Conditionioning Your Legs For Kicks?

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Stretching
Squats
RDLs
Skipping
Running
Bag work
etc

What is it that you do to get your power, speed, and ROM up on your kicking techniques?

Thoughts?

If you have any routines targeting specific kicks please share.

 

[shincheckin]

Stretching
Squats
RDLs
Skipping
Running
Bag work
etc

What is it that you do to get your power, speed, and ROM up on your kicking techniques?

Thoughts?

If you have any routines targeting specific kicks please share.

stretching, bagwork, padwork

I though your question was in regards to "taking" kicks. in that sense, you just have to get kicked alot. You wont really notice it, but over years of training, your lead leg will be able to take leg kicks much better than your rear for the simple fact it has eaten more over time.

leg kicks to the rear leg are hard to land, but a good tactic.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

stretching, bagwork, padwork

I though your question was in regards to "taking" kicks. in that sense, you just have to get kicked alot. You wont really notice it, but over years of training, your lead leg will be able to take leg kicks much better than your rear for the simple fact it has eaten more over time.

leg kicks to the rear leg are hard to land, but a good tactic.

I should have phrased it as conditioning your legs for kicking. I can see how that could be easily misinterpreted. Are there specific go to stretches that you routinely do?

 

[shincheckin]

I should have phrased it as conditioning your legs for kicking. I can see how that could be easily misinterpreted. Are there specific go to stretches that you routinely do?

just a shitload of various types of leg stretches, I mainly targeted the hamstring back of the leg area, but sort of neglected the split. I say they would both be important.

I think the real key to great kicks is flexibility over strength. the goal would be to be as flexible as the TKD guys. Theres a ton of TKD stretch tutorials online.

 

[j123]

Just happens over time

I've lifted for years, longer than my years in combat sports, and they did little to condition the blows. What did was just years in and out on the mats/ring dealing with blows.

But for delivering, its technique. Personally, strength work does tremendous benefits for me, alot don't agree with it, but its done nothing but help me get stronger, explosive. For ROM that lies in daily stretching. I do sprinting on the reg and coupled with PL's its done well.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

just a shitload of various types of leg stretches, I mainly targeted the hamstring back of the leg area, but sort of neglected the split. I say they would both be important.

I think the real key to great kicks is flexibility over strength. the goal would be to be as flexible as the TKD guys. Theres a ton of TKD stretch tutorials online.

Hamstrings can make or break you in so many athletic pursuits. lol Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Just happens over time

I've lifted for years, longer than my years in combat sports, and they did little to condition the blows. What did was just years in and out on the mats/ring dealing with blows.

But for delivering, its technique. Personally, strength work does tremendous benefits for me, alot don't agree with it, but its done nothing but help me get stronger, explosive. For ROM that lies in daily stretching. I do sprinting on the reg and coupled with PL's its done well.

Strength work I think is misunderstood. Your striated or skeletal muscles it what moves the skeleton. Why wouldn't you want them to be stronger, and contract more forcefully? Thanks for the input. Makes a lot of sense.

 

[shincheckin]

Just happens over time

I've lifted for years, longer than my years in combat sports, and they did little to condition the blows. What did was just years in and out on the mats/ring dealing with blows.

But for delivering, its technique. Personally, strength work does tremendous benefits for me, alot don't agree with it, but its done nothing but help me get stronger, explosive. For ROM that lies in daily stretching. I do sprinting on the reg and coupled with PL's its done well.

a friend of mine used to power lift, he did not box much, but when he did finally get some good technique, man he had some very heavy hands.

 

[j123]

Strength work I think is misunderstood. Your striated or skeletal muscles it what moves the skeleton. Why wouldn't you want them to be stronger, and contract more forcefully? Thanks for the input. Makes a lot of sense.

-addresses muscle imbalances (HUGE issue in the community, too much anterior work is done, not enough posterior, underdeveloped hamstrings leading to knee injuries are very common)
-increases max strength which increases explosive strength as well
-increased metabolism from activity level
-burns more calories than most cardio heavy exercises

The problem is it takes time, and sometimes the DOMs last for awhile and in camp sometimes time isn't something that is affordable. Strength work for the most part is misunderstood, too many peeps attempt "plyometrics" or explosive work and end up turning it into a glorified conditioning session. Speed work is the same as max effort work, anything more than 3 reps or 10 seconds isn't in that range anymore.

a friend of mine used to power lift, he did not box much, but when he did finally get some good technique, man he had some very heavy hands.

The combat sports community is actually still very stuck in bro-science mindset, actually its worse than bro-science, because at least bro-science works and makes sense. The ones from martial arts is completely retarded at times. Chin conditioning, lifting slows you down, lifting slows down your metabolism (lol), carbs are teh devil, increasing your VO2 max in martial arts is different from football, baseball, because XYZ, etc

 

[Ryan Garry]

Coming from TKD stretching the hamstrings for front kick and push kicks,
Splits and stretching out the hips was successful for gaining flexibility and proper technique for side kicks and roundhouse kicks..

I believe drilling kicks once adequately Strecthed and flexible helped improve my power and speed of the kick dramatically

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

-addresses muscle imbalances (HUGE issue in the community, too much anterior work is done, not enough posterior, underdeveloped hamstrings leading to knee injuries are very common)
-increases max strength which increases explosive strength as well
-increased metabolism from activity level
-burns more calories than most cardio heavy exercises

The problem is it takes time, and sometimes the DOMs last for awhile and in camp sometimes time isn't something that is affordable. Strength work for the most part is misunderstood, too many peeps attempt "plyometrics" or explosive work and end up turning it into a glorified conditioning session. Speed work is the same as max effort work, anything more than 3 reps or 10 seconds isn't in that range anymore.


The combat sports community is actually still very stuck in bro-science mindset, actually its worse than bro-science, because at least bro-science works and makes sense. The ones from martial arts is completely retarded at times. Chin conditioning, lifting slows you down, lifting slows down your metabolism (lol), carbs are teh devil, increasing your VO2 max in martial arts is different from football, baseball, because XYZ, etc

Granted I had proper rest, I always felt I was less tired in sparring when on a proper lifting routine. I definitely didn't get bullied around the ring, especially in the clinch. Moving around the ring was also far easier. What's some lateral movement or slipping when you Jefferson Squat all the time? I definitely felt the carry over. However, lifting weights can make you heavier which a lot of fighters can't afford. Muscle weighs more than fat.

In any case, VO2max is hugely important to predict your endurance. If you claim you want to be at a certain level it would be beneficial to get it tested. Olympic level fighters have stats out on theirs. Guys who are trying to get to the highest level should want to know where they stack up. Many of them would just say, forget all of that science, run more. lol

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Coming from TKD stretching the hamstrings for front kick and push kicks,
Splits and stretching out the hips was successful for gaining flexibility and proper technique for side kicks and roundhouse kicks..

I believe drilling kicks once adequately Strecthed and flexible helped improve my power and speed of the kick dramatically

How do you primarily drill your kicks.... Bag work? Pads? "Shadowboxing"?

 

[Ryan Garry]

How do you primarily drill your kicks.... Bag work? Pads? "Shadowboxing"?

Mostly shadow work when not in a gym and pads when at the gym to simulate hitting a specific small target
But doing a kicking drill for example rotating roundhouse kicks left, right, left, right up and down any open area helps with power and balance

Also, standing with kicking leg raised and firing off the same kick over and over helped a lot, I'll try to find a video it's a bit hard to explain haha

 

[j123]

Granted I had proper rest, I always felt I was less tired in sparring when on a proper lifting routine. I definitely didn't get bullied around the ring, especially in the clinch. Moving around the ring was also far easier. What's some lateral movement or slipping when you Jefferson Squat all the time? I definitely felt the carry over. However, lifting weights can make you heavier which a lot of fighters can't afford. Muscle weighs more than fat.

I doubt they're putting on purely muscle when they accidentally did. Building muscle is harder than it looks, essentially you're adding new tissue to your body. On a proper bulk which is a lean bulk, you'll be gaining about 10-15lbs a year at tops. If top bodybuilders who's sole purpose is to add more muscle mass, can barely hit that mark, what makes people who are ammy natural athletes think they can put that on within a year. Esp. if its a guy who's never grew up with an athletic background and just 2-4 years into combat sports. The reality is there's fat they put on, or water retention but don't realize it, and blame it on lifting. It all depends on the calories in and out, you can make strength gains while on maintenance, doesn't have to be on a bulk. And eating at your true maintenance, you wouldn't gain weight, if you do its not your maintenance, means your metab dropped and you didn't realize it and continued eating at a rate to maintain the old metab

In any case, VO2max is hugely important to predict your endurance. If you claim you want to be at a certain level it would be beneficial to get it tested. Olympic level fighters have stats out on theirs. Guys who are trying to get to the highest level should want to know where they stack up. Many of them would just say, forget all of that science, run more. lol

Very common, I've had teammates tell me to run 10-12k as conditioning. *"The thais do it so it should work. If you're not in the hospital you can do it". Thailand is a 3rd world country where sports science and nutrition is behind. They do better than westerners because they've been training since being a toddler. That amount of mat time makes the difference.

*It should be noted those who said that to me did not do strength work, had chronic knee issues afterwards, and were told by their physiotherapist that their hamstrings were severely underdeveloped.

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

Mostly shadow work when not in a gym and pads when at the gym to simulate hitting a specific small target
But doing a kicking drill for example rotating roundhouse kicks left, right, left, right up and down any open area helps with power and balance

Also, standing with kicking leg raised and firing off the same kick over and over helped a lot, I'll try to find a video it's a bit hard to explain haha

I did that in sparring yesterday. I thought I was in a Jeane Claude Van Damme movie or something lol. I was just expressing myself, and being a tad goofy. Do you think that standing on one leg firing the same kick Chun Li style is a viable technique/strategy?

 

[FightGuyOpenMind]

I doubt they're putting on purely muscle when they accidentally did. Building muscle is harder than it looks, essentially you're adding new tissue to your body. On a proper bulk which is a lean bulk, you'll be gaining about 10-15lbs a year at tops. If top bodybuilders who's sole purpose is to add more muscle mass, can barely hit that mark, what makes people who are ammy natural athletes think they can put that on within a year. Esp. if its a guy who's never grew up with an athletic background and just 2-4 years into combat sports. The reality is there's fat they put on, or water retention but don't realize it, and blame it on lifting. It all depends on the calories in and out, you can make strength gains while on maintenance, doesn't have to be on a bulk. And eating at your true maintenance, you wouldn't gain weight, if you do its not your maintenance, means your metab dropped and you didn't realize it and continued eating at a rate to maintain the old metab


Very common, I've had teammates tell me to run 10-12k as conditioning. *"The thais do it so it should work. If you're not in the hospital you can do it". Thailand is a 3rd world country where sports science and nutrition is behind. They do better than westerners because they've been training since being a toddler. That amount of mat time makes the difference.

*It should be noted those who said that to me did not do strength work, had chronic knee issues afterwards, and were told by their physiotherapist that their hamstrings were severely underdeveloped.

Lifting heavy in my experience spikes your appetite. Guys are probably eating too much as a means to replenish, and drinking a lot to rehydrate from all of the training.

You bring up some really good points.

 

[Ryan Garry]

I did that in sparring yesterday. I thought I was in a Jeane Claude Van Damme movie or something lol. I was just expressing myself, and being a tad goofy. Do you think that standing on one leg firing the same kick Chun Li style is a viable technique/strategy?

I don't think in actual mma fighting it is practical but for building endurance and power it is a great drill also JCVD is a king hahah

 

[brucelee]

Massage helps in the aftermath. I enjoy this a lot when in Thailand.

 

[Eisenhans]

a friend of mine used to power lift, he did not box much, but when he did finally get some good technique, man he had some very heavy hands.

Very doubtful. Unloaded vs loaded speed strength.

EDIT: To answer OP's question - do 3-5 maximal vertical jumps (ie. stop when you notice you are getting slower/less explosive), take a 3-5 minute break (ie. until you feel fresh again, but not less than 3 minutes!), then kick the mitts. You will see an improvement immediately. Contemplate this. Or just read Soviet sports books.

 

[spacetime]

Stretching
Squats
RDLs
Skipping
Running
Bag work
etc

What is it that you do to get your power, speed, and ROM up on your kicking techniques?

Thoughts?

If you have any routines targeting specific kicks please share.

Lots and lots of leg pull ups for years, which also streghtens the abdominal parts.