Improving kick power/strength

[Touch Of Death]

well that's not surprising, there does seem to be a collective dimness about the forum, anyway I counted 3 one that doesn't know what terminal velocity is,one that gets confused between inches and minutes and you ,who doesn't seem to have an opinion of your own, just hitching on their coat tails

 

[Touch Of Death]

This guy seems to have it down, Just listen....

 

[jobo]

I suggest you practice your magic kicks, and show us a vid. I'd love to see it.

for someone who has stated they no longer wish to discuss the topic, your making a lot of posts discussing the topic. Do you have problems making decisions?

 

[ladolcevita]

Hey guys, thanks a ton for the helpful advice. It's nice to get a bit of education on the dynamics of it too

Wow. Just... wow.

@ladolcevita

Forget physics formulas and definitions. When you're facing the kicking shield , all of that goes out the window.

....

Very helpful response, thanks!

I have been kicking air a lot simply because I have nothing else so that's not benefiting me. It's mainly for technique/practice though. I've bought a kick shield in order to practice at home but I'll have to buy a BOB or century wavemaster. Does the wavemaster take up a lot of room? (I'm renting with not much space). Are there alternatives?

 

[Touch Of Death]

for someone who has stated they no longer wish to discuss the topic, your making a lot of posts discussing the topic. Do you have problems making decisions?

Do you have problems making friends?

 

[jobo]

Do you have problems making friends?

only with dim people who cant make decisions

 

[Touch Of Death]

only with dim people who cant make decisions

Why are you talking with dim people. Isn't there a site, where people understand your brilliance?

 

[jobo]

Why are you talking with dim people. Isn't there a site, where people understand your brilliance?

a lot of the folk here are reasonably smart, its just that the dim ones are trolling my posts for some reason. Then they say they are not going to discuss it further and my heart leaps with joy, and then they do anyway, bummer

 

[Touch Of Death]

a lot of the folk here are reasonably smart, its just that the dim ones are trolling my posts for some reason. Then they say they are not going to discuss it further and my heart leaps with joy, and then they do anyway, bummer

It happens.

 

[jks9199]

ATTENTION ALL USERS:

Please keep the conversation polite and respectful.

jks9199
Administrator

 

[Ironbear24]

Horse stance training.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I often see that quoted but is the wrong formula for body mechanics, you should use kinetic energy, which equals 1/2 x mass x velocity squared

That's valid, though it depends what point of the technique you're looking at. F=MA is appropriate if we're talking about the moment of impact, where A is the result of the speed of the attacking limb and the give of the attacked surface.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Don't get me wrong. This is a fascinating field. I just feel I would need a PhD in biomechanics to apply equations properly to the human movement. Maybe equations help some of us more than me. I feel better on the empiric way, so far.

There's a lot of truth in that, Marques. Even using the moment of impact and applying F=MA, you're still left (normally) with more than one force vector to calculate. And if a block is involved, there's a transfer of force through the blocking limb, and that's just a nightmare to even imagine the vectors and calculations.

I think most folks mention the formulae to communicate the concept. For instance, in discussing F=MA, we get to discuss the combination of speed (as a component of A) and getting more than the weight of the limb into the strike (as M).

The same would be true of the kinetic energy formula Jobo cited, which uses most of the same components. Neither will fully describe the damage (that's beyond a mere force/energy transferral), but they help some folks understand why focusing on one area doesn't generate the power they want.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Hey guys, thanks so much for taking the time to reply

So the general consensus is that the power lies in the technique foremost.

My technique is actually OK with the side kicks (I can get a really good pivot/momentum going) and I can stay in a chamber position for a long time when practicing slowly. So, I've got decent control over my body (even lifting the knee for a front kick is fine). In fact, I'd say my side kicks are very strong (I partnered with the teacher and he said it winded him).

But the release or "snap" from the lower leg in a front kick is another story. I couldn't make jelly wobble. For example, my partner is coming towards me with the strike shield and I'm supposed to kick/push them away with a front kick - but my snap of the kick is so pathetic that they barely move backwards.

I've asked my teacher for advice and he has showed me what to do (toes back, and push as though you're trying to push your foot through the opponent, etc) but the rest is down to me.

So what's the technique in a front-kick that makes it more powerful? How can you increase hip mobility/strength, and what exercises have helped you with your technique too?

Also, would plyometrics help at all?

Thanks

I'm wondering if you're not getting enough mass into the kick. If it's just your leg, it won't be enough. You need some of your bodyweight transferred into the kick, as well.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

not necessarily, it could travel a long way at a slowish speed or a shorter distance at a higher speed.

I think the point was that, given a constant acceleration (not precisely true, but sufficient for discussion), velocity = acceleration X time. The distance traveled increases the time under acceleration, thereby increasing speed. That assumes good technique, of course.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Because we are only talking a hundred K,s an hour at most.

There is never going to be an issue of terminal velocity. Acceleration will only stop when you run out of leg.

Or tendons, for those of us with poor flexibility.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

but that's not in fact logical. If I throw a ball it doesnt keep accelerating till it hits the target, does it, if I go flat out in my car it won't keep accelerating for ever. They accelerate and then move at a constant speed, then they decelerate

but this is,science and he has made a claim he can't support

But it does accelerate throughout your throwing motion, which is more analogous to the kick. Counting what happens after the throw (the ball's deceleration) is like considering what happens to your shoe if it flies off at the end of the kick.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

????that's not a front kick is it, we ate unless you forgot discussing karate front kicks

So, you're asserting that a throw has more in common with a front kick than a football kick does?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

so there isn't a max speed your leg can reach?

Theoretically, yes. Probably not something that is generated in the first 85% of a kick, though. And we can test that by trying kicks against targets closer than 85% of range. What we'd consistently find is that a good kick has its best power at nearly full extension. Anything reaching its max power much earlier will also be much weaker.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Theoretically, yes. Probably not something that is generated in the first 85% of a kick, though. And we can test that by trying kicks against targets closer than 85% of range. What we'd consistently find is that a good kick has its best power at nearly full extension. Anything reaching its max power much earlier will also be much weaker.

Also, dragging the foot from an angle, is different than driving it, in a straight line.