[Muay Thai] Pain in foot when kicking

[curlyface]

As title says.. I have an issue with kicking pads. It's been around 5 months now. When I kick the bag or do literally anything else I have 0 pain. But as soon as I kick the pads, because of how wide 2 pads side by side are when someone is holding them for me, my foot (as well as shin) hits the pad and I get a shooting pain around my small toe. I've had it xray'd and found nothing. I can kick a pad exactly one time before I got the shooting pain and them I'm unable to kick it anymore, but am able to do anything else with no pain at all. I took 6 weeks off kicking with my right foot to let it heal but it again, 1 kick later and it's back to sharp pain.
I am looking for either:
1. An idea of what it could be that causes it and maybe how I could heal it
2. to change my kick so I don't hit that part of my foot on the pad. I've noticed a lot of thais kick slightly differently from me in that when my shin/foot hit that pad I hit closer to the middle of my shin and the outside of my foot but a lot of thais kick with the inside of their shin, right above the ankle. I think this would allow my pinky toe to miss the pad.

I've attached an image to show where the pain is.

What I mean by the kicking..

I kick with this part:

But from my observation, the thais kick with this part



Looking for some thoughts/advice on whether I should change my kicking style or if there's something I can do about the pain..

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

Yes change your kicking style so you land with the inside bladed part of your shin.

Also if it hurts, don't do it!

 

[freaky]

I don't understand the picture. I kick with the front part of the shin, first picture?

I don't understand why the pain is near the pinky toe. Try kicking it slower and see where/how it's happening. I think it's the pad holder slamming/jamming the pad into your toe. Are you a manlet? If the pads are too wide, tell the pad holder to narrow it; elbow to elbow.

I have a weird problem myself. I can't extend my feet all the way, so my feet is always kind of sticking out. When I kick pads, my foott would always hit first and kind of jam my foot/spraining my ankles. It's a lot better now cuz the coach would hold it more narrowly for me.

Perhaps, post a video of you kicking the bag/pads. So we can see your technique. I think you're jamming your toe or kicking improperly. Or maybe you're like me and can't extend your feet all the way. Either way, next time do it slowly and try to land it on your shin. Maybe you will notice that it's your toes landing first thus jamming it.

Post vid plox.

 

[4daLuLZ]

As title says.. I have an issue with kicking pads. It's been around 5 months now. When I kick the bag or do literally anything else I have 0 pain. But as soon as I kick the pads, because of how wide 2 pads side by side are when someone is holding them for me, my foot (as well as shin) hits the pad and I get a shooting pain around my small toe. I've had it xray'd and found nothing. I can kick a pad exactly one time before I got the shooting pain and them I'm unable to kick it anymore, but am able to do anything else with no pain at all. I took 6 weeks off kicking with my right foot to let it heal but it again, 1 kick later and it's back to sharp pain.
I am looking for either:
1. An idea of what it could be that causes it and maybe how I could heal it
2. to change my kick so I don't hit that part of my foot on the pad. I've noticed a lot of thais kick slightly differently from me in that when my shin/foot hit that pad I hit closer to the middle of my shin and the outside of my foot but a lot of thais kick with the inside of their shin, right above the ankle. I think this would allow my pinky toe to miss the pad.

I've attached an image to show where the pain is.

What I mean by the kicking..

I kick with this part:

But from my observation, the thais kick with this part



Looking for some thoughts/advice on whether I should change my kicking style or if there's something I can do about the pain..

In Khazakistan, pain in foot mean GREAT SUCCESS !!!
It mean you have a kicked your wife successfully.
My father say "Lulz, don't beat your sister !"
I say back "Shut up brother, mama not plowing the field a properly."

 

[curlyface]

I don't understand the picture. I kick with the front part of the shin, first picture?

I don't understand why the pain is near the pinky toe. Try kicking it slower and see where/how it's happening. I think it's the pad holder slamming/jamming the pad into your toe. Are you a manlet? If the pads are too wide, tell the pad holder to narrow it; elbow to elbow.

I have a weird problem myself. I can't extend my feet all the way, so my feet is always kind of sticking out. When I kick pads, my foott would always hit first and kind of jam my foot/spraining my ankles. It's a lot better now cuz the coach would hold it more narrowly for me.

Perhaps, post a video of you kicking the bag/pads. So we can see your technique. I think you're jamming your toe or kicking improperly. Or maybe you're like me and can't extend your feet all the way. Either way, next time do it slowly and try to land it on your shin. Maybe you will notice that it's your toes landing first thus jamming it.

Post vid plox.

Yes I have the manlet issue at 5'6 so when I kick at 2 Thai pads side by side my whole shit and my whole foot hits the pads. Most of the force goes to my shin but some still goes to my foot and that's where the issue lies.

Not sure how to kick with the inside of the shin, probably something I have to figure out

 

[Paradigm]

Yes I have the manlet issue at 5'6 so when I kick at 2 Thai pads side by side my whole shit and my whole foot hits the pads. Most of the force goes to my shin but some still goes to my foot and that's where the issue lies.

Not sure how to kick with the inside of the shin, probably something I have to figure out

If you're that small, the padholder probably only needs to hold one pad up, this solving your toe issue.

All kidding aside, it's kind of hard to diagnose this without a vid or pic.

Maybe your pad holder is turning his left pad inwards slightly on your right roundhouse, causing the edge to stick out a bit and thus having your pinky toe side of your foot hitting first?

 

[freaky]

Yes I have the manlet issue at 5'6 so when I kick at 2 Thai pads side by side my whole shit and my whole foot hits the pads. Most of the force goes to my shin but some still goes to my foot and that's where the issue lies.

Not sure how to kick with the inside of the shin, probably something I have to figure out

Actually you're suppose to hit pads with everything. That's why a lot of coaches purposely spread the pads apart. I have long legs so my instep hits the side which hurts like a MF.

 

[curlyface]

Actually you're suppose to hit pads with everything. That's why a lot of coaches purposely spread the pads apart. I have long legs so my instep hits the side which hurts like a MF.

Right and that's exactly my point between my kick and the, what I assume, "proper" thai kick which its with the inside of the shin and thus your instep hits the pad. I hit with the front of my shit and therefore the top of my foot hits the pad leading to the damage done to my ligament I assume..

 

[freaky]

Right and that's exactly my point between my kick and the, what I assume, "proper" thai kick which its with the inside of the shin and thus your instep hits the pad. I hit with the front of my shit and therefore the top of my foot hits the pad leading to the damage done to my ligament I assume..

need videos to see your technique.
But I'm thinking perhaps you're kicking from too far away and you're hitting it near the end of your kick. What I mean is your front leg should be on your opponent's outside, so you can kick through with your rear. Sounds like you have too much hip rotation or something. Try to kick through in a straight line at 90 degrees. It could also be the pad holder is holding it at too great of an angle, idk...Need vids.

Either vids of you kicking bags or shadow boxing so we can see your technique. Or videos of you kicking the pads. Or both. Prefer both.

 

[curlyface]

need videos to see your technique.
But I'm thinking perhaps you're kicking from too far away and you're hitting it near the end of your kick. What I mean is your front leg should be on your opponent's outside, so you can kick through with your rear. Sounds like you have too much hip rotation or something. Try to kick through in a straight line at 90 degrees. It could also be the pad holder is holding it at too great of an angle, idk...Need vids.

Either vids of you kicking bags or shadow boxing so we can see your technique. Or videos of you kicking the pads. Or both. Prefer both.

Will try to get one tonight, thanks!

 

[Paradigm]

Right and that's exactly my point between my kick and the, what I assume, "proper" thai kick which its with the inside of the shin and thus your instep hits the pad. I hit with the front of my shit and therefore the top of my foot hits the pad leading to the damage done to my ligament I assume..

The thing to remember is that the human body is curved and you wont be hitting your foot (that much) when kicking a person. I've had people comment that I hit with my foot too much when kicking pads...how the hell are you supposed to kick pads without any part of it touching your foot? It's just not physically possible, unless the pads are super skinny or your shin is extra long.

I mean...is Yodsanklai doing it wrong here? Because his foot is clearly hitting the outside pad...

Or Buakaw? I just picked those guys because there's ample stuff on Google.

At some point kicking pads, you are going to hit your foot. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless something breaks or you're in severe pain.

My guess is that you're not opening your hips enough when kicking...but not in the normal sense of shrimping your kicks by not opening the hips enough. I'm talking about the angle of your foot/leg/knee when it hits the pads.

If your kick is turned over too much, your knee will be pointing towards the ground, which will probably result in your pinky toe side of the foot hitting first. I see some beginners kicking like that and usually try to correct it by having them lead with the hips more and kick more with the knee coming up first to try to correct the angle until they can figure it out and then adjust on their own from there.

Hard to explain with words but basically kick on a more upward angle, instead of bringing it straight across into the target. You might think you're kicking straight into the target but your knee is probably pointing down...just a guess.