ThuNder_FoOt said:
I'm unsure as to what type of round kick you throw, but the types I have learned require a good amount of hip flexibility to be thrown effectively. Power is only lost if you don't have the flexibility to effectively rotate your hip at that range.
You lose power any time you extend above the plane of the hips. That's basic biomechanics. It may be only a little, but you're still sacrificing power for the additional height.
Range is shortened by a little bit, yes. Granted, one can pull the kick off without the said flexibility, but the more he /she improves flexibility, the better the kick will become. Along with improvements on recovery time, follow-ups, etc.
Still wouldn't really credit flexibility for that over leg strength.
Are you talking in terms of flexibility? If so, as long as you maintain good muscle control, you wont run into any problems. It will actually improve your returns... especially talking in terms of aging.
Not if you knees and hips are popping out of the joints etc.
I disagree. If you are talking about self-defense situations, they are completely random. You can't predict what will happen in an SD situation, and I wouldn't rule out a head kick. Many styles use them in self-defense (TKD included), and you never know when you may need to call upon one. So I'm unsure as to exactly what you mean here.
Some kicks are higher percentage than others in terms of risk vs reward. While I agree that you don't want to rule them out alltogether, I won't say that a 360 degree butterfly kick's an equally effective response as a side kick to the knee probably would be etc.
Sure, but what about in combination with other kicks?
Still not sure how kicking
really high twice is better training for that than kicking low, then high and/or mid.
A moving target? a counter?
Plenty of good opportunities offered through low kicks in these situations.
Kicking high is just one of the many ways you can build the dexterity to use the variations of kicks and so on. There may be other methods to do the same thing, but this can help too.
I just don't see the gains to be had from drilling high kicks exclusively. (As SW seems to suggest.) They are not a pancea. If that's not what you're saying, I apoligize.
A person can kick a little higher than normal and still have a potential target they are aiming for. What if you're in a situation where someone is taller than you? Or one where your opponent is elevated somewhat?
That would tend to mean that going for their head would be more difficult and you'd risk more than you gained for going after the target even if you connected.
Also, what happens when you fight someone shorter or the same height as you?
What if you're fighting mulitple opponents? The target level can change, there isn't a standard as to where one should place a mental target for kicking.
Yep. That's why there are high, middle, and low targets. I could also argue that if you can adjust a high kick down a few inches, it doesn't take much to adjust a technique upwards if the situation calls for it.
By all means, I'm not saying replace all lowline kicks for high ones. I'm just bringing up a point in that a person who has mastered high-level kicking is more prone to be adept in the different kicking ranges, than the reverse. But if a person doesn't feel a need for the reverse (i.e. high-section kiking) thats their opinion. They are only limiting themselves. Lastly, there may be other ways to develop similar qualities, but this will still help nonetheless.
:asian: :asian:
I'd still argue that the reason someone who has mastered high kicks is more effective than someone who hasn't is usually because the non high kicker tends to be less experienced all around. Gaining that flexibility takes time usually, and even in the cases where someone (say, a dancer) comes in with high flexibility, they probably won't be throwing technically sound , powerful kicks in short order until they bring the rest of the needed musculature etc up to speed.
