Instep kicks

[MaMaD]

Hi my friends
I have a problem but i don't know how serious it is, or it's just a common thing or not.
I'm practicing sanda.
because of take downs and stuff, in sanda we kick with insteps.
The problem is, when i land a powerful kick(on opponent's muscle), my instep hurts a lot, and after a few second, pain disappears, i mean only a little bit will remain. and it's not my instep's bones, it's like ligament or something.
I asked my partners about it, it didn't help much.
Now, if i just ignore the pain, and keep practicing, it gonna be okay after a while? or i need to take a step back and go to a doctor? anyone had same problem?
Thanks for your help.

 

[jobo]

Hi my friends
I have a problem but i don't know how serious it is, or it's just a common thing or not.
I'm practicing sanda.
because of take downs and stuff, in sanda we kick with insteps.
The problem is, when i land a powerful kick(on opponent's muscle), my instep hurts a lot, and after a few second, pain disappears, i mean only a little bit will remain. and it's not my instep's bones, it's like ligament or something.
I asked my partners about it, it didn't help much.
Now, if i just ignore the pain, and keep practicing, it gonna be okay after a while? or i need to take a step back and go to a doctor? anyone had same problem?
Thanks for your help.

well from what you describe, id suggest through the impact you are moving the foot to a greater extent than your mobility will allow pulling therefore on the muscles/ tendons . Mobility and strengh exercises seems to be the way to go ? . If I told my dr that when I kick someone very hard it hurts, he would tell me to stop kicking people..

If its just the sensation of pain through banging the soft tissue, that will become less acute if you keep doing it. Contact sport in general has the effect of raising your pain threshold to suit the activerty

 

[hoshin1600]

if its muscle tendon pain , it sounds to me like you are kicking too far down toward the toes. try moving the impact spot up to the ankle more.

 

[Buka]

And get some shin and instep pads.

 

[drop bear]

hit with your heel instead.

Wait instep as in figure 1.

Or figure 2.

 

[drop bear]

otherwise i just found this.

 

[Midnight-shadow]

hit with your heel instead.

Wait instep as in figure 1.

Or figure 2.

I'm guessing figure 2, which is what you use for a roundhouse kick. It's rather hard to impact using the heel during a roundhouse kick.

 

[drop bear]

I'm guessing figure 2, which is what you use for a roundhouse kick. It's rather hard to impact using the heel during a roundhouse kick.

Well yeah. But if it is figure one he would be ok.

Otherwise the same sort of trainimg for shin splints may help with pain during a round house kick.
4 Exercises to Prevent Shin Splints

They are good for kickers anyway.

 

[paitingman]

Making contact too near the toes will cause the tendons and muscles on the top of your foot to stretch and is pretty uncomfortable.

Otherwise it does often kinda smart at first when kicking with the instep. As long as you are using good technique and being careful, your feet will become more accustomed to bashing into stuff with the instep.

 

[MaMaD]

And get some shin and instep pads.

I have, i think i have some problem when it comes to control kick power, you know like slow it down, at least in training.

 

[Mou Meng Gung Fu]

When we practice in-step kicks in my style, we wear shoes, which provides some support but still only offers limited protection. I personally prefer shin-kicks, as I feel they are more powerful and less likely to injure you if trained properly. It may de-sensitize your shins after a while, though. It also requires a good in-game, as you'll have to be closer in range to do a shin-kick.

 

[Andrew Green]

because of take downs and stuff, in sanda we kick with insteps.

Off topic perhaps, but can you expand on that a bit? MMA has takedowns, and I can't think of many fighters that kick with their instep instead of shins.

To me kicking with insteps just seems like a bad idea and injured feet.

 

[JR 137]

Off topic perhaps, but can you expand on that a bit? MMA has takedowns, and I can't think of many fighters that kick with their instep instead of shins.

To me kicking with insteps just seems like a bad idea and injured feet.

I too have always wondered why people would rather kick with their instep instead of the shin. The shin is harder and far less flexible.

The only advantage I see is hitting with the instep would have a longer range

 

[drop bear]

It is a bit harder to catch. Sort of.

 

[paitingman]

Off topic perhaps, but can you expand on that a bit? MMA has takedowns, and I can't think of many fighters that kick with their instep instead of shins.

To me kicking with insteps just seems like a bad idea and injured feet.

They are a bit harder to catch. Range is longer. and it's like connecting with the end of the whip for flicking/slapping kicks.

The main reason in tkd is combination kicking.
It is very difficult if not impossible to follow up a well connected shin-kick with any other leg technique besides a knee or following up with the same leg and shin-kicking again.

If you connect with the instep, you are still free to immediately kick with the other foot, spin, or kick again without putting your foot down.

 

[oftheherd1]

Off topic perhaps, but can you expand on that a bit? MMA has takedowns, and I can't think of many fighters that kick with their instep instead of shins.

To me kicking with insteps just seems like a bad idea and injured feet.

I too have always wondered why people would rather kick with their instep instead of the shin. The shin is harder and far less flexible.

The only advantage I see is hitting with the instep would have a longer range

In the Hapkido I studied, we also used the instep, the arch, or the heel. I was at first uncomfortable with it since in the Taekwondo I studied, we used the ball of the feet or sometimes depending, the heel. But with practice, it works OK.

I personally always worried about the shin as a bone that could more easily break.

 

[Andrew Green]

I personally always worried about the shin as a bone that could more easily break.

Shin is a big bone, the little bones of the instep will break far easier then the shin

 

[JR 137]

Shin is a big bone, the little bones of the instep will break far easier then the shin

Not to mention all the small ligaments, tendons, and cartilage that help keep it all together.

The shin is like a baseball bat, whereas the instep/ankle area is more like a bag of wooden marbles IMO.

I'm not saying the instep is never the better choice, I'm just saying I'll use the shin 9 times out of 10. Then again, I'm almost always targeting the legs, followed by the ribs, and very rarely the head. If I need to keep someone away, they'll get the instep. If it's my normal range, they're getting the shin.

 

[oftheherd1]

Shin is a big bone, the little bones of the instep will break far easier then the shin

I know that is arguable, but the forces put on the shin bone can are such that because of the weight of the lower shin and foot, breaking is a danger.

But I honestly don't know how many times more a shin would be broken vs the instep. I was uncomfortable with an instep kick when I stared Hapkido. But I got used to it. Even so there were times when I defaulted to a kick with the ball of the foot. Latent memory?

 

[TonyU]

It's been my experience when I see people break their shin bones it's because of improper training and execution.
The shin bone is more oval than round. So if you don't fully commit and execute the kick properly and hit with a slight angle and the impact is to the inside of the leg there is a greater chance of breakage. Think a ruler or a flat piece of wood. If you hit with the edge it's a lot sturdy. Hit with the flat side it's going to flex and break.
As far as instep we (thus I) do tsumasaki geri or toe kicks. They are effective towards flesh and sensitive areas. Allows for penetration into small openings within the opponents guard. Since I stopped with instep and ball I've had less injuries to my foot. Counter intuitive, I know. Also that option/concept is easily transferable to the street since a good boot, shoe, or sneaker won't allow me to pull my toes back anyway and the tips are very sturdy and effective as well.