I can take leg kicks from certain people and I've gotten a lot better. But I remember about 6 months ago I had to quit sparring because my leg was shot. When I tried to stand I couldn't and it's always against certain people where they hurt the most. I have a lean built and my legs are lean also. Is there any trick to conditioning them?
How to be able to take leg kicks and condition thighs?
- Thread starter heeme
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I'm no doctor or expert, so take this with a grain of salt...
I find it's a mix of genetics and experience.
Some guys can just take it without feeling the effects as bad as others (relatively speaking, of course... Aldo kicks you in the leg and you're going to feel it, I don't care who you are). Just like some guys have better "chins" than others.
But, at the same time, I think your tissue does get used to the damage over time.
I know that I used to bruise like a peach, but no longer do. When I first started jiu jitsu, for instance, I'd come home with little round bruises ALL OVER my chest and arms from fingers gripping and poking me. Now days (3 or 4 years later), the only things that bruise me are bad muscles crushes etc.
There may be exercises you can do to speed up the process, but I have no idea what they are. I imagine it's some variation of just taking a fuck load of leg kicks or painful muscle conditioning... and I wouldn't be surprised if it's all largely bro science.
I find it's a mix of genetics and experience.
Some guys can just take it without feeling the effects as bad as others (relatively speaking, of course... Aldo kicks you in the leg and you're going to feel it, I don't care who you are). Just like some guys have better "chins" than others.
But, at the same time, I think your tissue does get used to the damage over time.
I know that I used to bruise like a peach, but no longer do. When I first started jiu jitsu, for instance, I'd come home with little round bruises ALL OVER my chest and arms from fingers gripping and poking me. Now days (3 or 4 years later), the only things that bruise me are bad muscles crushes etc.
There may be exercises you can do to speed up the process, but I have no idea what they are. I imagine it's some variation of just taking a fuck load of leg kicks or painful muscle conditioning... and I wouldn't be surprised if it's all largely bro science.
insomniacl
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Take a baseball bat and get someone to swing at your leg every week.
Makes perfect sense. I just remember the pain from certain sparring sessions and one good kick hurts sooo bad lol. I don't ever want to feel that in future fights.
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Some guys have better shin chins.
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Build up from soft bags to heavybags. You can start doing 'sucker' kicks where you just gentle crack it against a tree then slowly build up a little. That gets them there quicker. You can also rub a pencil up and down your shin.
I got to a stage where i could kick metal poles at 30% of my kick strength. And I'd have people kick my legs and fall over in pain as all the training works the bone down into a knife edge.
I got to a stage where i could kick metal poles at 30% of my kick strength. And I'd have people kick my legs and fall over in pain as all the training works the bone down into a knife edge.
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The TS asked how to condition thighs and TAKE leg kicks, not to condition his shins.
TS, don't think you can really can condition it in the sense of shin bone condition. The whole section is muscle. Muscle doesn't become hard as bone and the nerves don't exactly die... You should consider checking kicks more.
TS, don't think you can really can condition it in the sense of shin bone condition. The whole section is muscle. Muscle doesn't become hard as bone and the nerves don't exactly die... You should consider checking kicks more.
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Only answer worth a damn in the whole thread...
Ya, good luck on having defense soap block those leg kicks for ya.
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Once a week I like to trade 10-20 kicks to my inner and outer leg. The last couple are hard to take. When I first started, I could barely handle a tap. After a while, I could take 50%+ shots for the whole set from someone my size.
I don't know if you can take full power shots right on the sweet spot, but in sparring you are moving around a lot and you will get good enough to be out of the way. In a real fight, you have adrenaline on your side.
Two separate things I've been chewing on for awhile is if the trading of kicks is really necessary for martial arts. Absolutely, I have no doubt that doing the drill trained me to take harder kicks cold when I'm not feeling any adrenaline. This lets me spar harder than an average martial artist which means I get more good practice in.
On the other hand, in a real fight you will have a reduced feeling of pain. The worst hits I've taken in my life, falls, car accidents, and so on I didn't feel anything. If that were the case in a fight, the conditioning might not be necessary.
I never had a sense that I was making my leg any different by kicking. I always thought that I was teaching my nerves to understand that I wasn't taking real damage, and so they won't spaz out. That's why real damage, like a full power kick, still can wreck me.
Finally, even without trading kicks, sparring a couple rounds a week for a couple years might toughen you up either way, so long as you are taking meaningful shots. I've known very tough men who got that way through sparring, and I've known really soft men who were never pushed sparring and were afraid to be kicked.
Martial arts are an art. I don't know if anyone knows what the best way is. Cultures where people start kicking one another in the legs as kids might be different because they started getting hit so young they may have a perspective on conditioning that isn't useful to the serious adult or weekend warrior. You could always watch some training videos of Muay Thai or Kyokushin and see if you can spot people trading hits. I am sure you will find examples of it from the professionals.
I don't know if you can take full power shots right on the sweet spot, but in sparring you are moving around a lot and you will get good enough to be out of the way. In a real fight, you have adrenaline on your side.
Two separate things I've been chewing on for awhile is if the trading of kicks is really necessary for martial arts. Absolutely, I have no doubt that doing the drill trained me to take harder kicks cold when I'm not feeling any adrenaline. This lets me spar harder than an average martial artist which means I get more good practice in.
On the other hand, in a real fight you will have a reduced feeling of pain. The worst hits I've taken in my life, falls, car accidents, and so on I didn't feel anything. If that were the case in a fight, the conditioning might not be necessary.
I never had a sense that I was making my leg any different by kicking. I always thought that I was teaching my nerves to understand that I wasn't taking real damage, and so they won't spaz out. That's why real damage, like a full power kick, still can wreck me.
Finally, even without trading kicks, sparring a couple rounds a week for a couple years might toughen you up either way, so long as you are taking meaningful shots. I've known very tough men who got that way through sparring, and I've known really soft men who were never pushed sparring and were afraid to be kicked.
Martial arts are an art. I don't know if anyone knows what the best way is. Cultures where people start kicking one another in the legs as kids might be different because they started getting hit so young they may have a perspective on conditioning that isn't useful to the serious adult or weekend warrior. You could always watch some training videos of Muay Thai or Kyokushin and see if you can spot people trading hits. I am sure you will find examples of it from the professionals.
work on checking, and ask your stablemates to go lighter. no shame in knowing when to say when. some days you can be up for a beating, other times it's about technique and going a bit chilled.
also a bit of stretching morning and night helps with recovery i find.
also a bit of stretching morning and night helps with recovery i find.
MuffinGod11
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Basically, you'll get used to it. When doing 1-on-1 technique, sparring or conditioning make sure not to go too overboard or you're muscles get scarred.
You've gotta now the point when you can't take anymore or you'll have a hard time walking because after that your thighs will need a couple of days of rest.
Getting good conditioned thighs takes time and you need to be constant, if you stop training for some time, say a couple of weeks/months you probably will lose some of that resistance, like you lose some of you're timing, technique, etc.
You've gotta now the point when you can't take anymore or you'll have a hard time walking because after that your thighs will need a couple of days of rest.
Getting good conditioned thighs takes time and you need to be constant, if you stop training for some time, say a couple of weeks/months you probably will lose some of that resistance, like you lose some of you're timing, technique, etc.
Thnaks man that was helpful
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Some guys have better aim. Makes a difference as well
