Originally Posted by
jdhowland
Nope, sorry. I do have some old videotape but not with any of our basic training.
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Kick whenever you need to. In general, it's considered risky to lead with a foot. Hop Ga is as much grappling as striking and we know what to do with a leg if we catch one. The assumption is that your opponent is as skilled as you are. There is a saying that "the moon throws a shadow over the foot." The "moon" is your fist.
I tried to list the kicks in pretty much the order in which i learned them, but they are all basic. Some of the drills are just harder than others. The first four i listed would be learned in the first couple of months of training. All of them could be learned within a year. Some of our combinations were derived directly from sets and others were just basic drills emphasized by our teachers. You can make up your own as long as it has some training application. You also have to keep the training "alive" by varying the height, direction and timing of kicks. Don't let it become a dead form because exercises can't teach you to fight. Note that our whirlwind kick exercise has no fighting application in the exact form we use, but it increases stamina and balance which are good attributes for a fighter.
A standard progression for kicking skills would be:
1) Learn each kick as a standing drill. Do a number of repetitions on the right side, then repeat on the left. There is a stylized method for switching from one side to the other but i won't get into it here. Let's just say that different schools have different methods to hoi jong or "open the post" and they sometimes indicate a specific lineage or teacher's preference. For standing drills you can leave your fists outstretched to the sides, rather than using an "en garde" position because we need to train for a lot of shoulder stamina in our style.
2) Once your form is more or less correct, repeat the standing drills with a set number of repetitions on each side, 30 at minimum. Go as fast as you can while still keeping good form. Then we do "one-minute drills" in which you use a wall clock with a sweep hand (or a partner with a watch,) to time your kicks. Initially try for 80 good kicks per minute on each side. This is hellish training for people with long legs.
3) Progress to stepping drills, alternating sides for each basic kick while moving. As you move forward with each kick, control your leg before stepping. Don't just let it drop to the ground like a sack of cement after finishing a kick. Imagine that you are retracting your foot from a kick and then find you have to do another kick before you touch the ground. You should be able to place your foot down onto an egg without breaking it. Then, when you are ready to step for the next kick, step deliberately, even stomp, if you like. But make sure you are stepping because you have the intent to move forward, not just because you are tired of holding your leg up.
4) Kicking bag drills. Protect your knees! Always be aware of your knee position for kicking or standing. Start with repeated single techniques, then progress to combination drills. Finally throw in some hands. This is good for learning range and balance. A three-minute "all out" power drill on the heavy bag is a good challenge.
5) Sparring. Gotta make sure you train to kick something that moves like a human being. Like,...oh, i dunno. Maybe another human?
Waist power is the most important thing for sweeps. But you know that. I hated sweeping drills because they were so hard for me. There are at least three styles of doing broom techniques. One is to keep both knees well bent and your mass centered. This is very fast and a good way to strike the back of your opponent's knee or calf. There is the low form which stretches the sweeping leg out as far as possible while holding onto the floor to increase rotational force, (this version provides the most exercise and makes the largest sweeps, but it's hard to get the same speed). Then there is our version which is a little narrower than the others. You have the opportunity to change it into a shin kick, a leg lock, or just a step forward in case you miss. The back sweeps we do pretty much the same as other schools but, again, the possibility exists of making them narrower, more nearly a back kick with the foot remaining on the floor. Do you know the posture common to all "lama" styles called bai faht or "bow to the buddha"?
Be well. jd