmm... I'm going to have to say round kick. For the same reasons that Ben Gash and Sevenstar mentioned. There are lots of variations that I've learned over the years. And the muay thai round kick is a thing of beauty.

Now if you were to ask me my favorite kick, it'd be a tie between that one and the sipa (oblique kick, cross kick, whatever).

sipa is a good one.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 11:38 AM

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 11:52 AM

Originally posted by SevenStar

sipa is a good one.

Yeah. It was a real eye opener after 6 years of jumping, spinning, skipping kicks just how versatile a simple kick like the sipa can be. Love it.

Judge Pen

12-04-2003, 11:55 AM

Oso

12-04-2003, 12:02 PM

I'v always used a hip turnover for the round kick.

believe it or not my rear leg round kick is faster than my front leg round kick.

when I started training for the sport jujitsu, I was being coached to use lead leg attacks because they are theoretically faster simply due to distance-to-target but not for me.

'sipa', sounds like what we refer to as a 'dragon'.
rear leg kicking forward and striking with the instep, toe turned out?

norther practitioner

12-04-2003, 12:15 PM

I love the rear leg round kick, so many variations kicking up, across, down, etc. I do need to improve my flexibility in my hips as well, but as far as improvement, I guess my side kick has improved the most, but thats just because I really sucked at it before.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 12:15 PM

'sipa', sounds like what we refer to as a 'dragon'.
rear leg kicking forward and striking with the instep, toe turned out?

I've seen the kick done in dragon, yeah. It's not the instep though. That's the area between shin and top of the foot, isn't it?

It's the underside of the foot. Heel ideally. But yeah, toes pointed outward so your foot hits sorta sideways. Essentially the opposite foot positioning of a sidekick.

Judge Pen

12-04-2003, 12:24 PM

I've called 'sipa' a cross-kick. I hit either with the heel or as a trap with the arch of the foot. I think its very effective as a kick to the legs.

Oso

12-04-2003, 12:30 PM

we're talking about the same kick i think

by instep I meant the arch really. although I have struck with the heel some I've always mostly used the kick to attack the knee from front or side and the ankle from the side. i feel that targeting with the arch of the foot you won't glance off.

good kick from the clinch imo.

Judge Pen

12-04-2003, 12:36 PM

It is. It's quick, hard to block or avoid, and can open up a second or third attack. It takes on another element with shoes as you can rake the shin after contact ala "Wildcat climbe the tree" from Hsing-I.

MasterKiller

12-04-2003, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by SevenStar

Turn your hip over and cut the roundhouse inward and/or downward. turn your base foot as far outward as you can. Use the ground to drive your kicking foot off of. you won't really need amazing hip flexibility using this method, and you get a ton of power out of it. I do that when I use a roundhouse. My target is usually a thigh or calf, so I guess I'm cutting downward like you said. But when I say my hips aren't flexible, I mean I experience pain in the hip joint if I happen to turn the hips straight during the kick or on impact. In fact, I am unable to do the kick without turning my hip over because I get a sharp pain in the hip joint otherwise.

It even affects things like my horse stance to a degree. I have to turn my feet slightly outward to sit in a decent ma bu.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 01:07 PM

Originally posted by Oso
we're talking about the same kick i think

by instep I meant the arch really. although I have struck with the heel some I've always mostly used the kick to attack the knee from front or side and the ankle from the side. i feel that targeting with the arch of the foot you won't glance off.

good kick from the clinch imo.

Yep, we're definitely talking about the same kick. The cross kick, as Judge Pen mentioned. (I actually like that term. Makes sense to me.)

Arch! That's the word I was groping for. Yeah, I think you're right about the glancing off. The arch helps to negate that. (Especially with my feet. My arch is the size of a bloody Mini.) Can also be used to "catch" and stop kick the opponent's kicking leg.

I prefer it as a stomping-style kick. But it can also be used as a scooping kick. In fact, I think that's sort of the default for sipa (if kicks have a default). That it can swing upward for short chops to the shin. I say that based on the idea that "sipa" is the filipino word for a game very similar to hackysack. And that upward scooping kick is what you'd use in hackysack. (Variations of sipa are played throughout SE Asia. The foot-volleyball version played in Thailand is "sepak (sipa) takraw.")

There you are. Random thoughts on the cross kick. By Jack Handey (read: Stuart Bowen).

Stuart B.

Oso

12-04-2003, 01:13 PM

LOL

from the clinch I have a throw/take down I set up by using a cross kick on the far/back/opposite leg and then come back with an outside crescent type kick to the fore/near leg to spread the base then I'll hip toss or just twist the shoulders down to the mat.

in judo terms this is like sweeping the far leg to set up an uchi mata except the leg doesn't lift fromt he inside.

I actually sorta kinda pulled this off in a sloppy way at the jujitsu tourney in Oct. If I get the video capture card I'm asking for for Xmas then I'll get that off the VHS.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 01:19 PM

Sweet!

Oso

12-04-2003, 01:23 PM

several KFM members made offers to capture it for me (which I greatly appreciated!) but I have about 20 VHS tapes from the last few years that I want to capture as well so I want to learn how.

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 01:33 PM

Originally posted by Oso
several KFM members made offers to capture it for me (which I greatly appreciated!) but I have about 20 VHS tapes from the last few years that I want to capture as well so I want to learn how.

I've watched Merryprankster convert tape to digital once. As far as I could tell, the process involves a VCR, a digital videocamera, and a jockey named Nigel.

Personally, I have doubts about the necessity of that last part. But MP's the boss, I guess.

Stuart B.

Oso

12-04-2003, 01:39 PM

hmm, sounds like he had a Digital Vid Cam that had AV inputs.
I've got the dig cam but it only has AV out.

i'm not touching the bit about the jockey...an englishman and a coastie and a jockey.......................

;)

apoweyn

12-04-2003, 01:40 PM

i'm not touching the bit about the jockey...an englishman and a coastie and a jockey

Mistakes were made.

Oso

12-04-2003, 01:44 PM

well, as long as everyone learned something.

MasterKiller

12-04-2003, 01:45 PM

You only need the VCR if the video is on VHS. If you shot the video on digital tape (Hi-8, Digitial-8), then you just download directly from the camera.

If your tape is VHS, you have to use the camera as an intermediary between the VCR and the capture card. You run the VCR into the camera, then plug the camera into the computer. You can then use the VCR controls to control the tape in your editing program.

I'm using IEEE 1394 Firwire technology, though. So I don't know if other formats need the same setup.

SevenStar

12-04-2003, 03:34 PM

Originally posted by Judge Pen

That's what I mean by "cheating" my hip. It seems to work well for me, but the "extra" step in turning your base foot and hip needs a bit of a set-up for the timing to work, ime.

Off of which leg? off of the front leg, there is no step - you open your hip, then close it as you pivot and turn your hip over. From the rear leg you can do the same thing with no step, or do the step in conjunction with an attack or defense. for example, if you kick me and I do a leg block, as I put my blocking leg down, I turn my leg out and begin my shuffle. Keep in mind that the rear leg roundhouse is used most effectively when you have a person retreating/on the defensive. It's more of a follow up to a combination, not an initial attack. When used as a follow up, it's easy to shuffle step into position and then launch the kick.

SevenStar

12-04-2003, 03:48 PM

Originally posted by MasterKiller
I do that when I use a roundhouse. My target is usually a thigh or calf, so I guess I'm cutting downward like you said. But when I say my hips aren't flexible, I mean I experience pain in the hip joint if I happen to turn the hips straight during the kick or on impact. In fact, I am unable to do the kick without turning my hip over because I get a sharp pain in the hip joint otherwise.

It even affects things like my horse stance to a degree. I have to turn my feet slightly outward to sit in a decent ma bu.

Ouch.

When I said cutting inward/downward, I meant as the kick lands. You can kick to the head and kick inward, as long as the hip is turned over. By cut, I mean like an extra push. the thai kick, and some styles of karate (the friend I used to train with grew up and trained in japan and he kicked the same way) have the leg bent when the roundhouse is delivered. It doesn't snap outward, straightening the leg. IME, that seems to detract power from the kick. Since the leg is bent, once it lands, then you attempt to angle the kick downward by turning your hip completely over...kinda hard to explain. that's what I meant by cutting though. It's a good technique for making knees buckle.

Meat Shake

12-05-2003, 09:09 AM

Hmm.... my most improved kick...
Single most improved has probably got to be the hook.
I dont use spinning kicks, but I work the tornado/540 occasionally just cause they look cool, good for impressing people. :)

Roundhouse has gotten pretty evil quick too. Gotten good at firing out the sidekick from close in.