Reader Question:
Hi Sang H. Kim,
My Name is Sohail From Scotland I am blue belt in taekwondo I have got your Complete Taekwondo Kicking and Aero Kicks as well. Thanks it's really helpful and great. I want to ask the folowing questions.
- Whenever I do turning kick my knee cross the target. Can you help me how can i avoid this so my knee don't cross the target? And during the side kick my knee drops. Can you tell me reason for that?
- I need to break the brick with my knuckle. Can can please help tell me which is the best way of conditioning the knuckles?
- What is the good exercises to achieve the muscle control?
Thanks,
Sohail
Answer from Sang H. Kim:
Hi Sohail,
It's good to hear from you. I have visited Scotland many times. It's very beautiful. In fact, the photo above was taken on one of my visits to Scotland.
Per your questions:
TURN KICK: At fighting stance, relax your body by lowering your arms slightly lower than usual and relax your shoulders. Bounce up and down lightly so that your entire body is not tight but loose. Turn your hip first - not your feet. When you turn your hip first, your knee and feet should follow naturally.
Hit the target without power. As long as you contact the target nice and smoothly, you will have power and speed in time. So be patient. Let the crossing leg go free in the way your body turns. It's like jumping across stones in a brook. You just touch them and go - not stomp on them. You just use enough force to cross the brook, right?
When you can do this, now do the hip turning quickly in one thought. ONE count and turn. Don't worry about the kicking part. When you have a good hip turn, you can have it all. The last thing you should be aware of is sighting. Quickly turn your head around and spot the target.
Practice gradually and internalize the process. Cut out anything that hinders your progress and modify it to fit your movement.
SIDE KICK: From fighting stance, bring your kicking knee up toward the target. Pivot your standing foot and turn your body completely to the side. Stretch your kicking knee out to the target, striking it with the blade of your foot. At this time, your toes are slightly lower than your heel. Keep your guard up, loosely. Make sure to retract your foot after kicking and land in fighting stance.
BREAKING: Get a sand bag (pure sand without pebbles). Strike it with your striking knuckles (straight punch, back fist, hammer fist) 3 times a day. Begin with 3 sets of 15 light strikes (total 45 per technique) in the morning. After lunch, do it again with more force. In the evening, do it again with more force. Dip your hands in cold water for 3 to 5 minutes after every session.
As you progress, punch harder and do it more frequently. After 4 weeks, you may practice against a thick telephone book. After 6 weeks, you may practice on a board wrapped with straw or rope. If this is too hard, wrap your hands with cloth (i.e. light hand wraps). After 8 weeks, again try bare knuckle practice against the board. After 10 to 12 weeks, you may begin to practice with tile. By this time you should have calluses built on your knuckles. It is important that you practice consistently without being in a hurry. BE CONSISTENT!
MUSCLE CONTROL: Running is good to develop your motor skills. Uphill running, downhill running, running in the sand and zig zag running are examples. I recommend using interval training. Do each exercise explosively for 15 seconds and rest for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat for 3 to 5 sets of each exercise, using a variety of different exercises. Sit ups and push ups are also good to do every day to build your major muscle groups that control your body.
I hope this helps you. If you need to know more about these topics, check out the ULTIMATE KICKING DRILLS video, ULTIMATE FLEXIBILITY book, and ULTIMATE FITNESS through MARTIAL ARTS book.
I wish you all the best in your training.
Sincerely,
Sang H. Kim