TKD instructor wants to train slow kicking (muscle control), why?

[spacetime]

yeah thats the point, to develop the balance necessary to do the techniques, the best way is to practice the technique. try doing 1 without falling off balance, then doing 5 in a row, 10 in a row. working to find your balance.

the hardest kicks are on the leg that isn't normally your support leg. as southpaw, i can do most kicks slowly on my right leg as supporting leg, but if I switch to left leg supporting, its hard to do a slow roundhouse.

if you don't want to practice the technique, try 1-legged exercises to develop balance on one leg. most of the calistenics I do are on 1 leg. bulgarian split squat, 1-leg RDLs, and 1-leg burpees (this one is my favorite lol).

and for dynamic stretches, I do high kicks (try doing these without holding onto something, just kick out and use your swinging arm to balance), leg circles (like an axe/crescent kick) , knee circles. All of these develop balancing on one leg, you'll look like an idiot when you first attempt them bc you're falling all over the place, but I do them always before a jog or conditioning class and I've gotten pretty good at balance. and if you do yoga, get into tree pose for extended periods of time

I have trained for a year.. I train it as a martial art to keep me in shape. My instructors TKD experience dates back to 1966 (the founding of ITF) in which there was no sport element and these fansy balerina stuff was nowhere to bee seen. I only train to destroy. I do not compete, nor do I have any intention to.

 

[spacetime]

Is it really that uncommon that you can only perform techniques at full speed?

 

[Paradigm]

I don't know what to tell you besides that fact that you need to train things that you sometimes are unable to do at first before you can do them.

going through kicks slowly help with your balance and stabilizer muscles.

take checking in Muay Thai, for instance. some new students can't even hold a check in place with their thigh parallel to the ground for more than a second or two. either they can't keep their leg up or they don't have the balance to do it. the muscles that are required to perform the check havent been trained strong enough sometimes because it's not a normal motion for people to do in real life.