Learning the art of kicking. Pointers?

[cms9690]

I recently took interest in learning how to strike with my legs, which is very different from anything else that I have tried.

I'm just looking for some pointers and a little guidance, can f11 steer me in the right direction?

Helpful Information (possibly?):
-I boxed from 11-17yrs of age as a youngling, so I'm very familiar with striking and being struck in general.
-Currently learning grappling as well (Just passed my first 90 days, woo)
-I train at an MMA gym where experienced leg strikers help me out, but I only make it out once or twice a week, so I'm trying to pick up everything that I can in the mean time.
-I currently do mild training with some shin guards that are for mountain biking, although they help a little.. the top part of my ankle/lower shin is still bruised up after a couple nights of bag work.

Questions:
-Should I learn a particular style of leg striking that is easy to transition to from boxing? (MTvsTKDvsKickBoxing, etc)
-Is it recommended to invest in something that is designed specifically for leg strikes? (http://www.performancemma.com/venum-shinguards-amazonia-black/?gclid=CLnV6qjA4bQCFYYWMgodzUwALg , example) Or will my body just adjust over time?
-Any "go to" 101 videos that any of you suggest?

Probably going to post a video of my noob-like leg strikes sooner or later, but just looking for some basic advice right now.

Thanks in advance F11.
**********Video Update**********

1/22/13

**********Video Update**********


Well, here it is. One week into this mess.

I saw myself doing a lot wrong and I can still tell that my boxing is rusty since I haven't trained it in a very long time. Overall I feel like I've made improvements, help me make more!

First part of video:
I warmed up shadowboxing and kicking the standing bag since it is easy on my legs.

Second part of video:
Heavy bag work, trying to incorporate kicks into my boxing repertoire and working on mid-level kicks.. This bag has all of the sand sunk to the bottom : /.

Third part of video:
Switched bags to something a little softer and was trying to work on my higher kicks.

 

[tkdyo]

Ive only done tkd and muay thai so I cant speak for kickboxing, but out of the two for a boxer, muay thai will make far and away more sense. The body positioning is much more similar to boxing in MT than tkd.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to invest in some shin pads, but its more for the safety of your sparring partners than yourself, your shins will adjust naturally over time.

I dont have any 101 vids tho, as Ive done all my learning in martial arts schools, and that is what Id recommend so you are getting constant feedback.

I went through the opposite process. I started in tkd for 5 years then went to mma, so I had to learn boxing/MT. While boxing concepts werent foreign to me they were not ingrained like they needed to be. Now I still dont feel super comfortable at punching range, but I feel good enough to hold my own. Hope the transition goes as smoothly for you!

 

[SummerStriker]

Do 100 kicks every day. Once you are sure you have the technique of a kick down to where you can correct yourself, try to get to 800 a day. You can get 800 done in an hour, no problem.

 

[cms9690]

Ive only done tkd and muay thai so I cant speak for kickboxing, but out of the two for a boxer, muay thai will make far and away more sense. 1.) The body positioning is much more similar to boxing in MT than tkd.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to invest in some shin pads, but its more for the safety of your sparring partners than yourself, 2.) your shins will adjust naturally over time.

3.) Hope the transition goes as smoothly for you!

1.) Most of the guys at my gym are MT focused for legs, so that is great news.
2.) So the bruising is a pretty natural process that I should just not worry about than?
3.) Thank you! Your post was very helpful.

Do 100 kicks every day. Once you are sure you have the technique of a kick down to where you can correct yourself, try to get to 800 a day. You can get 800 done in an hour, no problem.

I've actually been shadowboxing my kicks quite often after I stretch before bed, I can certainly see how it helps to do reps; especially with how akward my front kicks are since I'm used to carrying so much on my lead foot. :icon_lol:

 

[Discipulus]

Don't wear shinguards when kicking the bag. :wink:

 

[cms9690]

Don't wear shinguards when kicking the bag. :wink:

Heh, I'll try not to. I was switching between two bags the other night: Standing Heavy Bag VS Hanging Heavy Bag --What a F'n difference! The Standing Bag wasn't so bad and left me some room to try hitting it a little harder.. but the Hanging Bag just felt like I was kicking a pole to be quite honest, haha.

 

[Discipulus]

Yeah, always go hanging bag. I prefer to hit a bag that doesn't touch the ground, too. Not only do you get movement out of the bag, which is part of the bag's utility as a training tool, but you also get the full resistance out of the bag. It can hurt, and if your shins need rest at first then give it to them. But the bag is the best conditioning tool available to you.

 

[Paradigm]

Yeah, always go hanging bag. I prefer to hit a bag that doesn't touch the ground, too. Not only do you get movement out of the bag, which is part of the bag's utility as a training tool, but you also get the full resistance out of the bag. It can hurt, and if your shins need rest at first then give it to them. But the bag is the best conditioning tool available to you.

we have a bag strapped to a pole against the ring...i love kicking that thing. i understand needing to kick the swinging heavy bag for footwork purposes.

for whatever reason, kicking that bag against the pole just feels best to me...solid. pretty damn hard at the bottom, so good for shin conditioning.

 

[generalyum]

I'll be monitoring this thread, I'd love to get some pointers haha

 

[Phlog]

Keep your guard up!

 

[Marbig]

I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread. However, I am stuck in a similar situation (although I think I am much younger than you), so I'll just hang around looking for pointers.

 

[generalyum]

ttt

 

[bowlie]

I came from a boxing background too, although nowhere near as advanced as you, so I found kicking a problem. Like someone said practice the technique, alot. The first stage is learning to apply them outside of sparring. Once you get fast at kicking it will all fall into place. But it is weird not being able to utilize the jab.

 

[gauzyhanz]

I think it takes time to feel out the mechanics of your body. What I think helps is kicking in different situations. By this I mean don't just kick the heavy bag but drill kicks in shadow boxing, sparring (light/technique sparring is better to start off with), and thai pads just as much. And, I'm no kicking master but what I found helped me improve was to be conscious to engage and rotate the butt cheek of my kicking leg, this subsequently rotates the hips. Also, when I started Muay Thai my coaches were adamant in telling me I had to turn my ankle (the ankle of the foot that is on the ground) more while kicking. This made me focus too much on actually turning my ankle rather than turning my hips; ankle rotation is a byproduct of hip rotation. The most important thing is the rotation of your hips, if that is done correctly your foot, as well as other parts of your body, will follow. Lastly, it is good to search out little instructional videos on youtube to see if you doing everything correctly. From my experience, in a general sense, instructors from Thailand seem to have better advice that Western coaches.

-Drill kicks on the bag, shadow boxing, sparring, and thai pads
-Be conscious of hip rotation
-Watch instructional videos

 

[Marbig]

Slightly hijacking the thread, but I've got a question to ask on this topic.

I was recently taught by a muay thai buddy of mine to turn my leg when doing the low roundhouse kick so that the motion of the kick becomes a downward curve (or, if we're talking about start to finish, that of an upside down parabola). My question is: do I have to turn my leg down in the same motion as well for a kick to the body? What difference is there between a roundhouse kick to the legs, to the body and to the head (apart from flexibility required)?

Cheers.

 

[ghost scribble]

-Should I learn a particular style of leg striking that is easy to transition to from boxing? (MTvsTKDvsKickBoxing, etc)
-Is it recommended to invest in something that is designed specifically for leg strikes? (http://www.performancemma.com/venum-shinguards-amazonia-black/?gclid=CLnV6qjA4bQCFYYWMgodzUwALg , example) Or will my body just adjust over time?
-Any "go to" 101 videos that any of you suggest?

Probably going to post a video of my noob-like leg strikes sooner or later, but just looking for some basic advice right now.

Thanks in advance F11.

MT or kickboxing would be an easier transition than something like TKD or another TMA with your boxing background.

I would just say practice those, but there's also no reason you couldn't learn more traditional kicks like the front snap kick or back kick. You can still throw those from a boxing-like stance too.

It's really just about learning the kick itself, then making the little adjustments in your stance to be able to throw them as best as you can.

 

[ssullivan80]

Take your time and put together a good stretching routine. Both for pre and post workout and stay committed to doing it consistently. I'd also suggest committing a fair amount of that routine to focusing on stretching out your hips and back (particularly lower back).

 

[cms9690]

I came from a boxing background too, although nowhere near as advanced as you, so I found kicking a problem. Like someone said practice the technique, alot. The first stage is learning to apply them outside of sparring. Once you get fast at kicking it will all fall into place. But it is weird not being able to utilize the jab.

1.) Thank you for the compliment, but how do you figure that I have an advanced boxing background?
2.) Yeah! I've just kind of been using it to set up kicks since I started messing around with the style.

I think it takes time to feel out the mechanics of your body. What I think helps is kicking in different situations. By this I mean don't just kick the heavy bag but drill kicks in shadow boxing, sparring (light/technique sparring is better to start off with), and thai pads just as much. And, I'm no kicking master but what I found helped me improve was to be conscious to engage and rotate the butt cheek of my kicking leg, this subsequently rotates the hips. Also, when I started Muay Thai my coaches were adamant in telling me I had to turn my ankle (the ankle of the foot that is on the ground) more while kicking. This made me focus too much on actually turning my ankle rather than turning my hips; ankle rotation is a byproduct of hip rotation. The most important thing is the rotation of your hips, if that is done correctly your foot, as well as other parts of your body, will follow. Lastly, it is good to search out little instructional videos on youtube to see if you doing everything correctly. From my experience, in a general sense, instructors from Thailand seem to have better advice that Western coaches.

-Drill kicks on the bag, shadow boxing, sparring, and thai pads
-Be conscious of hip rotation
-Watch instructional videos

Thanks! This was great advice.
I have been trying to absorb everything that I can. I've noticed a lot that before you throw, you usually need to turn your foot that your posting with about 45 degrees outward so that you can swing your hips/leg more efficiently, is this kind of how it should go?

Slightly hijacking the thread, but I've got a question to ask on this topic.

I was recently taught by a muay thai buddy of mine to turn my leg when doing the low roundhouse kick so that the motion of the kick becomes a downward curve (or, if we're talking about start to finish, that of an upside down parabola). My question is: do I have to turn my leg down in the same motion as well for a kick to the body? What difference is there between a roundhouse kick to the legs, to the body and to the head (apart from flexibility required)?

Cheers.

I think the motion is in your hips that aids your leg in actually turning? Can someone help confirm this

Take your time and put together a good stretching routine. Both for pre and post workout and stay committed to doing it consistently. I'd also suggest committing a fair amount of that routine to focusing on stretching out your hips and back (particularly lower back).

I've been trying to stretch as often as possible, especially my hip flexors and glutes.

 

[Fire of Youth]

To figure out which type of kicking technique would be best for you, we need to know more about how you move. What type of a boxer are you (e.g. infighter, outfighter)? Do you sit in a low stance or stand in a high stance? Do you keep you fight square, bladed or side-on? Do you predominantly sit on your punches and create lateral movement or do you focus on pivoting and owning your centre-line? If you could provide a qucik video of you just doing some shadowboxing, then most of these questions can be answered. Then we may all be of better help to you.

 

[cms9690]

To figure out which type of kicking technique would be best for you, we need to know more about how you move. What type of a boxer are you (e.g. infighter, outfighter)? Do you sit in a low stance or stand in a high stance? Do you keep you fight square, bladed or side-on? Do you predominantly sit on your punches and create lateral movement or do you focus on pivoting and owning your centre-line? If you could provide a qucik video of you just doing some shadowboxing, then most of these questions can be answered. Then we may all be of better help to you.

That is what I was going to do initially, but I wanted to see what kind of turnover I would have from the inititial thread. I'll probably be posting a video tomorrow (hopefully).