Chapter 2: Developing Powerful Kicks

The legs are stronger than the arms. The proper application of the legs can
be very devastating to an opponent. The legs are also longer than the arms, which allows for a longer distance application than the arms. Unfortunately, kicking requires that one or both legs be off the floor when executing the kick, making the body less stable. Therefore, the attempt in the kicking drills is to reduce the disadvantages, as much as possible, while enhancing the legs advantage over the arms.

There are many different ways that kicks can be accomplished. They can be accomplished by first bending the knee, then kicking, or keeping the kicking leg straight, then kicking. Kicks can be done with one leg on the floor or both legs off the floor. Kicks with one leg grounded may utilize the floor as a ground, and take advantage of the turning and pivoting momentum, to generate powerful kicks. Aerial kicks utilize the spinning and jumping momentum to deliver powerful kicks. Powerful kicks integrate the whole body in its execution.

Kicks are often combined with arm movements for coordinating the arms and the legs, as well as, for setting up simultaneous arm and leg attacks. Kicks may also involve the hitting of the hands on the foot. Besides training the coordination of your arms and legs and setting up a simultaneous offensive strategy with your arms and legs, it is also for conditioning your feet and hands for greater impact resistance. Hitting your palms on your feet is one of the best conditioning exercises for your hands and feet. Since you know how strong your hands and feet are, you can regulate how much force to put into the hit, and gradually increase the impact force as you get stronger.

In this chapter, we will start with the introduction of some basic jumping drills which can improve your kicking ability. We will then introduce kicks with one leg grounded on the floor, followed by aerial kicks. At the end of this chapter, we will also include additional drills that can enhance your overall kicking ability. To enhance your agility and jumping ability, you may also refer to Chapter 6, Section 8 for a description of Light-Body and Agility Training.