Explosive kicks

[SanHeChuan]

I don't have a heavy bag to work with so I'm looking for some supplemental exercises, to help out.

right now I got these exercises;

vertical depth jumps
multiple verticals
box marches
lunges
one legged squats
leg press
sprints

any suggestions for alternates, supplements, or improvements? :confused:

[WinterPalm]

Throw your kicks a lot! That is the number one thing to do!

[SanHeChuan]

I don't like throwing them in the air, unless working more technical aspects.

[Chief Fox]

All the stuff you're doing will make your legs stronger/more powerful but one very important aspect that you are not covering is proper kicking technique. A person with proper technique will kick harder with more power than a person with really strong legs. So Winter Palm is right, you've got to kick more. Maybe get a kicking shield (http://www.martialartsmart.net/10-812.html) and have a friend hold it for you. Do you attend a school? Maybe get one of the students to hold a shield for you at the end of every class for 10 or 15 minutes of kicking. Get a heavy bag as soon as you can.

[Kung Pao]

One of my favorite exercises is to do slow-mo kicks (I mean slower than tai chi), and to pause at half extension and full extension going out and coming in. Awesome balance exercise, awesome strength training. You'll get explosive power.

[bodhitree]

holding leg extensions is great for working the stabalizer muscles used during the kicks. All of the things you listed should help. Good luck.

[TaichiMantis]

Best thing for explosive kicks is monkey jacks and duck walk.

[SevenStar]

One of my favorite exercises is to do slow-mo kicks (I mean slower than tai chi), and to pause at half extension and full extension going out and coming in. Awesome balance exercise, awesome strength training. You'll get explosive power.

moving slow is not conducive to exploding. exploding is conducive to exploding. monkey jacks (mentioned above) involve explosive jumping. slow mo kicking does not. while slow kicking would increase leg muscular endurance and to a small extent strength, it will not teach you to explode. That's like me practicing for a nascar race by driving bumper cars. the speed difference is so great that it is not effective training.

[SevenStar]

Do you have access to a parachute?

[Black Jack II]

Free weight squats.

[SevenStar]

definitely. I had thought about those, but noticed he didn't really have a lot of weight bearing exercises. I figured either he was trying to avoid them or didn't have access to them.

[TenTigers]

squats,deadlifts,powercleans. After doing these, my kicks became much more powerful. These are all "core" movements involving the entire body, developing functional strength. This will improve your overall strength and performance as well.

[Black Jack II]

Lunges tend to be forgoten but I think they really help the "lead up" movement into some of the kicks. Not as good as the core three but its an extra helping hand.

[SanHeChuan]

Do you have access to a parachute?

I don't get it? :confused:

monkey jacks

I haven't been able to find a clear explanation of these?

[The Xia]

I don't get it? :confused:

monkey jacks

I haven't been able to find a clear explanation of these?
You know those monkeys that ride around in unicycles? Well try to bike-jack him. You'll get a great leg workout chasing him. When you are able to knock him off the unicycle and ride away, then you are at a new level of training.

[Scott R. Brown]

I don't get it? :confused:

Running with a small parachute deployed behind you. It is a somewhat popular training aide amongst professional/collegiate/Olympic athletes to build explosive leg strength.

Although landing a parachute jump without a parachute would be another method you may want to try!:D ;) I think it would only work one time though. LOL!!

[Royal Dragon]

moving slow is not conducive to exploding. exploding is conducive to exploding

Reply]
I understand what you are saying, but why is it then, that moving real slow seems to help? Also holding kicks seems to help too.

Back to the subject, pushing cars is good, as well as jumping while holding a weight infront of your chest, like a heavy medicine ball.

[TaichiMantis]

I don't get it? :confused:

monkey jacks

I haven't been able to find a clear explanation of these?


Basically you squat like a monkey and jump up as high as you can. When you are doing this your arms are sweeping in circles in front of you, sweeping the floor when you are down, powering up when you are jumping....get it?

[Royal Dragon]

We did them like a jumping jack, only you squat down low, and jump up as high as you can before you do the jack part.

[SevenStar]

moving slow is not conducive to exploding. exploding is conducive to exploding

Reply]
I understand what you are saying, but why is it then, that moving real slow seems to help? Also holding kicks seems to help too.

Back to the subject, pushing cars is good, as well as jumping while holding a weight infront of your chest, like a heavy medicine ball.

who says it does? sprinters SPRINT in training, they don't do long, slow jogs. High jumpers sprint, do squat hops, etc. more plyometric type training geared toward building explosiveness. An oly lifter doesn't clean and jerk a weight really slowly in order to teach himself to explode, nor does one do slow, non-explosive deadlifts.

[PangQuan]

do you drive? how long do you drive each day?

considered a bicycle?

i like to ride my bike on the highest gear and power through the whole way (except for hills when im in a hurry, i lower it for those, except for pleasure rides.)

i log at least 40 miles a week, and i can tell you it has increased my leg strength dramatically since before i used to bike, and the bursts you often need in traffic at a moments notice are fun to mix up with some solid sprint style pumping.

[SevenStar]

You know those monkeys that ride around in unicycles? Well try to bike-jack him. You'll get a great leg workout chasing him. When you are able to knock him off the unicycle and ride away, then you are at a new level of training.

exactly. Kinda like on dragonball z where they had to chase the monkey around and try to catch him.