Hi and welcome to week three of my Chi Combat System Blog, I thought I would start off by giving feedback on the effects of last week’s discussion on ‘improving your side kick’. I’ve continued with the leg strengthening techniques as shown in the YouTube videos and have found my control to be much better and you can now see the kick as a form and not as a lumpy mess which it was before. My Teacher (Subumnim) has continued with strengthening exercises during our martial arts classes and we are all looking much better now. Later in the blog I’ll go through some of those exercises, but for now I would like to talk about how to take it to the next level and really improve.
I felt I didn’t really tackle YouTube properly last week so this time I’m looking to explain how much deeper you can actually go. When learning a new martial art or technique it is crucially important to analyze every movement right down to smallest of detail. Using a ‘side kick’ as a prime example I would first look at different martial arts styles and watch over and over again one particular sub routine of the technique.
The first thing to note is the footwork, as you know this fascinates me. Without good footwork unless you are Mike Tyson, you are nothing. So I’ve got together a small directory of good examples of ‘side kicks’, the first thing I’ve analyzed is the supporting leg and its foot position. What does the foot look like in ready stance, what does it do to maintain your balance through your technique and what does it need to do to get you back to the ready stance. There is no point executing a great side kick if you lose shape and position after it’s completed.
The next phase is the hips and supporting leg movement, generally you drop your weight to give yourself the balance you need and open up your hips to increase your range of movement. The side kick is no different and this is probably the most vital part, this is also where the supporting leg and strength training comes in. it is vital that your foot, supporting leg and hips move in unison and worth practicing these movements together as slowly as possible to aid strength and balance. Also closing your eyes and doing the above is a great way to improve balance.
The striking leg and upper torso movement is next, I’ve grouped these together because they work in unison and you cannot get the range or height without adjusting the position of your torso. The real power in my opinion comes from a fulcrum effect as you lean back and strike at the same time. It is important to take note of the starting and end position of the striking leg so that you know what you are trying to achieve. Just practicing these movements on their own as a sub routine is vital to building strength and power, the next stage is to combine sections one and two together to really get things improving.
The last stage is the arms and head, the arms are vital for balance and defense as protecting your face is vital during any attack. Your head is the heaviest part of your body so consideration needs to be made as it not only affects your balance but also your end position. Keeping both of these under control and in a correct position is key to the overall balance.
So now we have gone through each aspect of the side kick you can see how much detail needs to go into executing this technique. Some do this naturally without consciousness; some like me need a complete analytical breakdown before having a ‘nervous brake down’. Once you successfully complete these stages you need to add all the above sections together and produce a kick with accuracy and power that’s suits your body mechanics and martial art. If it is not working you then go back to the individual sub routing and improve that phase.
The combinations that will help you improve are things like, front kick into side kick into hook kick whilst standing on one leg. This is a great exercise because it makes you do a different technique to start with therefore you have to adjust and build strength to execute the side kick, you then have to finish the ‘side kick’ in a position that means you can execute another kick so you have to improve your balance as well. The more combinations you can put together, the stronger and more balanced you become. There is no point doing lots of combinations and not being accurate or meaningful, slow it down, start off small and work your way up.
Good luck and enjoy your martial arts!
Pil Sung!
