# Pregnant Yak tries TKD........



## Flatfish

Alrighty, this is the first time I videoed myself training.....ugh

Bit of background:

Started TKD at 43 with my kid, have been at it for a bit more than 2 years. We usually attend class twice a week and I slip in a sparring class whenever I can. I have some perpetual trouble with my left knee which has been flaring us since last week and my hip flexibility is $%$$%^&!!! I have been doing the heavy bag workout thing for about 3 months twice a week.

Watching this was quite enlightening. Here are some of the things I noticed.  
1) I still push my punches too much. Every once in a while I get it right but not consistently.
2) My round kicks look like ******. I know my left leg is horrible and I have been working on it but still a ways to go. Because of my  bum left knee, I was having trouble pivoting to the left when doing a right leg round kick. This might be why those look so bad or they could generally be that bad....I'll find out when my knee is better I guess.
3) I do not move around the bag enough...too stationary.
4) I will definitely record myself more often to see if I'm making progress.

I'm sure there are many other things I'm not doing right.

I will show this vid to my instructor as well to get her input but I thought I'd post it up here as well to hopefully get some meaningful suggestions.

I probably won't leave the video up for too long. I have some music vids on my youtube channel that might be more pleasing for people to watch than an overweight, middle aged mall ninjer .

Go have at it.


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## Dirty Dog

I'd agree with your self assessment, but bearing in mind that you've only been training for a couple years, it's not terrible.
If I could get you to change two things, it would be these:
1 - Control your hands. When you kick, you're not keeping any guard whatsoever. Your hands just sort of flail around wildly.








See how the hands are in close to the body? The head is out of range, due to the lean, so the hands are lower, but still protecting the body.

2 - Chamber your kicks. Your leg is really straight when it's coming up, which is robbing you of speed and power. You're also over rotating the turns on your spinning back kicks.

These are things that take a lot of practice, and honestly you look about like I'd expect from someone who is still pretty new at TKD.

Keep up the hard work, and thanks for posting.


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## Bill Mattocks

I don't know enough about TKD to properly comment on your form.  I admire your dedication and willingness to put yourself on video and share it.


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## Flatfish

Bill Mattocks said:


> I don't know enough about TKD to properly comment on your form.  I admire your dedication and willingness to put yourself on video and share it.




Yeah, my Giva-Crap broke a long time ago


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## Flatfish

Dirty Dog said:


> I'd agree with your self assessment, but bearing in mind that you've only been training for a couple years, it's not terrible.
> If I could get you to change two things, it would be these:
> 1 - Control your hands.
> 
> 2 - Chamber your kicks. Your leg is really straight when it's coming up, which is robbing you of speed and power. You're also over rotating the turns on your spinning back kicks.



Ah yes the hands, I keep getting told that in class as well...hard habit to break apparently.... Now that you mentioned it the helicoptering on the turning kicks looks especially hilarious.

One question though about the right arm when doing a right round kick. Don't at least some manuals teach to drop the right arm back for the reaction force thingy?

I think my chambering is generally better on my right leg when I don't have to worry about my knee (if that makes any sense at all) but I'll have to check that out.

I'll have to look into the over rotating issue...not sure how to address that.

Thanks for the comments!


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## Dirty Dog

Flatfish said:


> Ah yes the hands, I keep getting told that in class as well...hard habit to break apparently.... Now that you mentioned it the helicoptering on the turning kicks looks especially hilarious.



It's extremely difficult for some people to break this habit. I suspect most people do it to try to help with their balance, sort of like a wire walker using a long flexible pole to lower their center of gravity. Obviously, it's better to do balance exercises, and build core strength, instead.



Flatfish said:


> One question though about the right arm when doing a right round kick. Don't at least some manuals teach to drop the right arm back for the reaction force thingy?



Sure. Counter rotating the body by dropping the arm on the side of the kicking leg. That's sort of like extending the arm towards the target on a side kick (there are forms that will tell you to throw a punch or hammer fist while doing the side kick, but that's just silly - there's no way you can reach them with your hand if your distancing is correct for the kick).



Flatfish said:


> I think my chambering is generally better on my right leg when I don't have to worry about my knee (if that makes any sense at all) but I'll have to check that out.
> 
> I'll have to look into the over rotating issue...not sure how to address that.
> 
> Thanks for the comments!



Focus on getting the knee bent deeply when you're bringing the leg up and rotating the hips. Your chambered position should be with your knee flexed tightly, the lower leg parallel to the floor, and your knee pointing past the target.

When you're turning for the back kick, get your head around sooner, and work on your neck flexibility, so you can see the target without rotating so much. 








Note the position of the body and foot.
I think the name "spinning back kick" is somewhat misleading. If you're spinning when you kick, it just isn't going to be a back kick. It's going to end up as a side kick or hook kick, most likely. In the drawing, note that the turn is completely finished before the kicking foot ever comes off the floor. Think of it as turning your back to the target and then kicking like a horse. After the kick, you can use some of the force to rebound and turn back to your original position, or just step down with the kicking foot becoming the lead leg, as is shown in the drawing.


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## Flatfish

Thanks, my turning kicks were supposed to be either turning side or turning hooks LOL.....the hooks might be somewhat discernible but the side kicks are probably hard to see because of the missing chamber yet again.


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## Dirty Dog

Flatfish said:


> Thanks, my turning kicks were supposed to be either turning side or turning hooks LOL.....the hooks might be somewhat discernible but the side kicks are probably hard to see because of the missing chamber yet again.



In that case, they're under rotated, not over.  The other comments stand. If you're still turning when you kick, you cannot do a spinning side kick. I think you'll also find that the spinning side kick is a bit more difficult than the back kick. I'd work on both, but focus more on the back kick to start with.

You're also under rotating your hook kicks, and this is one kick where it's pretty much impossible to over rotate. As a result, you're hitting with the bottom of the foot (spreading out the impact and decreasing power) rather than the heel. 
When you do a spinning hook kick, you want to allow your hip to turn past the target, sort of dragging the leg along behind it, keeping your leg straight until contact (with the heel...) is made. Then flex the leg to follow through. If you pause after flexing the leg, your knee should be pointed at the target, not off to the side. The follow through is tough to do on a heavy bag, so you might consider moving back just a bit and extending the foot so you hit with the ball of the foot. Keep in mind that this is a sparring kick. For self defense, use the heel, always, just as you would use the ball of the foot rather than the instep for roundhouses in defensive situations.


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## MAfreak

since its easier to learn from watching an actual movement then from reading explanations, i'd recommend to search on youtube for "revolution of kicking" and the channel of kwonkicker. the details and training methods shown might help you to improve.


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## Bill Mattocks

Flatfish said:


> Ah yes the hands, I keep getting told that in class as well...hard habit to break apparently.... Now that you mentioned it the helicoptering on the turning kicks looks especially hilarious.


With regard to the arms, when we have students in our dojo that have that problem, we typically have them put their hands on their hips.  If they cannot restrain themselves from raising them up while kicking after that, we tell them to grip the lapels of their gi top.  Eventually we work them to the point where they are in a ready or 'kamae' stance while kicking.  It is definitely a tough habit to break.

It is true that the hands can serve a purpose to counterbalance a kick, but if they are where they can be grabbed, they will be; and when they are out somewhere else, they're not protecting your body.  Pluses and minuses, I guess.


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## SahBumNimRush

Thanks for posting!  Your instructor has probably brought this to your attention in the past, but you sound like you are straining/restricting your breathing (vocalized as the long "SHHHHHHHa").  This will wear you down quickly!  

Relaxing your throat during exhalation will expend less energy and allow you to train longer without being as gassed.  

Keep it up!


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## Dirty Dog

Oh... an addendum...
You don't LOOK pregnant... congratulations.


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## Flatfish

SahBumNimRush said:


> Thanks for posting!  Your instructor has probably brought this to your attention in the past, but you sound like you are straining/restricting your breathing (vocalized as the long "SHHHHHHHa").  This will wear you down quickly!
> 
> Relaxing your throat during exhalation will expend less energy and allow you to train longer without being as gassed.
> 
> Keep it up!




Interesting...it is my misguided attempt to not hold hold my breath which I am prone to do. Before watching the video I had not idea I was drawing that sound out so long. It is just supposed to be a quick exhale when I connect (in place of a kihap since I was a the Y and people there already think I'm weird)


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## Touch Of Death

Flatfish said:


> Alrighty, this is the first time I videoed myself training.....ugh
> 
> Bit of background:
> 
> Started TKD at 43 with my kid, have been at it for a bit more than 2 years. We usually attend class twice a week and I slip in a sparring class whenever I can. I have some perpetual trouble with my left knee which has been flaring us since last week and my hip flexibility is $%$$%^&!!! I have been doing the heavy bag workout thing for about 3 months twice a week.
> 
> Watching this was quite enlightening. Here are some of the things I noticed.
> 1) I still push my punches too much. Every once in a while I get it right but not consistently.
> 2) My round kicks look like ******. I know my left leg is horrible and I have been working on it but still a ways to go. Because of my  bum left knee, I was having trouble pivoting to the left when doing a right leg round kick. This might be why those look so bad or they could generally be that bad....I'll find out when my knee is better I guess.
> 3) I do not move around the bag enough...too stationary.
> 4) I will definitely record myself more often to see if I'm making progress.
> 
> I'm sure there are many other things I'm not doing right.
> 
> I will show this vid to my instructor as well to get her input but I thought I'd post it up here as well to hopefully get some meaningful suggestions.
> 
> I probably won't leave the video up for too long. I have some music vids on my youtube channel that might be more pleasing for people to watch than an overweight, middle aged mall ninjer .
> 
> Go have at it.


Lead with your knee. You are missing the first half of your kicks.


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## JowGaWolf

Flatfish said:


> Started TKD at 43 with my kid,


 This alone makes you awesome.  Now time for some reality checks
Very few people in their 40's and even in their 30's can do what you are doing.  You may find some here but we don't count. lol.  Take note of what the 30 + and 40+ people look like when you are out of the house and not in a gym. 

Stance training may help your knee problems. Stance training strengthens the tendons and ligaments. Only do stance training when your knee isn't acting up and don't get crazy with it. It's the standing in one position that strengthens and not how low you go. Never go beyond the comfort level of it being slightly challenging. 

1. Pushing punches - Don't worry about those too much. You realize you are doing it and that's the first step to correcting it.  The rest will take time. 
2. Your roundhouse - Your roundhouse should always be within your ability range.  It's fine if they aren't high because not every round house kick is aimed at the head.  Your kicks look rib height which is more than enough flexibility for a roundhouse. 
3.  As far as you not moving around the bag enough, it's not important unless you are specifically training footwork.  If you want to move around the bag more then you should put a piece of bright tape on the bag.  The goal is to always face the tape when you strike..simulating facing your opponent or to strike on the opposite side of the tape.. simulating trying to get your opponents back to strike.

Other than those 3 things.  You have the same issues that everyone else does or focuses on.   
Keep elbows close to the body when punching - no chicken wings.
Don't leave the hand out when jabbing.
Snap the kicks and don't leave the leg out or just let the leg fall to the floor.
Keeping the guard up when kicking.

Most important give yourself more credit. It seems like you have a realistic perception about your training as you pretty much know where you can make improvements. Everything else will just take time.  The more you do it the better you'll get.  Always listen to your body.


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## JR 137

When are you due?  Lol.  I'm genuinely laughing with you, not at you.  I tell people that "I'm trying to maintain my pregnant girlish figure."  You're not fat, but I'm pretty round.  All jokes aside...

The first thing I noticed was that you drop your hands before you kick.  Watching it a second time, I knew exactly when you were going to kick and when you were going to punch.  Perhaps being mindful of that will help you keep them up?

Your punches aren't "chambered" before you throw them.  They're a bit too far out when you start your punch.  Try to pull your fists in tighter/closer to your torso beforehand.  I'm not talking hands at the hips/waste/armpit like in forms, but they should be closer to you before punching.  This may help with adding more power and less push.

Finally, try practicing your techniques one at a time. I.e. do 10 front kicks with your right leg from a fighting stance, one at a time.  Then do the other leg.  Do front foot kicks and back foot kicks.  Do all your kicks and punches.  Basically, the same thing you probably do in class.  The bag will give you a realistic feel vs kicking and punching the air or even focus mitts.  Fine tune your techniques individually, then start throwing combinations.  Maybe use individual techniques as your warmup.

And don't be so critical of yourself.  99% of the people there would most likely fall on their faces and/or get hurt doing what you're doing.

I've been hitting a bag for a few months at my local Y.  I like to do a heavy/hard day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and do a light day on opposite days.  The heavy days consist of a combination of endurance and power.  Throwing hard and faster combos.  The light days consist of concentrating on form, and paying very close attention to footwork/hand position.  I really try to improve my combos on the light days by paying close attention to which hand starts a combo, where my foot lands and how my posture is.  I basically warm up, then take it slow, evaluating things like if I step closer and lead with a left jab will it be more or less effective?  Should I shuffle step or step straight in at an angle with this block/parry and punch with the top hand or bottom hand?   Stuff like that.  That's really helped me more than anything.  I take my time evaluating everything until it's comfortable, then speed it up a bit, doing it over and over, trying to ingrain it into muscle memory.  If you can't do this as often, maybe once a week out of the three times you go.

Being 39 and coming back into karate after a 15 year absence, I've learned that getting technical and picking apart everything is the way to go, rather than just trying to speed and power through it like I kind of got away with when I was in my 20s.  I've recorded myself a few times, and the video has helped me more than just about anything else.  One of these days when I figure out how to upload from my iPhone to YouTube, I'll post some videos too for feedback.

Sorry if I rambled.


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## JowGaWolf

JR 137 said:


> I've recorded myself a few times, and the video has helped me more than just about anything else.


 We don't have mirrors in our school which turns out to be a blessing.  We had to use video out of necessity, but it turns out that the video is more helpful.  We just put a phone at the other end of the room and start recording. After the first 5 minutes we forget that the class is even being recorded.  There are just somethings that you can't see in a mirror, but a camera will pick it up with no problem. If I had enough room for a fancy place to train, I'll probably leave the mirrors out.


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## JR 137

JowGaWolf said:


> We don't have mirrors in our school which turns out to be a blessing.  We had to use video out of necessity, but it turns out that the video is more helpful.  We just put a phone at the other end of the room and start recording. After the first 5 minutes we forget that the class is even being recorded.  There are just somethings that you can't see in a mirror, but a camera will pick it up with no problem. If I had enough room for a fancy place to train, I'll probably leave the mirrors out.



Mirrors don't help nearly as much as people think IMO.  They're great for checking your posture or seeing where blocks and strikes end up in solo drills and forms, but they're not that great for when you're moving.  There's a lot of things you miss.  And I think you develop tunnel vision where you're paying attention to one detail rather than the whole picture. Video shows just about the whole thing.  It shows transition, posture, etc.  And it's gets far better when you can slow it down and advance frame by frame at your own speed.  I use the Coach's Eye app.  I can do all that and draw on it, kind of like an ESPN analyst.  I got it when I was teaching squats in physical education.  I used it while rehabbing athletes (sports medicine), and now I use to analyze my heavy bag training.  I'm preparing for a tournament at the end of June, and I'll also use it for that.

I know it's available for Apple stuff, but there's also a GoPro button, so it's probably compatible with that too somehow.  Pretty sure it's available on all phone/tablet operating systems.  I don't know of anything comparable and haven't seen anything better.


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## Buka

I think you're doing great. Far more positive things than negative at your stage of training. I'll critique later if you want, I'm tired now. But nice, work.

Keep up the good work, you old f, you good good promise.


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## Tames D

@ Flatfish. You have the right attitude. Just stay with it.


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## Flatfish

Well thank you all very much for the input and the encouragement. Some very good pointers here. The videoing was infinitely helpful. There is a huge difference between what I thought I was doing and what I was actually doing.

@JowGaWolf @JR 137 I appreciate your comments and comparisons to the "majority of folks your age" out there. This might be true but stopping there isn't for me. I pushed myself pretty hard with my strength training (all calisthenics) and am pretty happy with being able to do some stuff that I don't see other people doing (of course they might be able to and just not enjoy that kind of stuff, dunno). I expect the same from myself with the MA training. Plus I'm getting into the higher  geup grades now and I do not want to be one of those black belts that have no idea what they're doing. I also realize that I'll never be fantastic at MA but I want to be solid.

TBH we are getting promoted fairly quickly after learning the new curriculum content for each grade (form, self defense and one step sparring) and I would be quite happy to not advance that fast and spend more time refining things. But it is a commercial school (albeit small) and they have to keep the customers (many kids) happy. It is what it is. OTOH, our teenage and adult Black Belts are actually quite good....I guess they kept training and refined.....


I spent some time this morning focusing on the round kick and the hands. For now I can get it to work if i don't worry too much about height. Not a huge difference, just a few inches make a difference.

I'll keep at it and will put up another vid in a few weeks.

Again thanks everyone for your comments.

F


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## Monkey Turned Wolf

Bill Mattocks said:


> If they cannot restrain themselves from raising them up while kicking after that, we tell them to grip the lapels of their gi top.


This is what we do as well. While sparring hands up, but drilling, if the person has the issue, they have to grab their gi top. They can move their hands around while drilling later to experiment with ody movement while kicking, but that's not until they get into the habit of having them on guard in the first place.

@Flatfish Outside of your hands while kicking, you look like you're doing great. I don't train TKD, but the issues that you mention (and that some others mentioned) aren't huge issues and will be fixed with time.


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## Kickboxer101

Your kicks are good.from the way your description sounded I expected them to be garbage but you've got a good snap in them and good technique like others have said your hands flail a bit but that's just a habit that'll come with training.

I'd say for your punches you need to put your body into it. Kind of looks like your throwing arm punches and not getting a huge amount of power in them twist your hips when you punch you'll get more power


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