Improving the teep kick?

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Altephor

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I've been doing MT for about a month now and I'm still having trouble with the teep. Mainly I just can't get my leg high enough for an effective kick. Even someone my own size (5'7") I can only get my leg up to about his groin. Even that is a struggle, it's usually very slow and puts me very much off balance. We did counter-kicking in class on Weds (i.e. block incoming leg kick and respond with a kick), and when it came time to turn a left leg block into a teep I was a) exhausted quickly and b) very much off balance, to the point where sometimes I would just fail to throw the teep.

What would be the best way to improve? Obviously practice. But are there stretches or lifts or anything that will help me get height, power, and balance out of it? As of right now I just never use it because I feel it would put me in a worse state.
 
Yeah both static and dynamic stretches would help a lot. The best is just dynamic stretches. Just smooth controlled swings of your leg up in front of you, gradually increasing your range of motion will help tremendously.
 
Don't forget to raise the heel and come up on the toes of your supporting foot. You'd be surprised at how much power, range, and height you can add to your push kick by improving that one little movement.
 
jlagman said:
Don't forget to raise the heel and come up on the toes of your supporting foot. You'd be surprised at how much power, range, and height you can add to your push kick by improving that one little movement.
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I agree with jlagman, if you get up on the ball of your foot that is on the ground and push forward using your hips your body should naturally produce a lot more power and you should have better balance - I'm assuming you're probably doing it flat footed which is half of the problem. The other half of the problem is more than likely just your flexibility. So if you stretch and make a point to get off your heel when you do it and thrust your hips don't throw your leg at your opponent you'll get the hang of it.
 
Unless you are made of hard plastic, you should be able to stomach kick people of equal size. DOes not sound like flexibility. Your abdomen and hip flexors could be weak. Scissor leg raises may help. Throw kicks on off days. 100+.

If you have conditioning and technique, your body should be able to balance better.

You are supposed to struggle when you are new or stop for a while.
 
Yeah it's not really a power issue as much as I can't get my foot up that high, and I also have trouble extending straight out, my foot tends to go in a downward angle.
 
The higher you bring your knee the higher the kick will go. Being on the ball of the foot adds some height as well. You are still pretty new, in a couple of months you will be embarrassed about this thread. :redface:
 
Practice.

Sounds stupid but that is the best way to improve at anything.
 
I agree with getting the knee up higher. Flexibility helps more with karate type front kicks whereas the leg if going in an upward arc...you are raising the leg. The teep is more of a push the foot out type of kick and then tends to drop/scrape downward. Pushing out those hips at the last moment helps also. Years ago I used to hold my kicks out on a ladder and progress up a step over time doing my stretches there.
 
Get on your toes and turn your foot sideways (see Buakaw) this opens up your hips and lets you kick a lot higher even if you lack flexibility. Many beginner perform this kick with the support leg pointing forward and flat, which causes the problems you mention.
 
throw teep kicks when you are cooking, vacuuming, when no ones around at work and think about throwing them while your taking a dump
 
I would angle out the support leg, like the guy up there said. to open up your hips.
 
Altephor said:
Yeah it's not really a power issue as much as I can't get my foot up that high, and I also have trouble extending straight out, my foot tends to go in a downward angle.
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Just swing your leg in front of you as high as you can go, whilst keeping it straight. How high does it go? That will answer right away whether it is a flexibility issue.
 
I used to have the same poor flexibility 3-4 years ago. Now I can axe kick pretty much completely vertical. Dynamic stretching did this for me. Click here. I personally hate static stretching, I find it far inferior. And like someone else said, improve your core muscles.
 
RJ Powell said:
get rid of that beer gut.

haha jk
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honestly this sounds like what the problem is at first glance. I mean, shit, who can't lift their knee up to their chest and throw a kick at at least midsection height?
 
kick the bag, or the air 200 times a day as warmup or supplement to training.
 
dkickboxer said:
honestly this sounds like what the problem is at first glance. I mean, shit, who can't lift their knee up to their chest and throw a kick at at least midsection height?
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Someone who is very unflexible perhaps?
 
andrewbc said:
throw teep kicks when you are cooking, vacuuming, when no ones around at work and think about throwing them while your taking a dump
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Fuck that. keep throwing them while you're taking a dump!
 
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