Martial Arts School in Croydon - teaching martial arts from the ground up.

Side Kick training continued and improved

2010-03-15T04:53:00.001-07:00

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!

Side Kick Training

2010-03-07T03:29:00.000-08:00

Hi again, it’s a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and I'm inside writing a blog about martial arts, I must be mad? This week’s discussion is on 'side kicks' and using YouTube to improve technique. The reason for this is my side kick is not good enough and I've got grading in two weeks time and the side kick is part of that grading. So what have I done about this?

The basic problem with a side kick is balance and either the flexibility or strength of your supporting leg. In my case it’s all three, I've spoken to my Subumnim (teacher) who has given me some great exercises to practice and has also incorporated the side kick into a lot of our martial arts classes. This approach is working well as my side kick is now improving, but it’s still not good enough.

To truly get better at something you have to take some responsibility for yourself, so I follow my Subumnim’s good advice at work. Take myself off every few hours and instead of having a cigarette break I have a 'side kick break' this involves some stretching and doing 30 sidekicks on each leg. This will be built up over time when my legs get stronger and my muscles remember the movement. This is also a great way to re-energise myself, get the blood circulating and refocus my mind as I sit in front of a computer all day I get stale and lethargic.

The next stage is to watch other people and learn from other martial arts that are known for their kicking techniques, my Subumnim does this very well. YouTube is for me the place to go so I can obsess over other martial artist’s techniques and footwork. Footwork incidentally is my passion, if I watch UFC (Go Dan Hardy UFC 111!), Muay Thai or boxing, for example, I'm glued to their feet and watch with great intensity how they manipulate their body postions through minor footwork changes whilst transitioning through techniques without losing balance - it’s all about the footwork!

I found some great demo videos which are in the Chi Combat System favourites on our YouTube channel; I've watched them over and over again and practiced the drills prescribed.

I've taken the best parts out of each video and practiced them Friday night, before Chi Combat training yesterday and again this morning (I told you I was obsessed). The static positions are excellent as they put your body in line with the kick itself and develop your core strength and balance. Balance is a vital component because when you finish your kick you need to remain in a strong stance and keep your shape which you can't do without good balance.

I'm not sure if there is a best way to do a 'side kick', there are too many good examples out there. The key to your own development is which type works best for you according to your body make up and own personal body mechanics. The thing I like best about Chi Combat System is the fact that it takes all these great skills and blends them into one technique, a 'side kick' cannot be slow, the power has to be directed straight through your body and you have to finish it in a position that will allow you to effectively continue your attack or defence.

I hope you found this interesting and useful, till next week...

Pil Suhng!

Chi Combat System martial arts blog

2010-02-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

My first blog is a quick introduction to me:

Every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday night I have trouble sleeping. This is because I have martial arts training with Chi Combat System the following day, I lie in bed much to my partner’s displeasure thinking about combinations, footwork and attitude – yes attitude.

I do not practice the best martial arts in the world I practice the best martial art for me. That’s an important distinction to make as I believe any form has its strengths and weaknesses and is only as good as the student who practices it.

My first teacher, a very humble and kind man who I have a lot to thank for was a second generation student of Wong Shun Leung, he has many photos and fascinating stories to tell of this great master and was actually taught in his first School lesson in Hong Kong in the early 70’s. Our paths crossed purely by chance through business and he took me into his home and taught me the Wing Chun forms and ideals as they were taught to him. In his front room with the furniture pushed back and cat running for dear life we would drill forms and applications all day Sundays and as many evenings a week as I could get him to agree to.

His kind wife would bring in Green Tea and biscuits whilst opening windows to let in much needed air and release the smell of hot sweaty bodies. We haven’t trained together for over a year now to my regret but he taught me so much in the time we had together things are still falling into place now over a year later. I cannot comprehend his level of knowledge or skill, I am just proud to of had a glimpse of it.

I have also enjoyed the brutal world of Systema the Russian martial art that truly has to be seen to be believed, it’s so simple and effortless it’s untrue. I’m smiling now as I remember how they taught me how to adsorb pain the hard way and how tough those guys really are. In contrast to Wing Chun there are no forms or moves to learn just an ideology and the adoption of a warrior spirit. You don’t get taught anything other than to adapt to any situation and meet force with softness and softness with force. Maybe this is more Wing Chun than I first thought, certainly ‘Ying and Yang’.

I tried Kickboxing for a while but the impact on my knees became too great and unfortunately I had to stop, this leads me to where I am now. I again found Chi Combat System like Wing Chun by complete chance as I was missing martial arts training a lot and was bored of practising on my own in the kitchen. I wanted something local that was high energy, enjoyable and with no attitude. I didn’t want a Wing Chun school out of respect for the teachings of my first Sifu. I found Chi Combat System on-line and tried it out, the rest they say ‘is history’.

I don’t have a black belt apart from the one that holds up my trousers, instead just years of love and passion for a sport/ lifestyle that is both humbling and pure. My current Subumnim’s (teachers) Amun Ka Clarke and Derrick Evans have developed my skills and knowledge through our martial arts classes. I’m really looking forward to learning more from them and passing that on to others at our martial arts school and through this blog if people are interested.

I hope you are and I look forward to sharing ideas and philosophies from any martial art or self defence style.

Pil Sung!