How to Have Fast Kicks?

[axelb]

Up to the other options surely valid, I have made it look fast being slow. As most of my training was under the rule 'do it slow', I was forced to hide kicks in footwork, fakes, feints and in combinations with hands. Pure speed was just not an option in regular training. Of course, if I can had speed to my other skills, it is a nightmare for the opponent (I said if I can; or you).

This is a great point, outside the physical training of having a fast kick.
A fast kick can be that you kick before they have the opportunity to recognize you are kicking.

Determine any telegraphing you may be doing when kicking.
Cover kick execution, someone of my most used combination:
jab, cross, push kick
turning/round kick, push kick.
fake/feint:
feint jab - push kick
fake low kick - push kick
fake jumping front kick, front kick.

timing the front kick to attack on their attack to intercept, learning to read their initializing movements.
I used to drill this frequently:
start with attacked coming with a lunge punch - front leg push kick/teep
drill this static, then move to more live drill moving around
then work the same as static drill with the attack not lunging, but with a cross, or an over hand punch.
progress to a live drill with moving around.

This is a great counter to make your front kick appear fast when it may be an average speed kick, just executing before they register it.

 

[JR 137]

And along the lines of the last two posts - if the don’t see the kick, it doesn’t matter how slow or fast your kick actually is. Throw it to or from your opponent’s blind spot, and they’re done.

I say that from personal experience. There’s a gentleman I regularly spar with on Tuesday nights who’s done that to me several times. A while back we were doing some point sparring. He got offline and in his combo I felt a light tap on the side of my head. I thought it was incidental contact but everyone’s hand went up for a point. I head “roundhouse kick; point.” The puzzled look on my face must’ve cued everyone to laugh, and I was told he hit me with a roundhouse to my head. I never saw it coming. He’s done it several times since (outside of point sparring), with the latest ones being Tuesday night. Apparently he got me twice without my knowledge. Both were a crescent kick that he turned into an axe kick onto my head. I saw the foot leave the ground, but that’s it. At the end of the round, I joked that I would’ve been KOed twice if he wanted to follow through (I saw and felt two kicks upside my head that I missed blocking). He and my teacher laughed and said there were two more I never saw. He showed me what he did after class. It was a simple getting off line and a fake to get me looking away, followed by his kick.

It’s like a sucker punch of sorts - impossible to block if you never see it coming. You wake up wondering what happened

 

[Regroove]

A couple of key things that works for me:

1. The set up before the kick
2. Relax

Octavio Quintero - THE ART OF JKD ONLINE

 

[Christopher Adamchek]

Dont do ankle weights (not that great for the ankle)

some good training tips for faster kicks

• squats (with or without weights)
• pistol squats
• frog hops
• short sprints
• lots of stretching
• hopping kicks
• double and triple kicks
• kicks from low stances
• kick timing so that the kick appears faster

 

[PhotonGuy]

What's the best way to develop FAST front kicks? Just wear ankle weights?

No, ankle weights I believe can have a detrimental effect and make you slower. Naturally your kicks will be slower when you use ankle weights do to the added weight. Therefore your body will get used to kicking slower and so your kicks will be slower, the opposite of what you want. If you want to develop speed I would say its best to practice kicking without any weights or resistance.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

No, ankle weights I believe can have a detrimental effect and make you slower. Naturally your kicks will be slower when you use ankle weights do to the added weight. Therefore your body will get used to kicking slower and so your kicks will be slower, the opposite of what you want. If you want to develop speed I would say its best to practice kicking without any weights or resistance.

Yeah, I think that sort of thing only works right before the kick (tricks the muscles into expecting more resistance), but not as a way of developing speed.

 

[jobo]

No, ankle weights I believe can have a detrimental effect and make you slower. Naturally your kicks will be slower when you use ankle weights do to the added weight. Therefore your body will get used to kicking slower and so your kicks will be slower, the opposite of what you want. If you want to develop speed I would say its best to practice kicking without any weights or resistance.

well no, not unless they are hugely large, they will slow acceleration from rest, but only marginal as there weight will be mins cule compared to the weight of your leg they may or may not slow the kicks velocity, or may or may not increase it as the extra momentum t will improve the velocity once you've over come the inertia, dependent on what type of kick

the science is that once you've trained your body to move fast with extra weight, removing that weight will make you faster again in much the same was that srinting with a big rubber band tied to you waist will make you faster when you sprint with out the rubber band.

 

[dvcochran]

well no, not unless they are hugely large, they will slow acceleration from rest, but only marginal as there weight will be mins cule compared to the weight of your leg they may or may not slow the kicks velocity, or may or may not increase it as the extra momentum t will improve the velocity once you've over come the inertia, dependent on what type of kick

the science is that once you've trained your body to move fast with extra weight, removing that weight will make you faster again in much the same was that srinting with a big rubber band tied to you waist will make you faster when you sprint with out the rubber band.

That is the best non-answer I have ever read.
Resistance band training is very effective. The resistance is from the ideal direction, compound, and limited. Adding ankle weights creates brief resistance at the beginning of the motion and then becomes uncontrolled and in the wrong direction as velocity takes over. This out of control motion can be very damaging to the knees from over extension.
I do not know if there are bands that allow a person to do a full high kick but it is a great idea. I picture the band pinned at ground level and strapped to the ankle. For side and roundhouse kicks (any non-front position kick) the wall could be used for balance. This would be excellent strength training.
For speed I strongly suggest working on technique with the mirror and a trainer/instructor. Kicks using a speed bag are very good. DON'T wait for the bag to stop moving and kick it. A LOT.
I hope @DavyKOTWF see this.

 

[jobo]

That is the best non-answer I have ever read.
Resistance band training is very effective. The resistance is from the ideal direction, compound, and limited. Adding ankle weights creates brief resistance at the beginning of the motion and then becomes uncontrolled and in the wrong direction as velocity takes over. This out of control motion can be very damaging to the knees from over extension.
I do not know if there are bands that allow a person to do a full high kick but it is a great idea. I picture the band pinned at ground level and strapped to the ankle. For side and roundhouse kicks (any non-front position kick) the wall could be used for balance. This would be excellent strength training.
For speed I strongly suggest working on technique with the mirror and a trainer/instructor. Kicks using a speed bag are very good. DON'T wait for the bag to stop moving and kick it. A LOT.
I hope @DavyKOTWF see this.

it's a none answer as no one is saying what the weight of the anckle weights are and as such they could range from not at at noticeable to so heavy you can't get you foot of the floor. in between there will be a sweet spot that allows extra resistance with control, I'm not sure they are worth the trouble myself, but they won't have the effect of making you slower, even if they don't do much for your speed, but I practice all my kicks with a fairly hefty pair of urban " police" boots on, as that what is I likely need to kick with, if I needed to kick someone, so doing that or having ankle weight that replicate the weight of your foot ware isn't a bad idea, if you don't want to kick a bag with your shoes on

 

[dvcochran]

it's a none answer as no one is saying what the weight of the anckle weights are and as such they could range from not at at noticeable to so heavy you can't get you foot of the floor. in between there will be a sweet spot that allows extra resistance with control, I'm not sure they are worth the trouble myself, but they won't have the effect of making you slower, even if they don't do much for your speed

For those with common sense the question of weight is implied. You run. Have you ever used the commercially available ankle weights? I am sure the OP was referring to them. They range from around 1/2 pound up to 10 pounds. If you are stupid (like I was) you wear two weights on the same leg.

 

[jobo]

For those with common sense the question of weight is implied. You run. Have you ever used the commercially available ankle weights? I am sure the OP was referring to them. They range from around 1/2 pound up to 10 pounds. If you are stupid (like I was) you wear two weights on the same leg.

well exactly, a range half a pound to ten is huge and where you choose to be in that range will make a significant difference to both restannce and control

 

[Buka]

Kicking with ankle weights is like snorting cocaine. Immediately upon removing the weights you can feel your feet flying really fast.......for about ten seconds.

Then the feeling is gone but you want it again.

 

[_Simon_]

Kicking with ankle weights is like snorting cocaine. Immediately upon removing the weights you can feel your feet flying really fast.......for about ten seconds.

Then the feeling is gone but you want it again.

Hahaha!

 

[JP3]

Not if you are using them to increase chambering speed.

My son uses ankle weights while just chambering into a side kick position or front kick position as fast as possible because the leg stays perpendicular with the ground it does not put pressure on the knee joint

CB, that's not... quite... accurate. If your son's lower leg is hanging down perpendicular to the ground, there's no lateral stress on the knee joint, but there an extra bit of axial stress running down the axis of the joint. I'd bet it doesn't matter for a young person though.

 

[MartialHermit8]

In my experience, physical exercises only go so far, the best way to get faster kicks to achieve a deeper state of relaxation before launching it. Practice standing meditations, sitting mediations, try to relax and explode, etc.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

In my experience, physical exercises only go so far, the best way to get faster kicks to achieve a deeper state of relaxation before launching it. Practice standing meditations, sitting mediations, try to relax and explode, etc.

I don't think it's quite reliable to expect to have a chance to meditate before a kick in most situations.