Thomas Kurtz | Building Flexibility & Conditioning for High Kicks

[AndyMaBobs]

I have no idea if this is actually a legitimate way to warm up or train. The only kick I regularly practice is a low kick with my right leg and occasionally teeping, but I like the way Bruce Lee used to do stretches and warm up kicks.

Bruce didn't really do anything that wasn't legit. Gets all his joints moving, starts tensing muscles to get them ready for impact, dynamic stretching to get moving. Obviously IRL he'd probably do a little more than what he does there, but the principles are all spot on. And of course needless to say that the cracking sounds are SFX

 

[exclamatio]

I should have known you'd know him!

How do you go about your flexibility routines? Because you're throwing side kicks up at peoples heads somehow, I know you've got some work with Dr. F right?

Aye Dr F is the man! He's got it all put together, the training, the medical side, being an actual full contact champion (The first, possibly only open japan champion to be a medical doctor).

I think almost anyone is going to benefit from slow and controlled kicking drills. People under estimate and even look down on drills like holding onto a wall for balance and holding up your chamber as high as you can without losing form, then slowly extending your kick and holding at full extension before slowly coming back. I do it like this, taekwondo style, chamber for 3 seconds, slowly extend (side kick, roundhouse, etc), hold for 3 seconds, slowly re chamber and hold for 3, then rest. That's 1 rep, do just 3 reps to start on each leg with roundhouse, front kick, side kick, and hook kick (for hook kick extend into a side kick then slowly pull your leg fully extended for the count of 3 and hook with the heel at the end of the movement as you come through the target). When you can do 3 sets of 3 reps with each kick on both legs up the height until you eventually reach head height. Then drop the height back down and go for 4 sets of 4 seconds on each leg.

Almost every single session I coach or train myself in I start with dynamic stretching, and lots of movement. I put any extra focus on areas that are going to be trained but otherwise start from the top and work my way down, neck, shoulders, arms, body/spine, hips, knees, ankles. Then onto whatever the main session is. Then 2 - 3 times per week finish with a good static stretch where I work on holding the position and increasing the range of movement. PNF stretching with a partner is great for this, they help you hold the stretch, then offer resistance as you push back hard out of the stretch for 10 seconds or so contracting the target muscle, then as you relax they help you go beyond your previously held stretch. Movement early on to grease the joints up real good and get everything flowing, hard static stretches at the end because you're already more limber and they're going to tear muscle fibres just like weight training. Hard stretching at the start of a workout makes you weaker and more open to injury.

 

[exclamatio]

Here's an old unlisted vid with a short kick workout I did

 

[exclamatio]

This 1 is alright too

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Aye Dr F is the man! He's got it all put together, the training, the medical side, being an actual full contact champion (The first, possibly only open japan champion to be a medical doctor).

I think almost anyone is going to benefit from slow and controlled kicking drills. People under estimate and even look down on drills like holding onto a wall for balance and holding up your chamber as high as you can without losing form, then slowly extending your kick and holding at full extension before slowly coming back. I do it like this, taekwondo style, chamber for 3 seconds, slowly extend (side kick, roundhouse, etc), hold for 3 seconds, slowly re chamber and hold for 3, then rest. That's 1 rep, do just 3 reps to start on each leg with roundhouse, front kick, side kick, and hook kick (for hook kick extend into a side kick then slowly pull your leg fully extended for the count of 3 and hook with the heel at the end of the movement as you come through the target). When you can do 3 sets of 3 reps with each kick on both legs up the height until you eventually reach head height. Then drop the height back down and go for 4 sets of 4 seconds on each leg.

Almost every single session I coach or train myself in I start with dynamic stretching, and lots of movement. I put any extra focus on areas that are going to be trained but otherwise start from the top and work my way down, neck, shoulders, arms, body/spine, hips, knees, ankles. Then onto whatever the main session is. Then 2 - 3 times per week finish with a good static stretch where I work on holding the position and increasing the range of movement. PNF stretching with a partner is great for this, they help you hold the stretch, then offer resistance as you push back hard out of the stretch for 10 seconds or so contracting the target muscle, then as you relax they help you go beyond your previously held stretch. Movement early on to grease the joints up real good and get everything flowing, hard static stretches at the end because you're already more limber and they're going to tear muscle fibres just like weight training. Hard stretching at the start of a workout makes you weaker and more open to injury.

All really good stuff!

So what do you do when you plateau and you can't hold your knee/kick any higher in the air?

 

[exclamatio]

All really good stuff!

So what do you do when you plateau and you can't hold your knee/kick any higher in the air?

Longer holds, more reps, start again lower with weights (ankle weights or heavier shoes etc, it's all slow and controlled so the resistance should be fine. Whenever you add weight you must also drop the time and reps back down, then build up again just as slowly as before so all the connective tissue can adapt).
Some of the Taekwondo guys I fought on open Kickboxing circuits had dangerous kicks, in training they could easily do 100 reps of slow kicking holding for a decent time each kick. That translates into the control you need for accuracy that makes people shit their pants. I never got to that level with all my kicks in training, but a little slow kicking goes a long way.

I put a big emphasis on strength too, even more so nowadays. But back when I was fighting often from 60kg - 65kg I could barbell low bar squat 120kg for 3 x 5. Lots of deadlift and pullups+dips too. The lack of strength is what stops a lot of freestyle fighters transitioning to muay thai and mma etc.

 

[CFGroup]

Here's an old unlisted vid with a short kick workout I did

Love the little bambino randomly in the scene's. My little guy is my footwork drilling partner....he just loves chasing or me chasing him around so I incorporate it into my free movement rounds.

That clip reminds me to do more of the slow precise kick drills....but my workout is already three hours long and that's rushing it. Not enough hours in a day.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Longer holds, more reps, start again lower with weights (ankle weights or heavier shoes etc, it's all slow and controlled so the resistance should be fine. Whenever you add weight you must also drop the time and reps back down, then build up again just as slowly as before so all the connective tissue can adapt).
Some of the Taekwondo guys I fought on open Kickboxing circuits had dangerous kicks, in training they could easily do 100 reps of slow kicking holding for a decent time each kick. That translates into the control you need for accuracy that makes people shit their pants. I never got to that level with all my kicks in training, but a little slow kicking goes a long way.

I put a big emphasis on strength too, even more so nowadays. But back when I was fighting often from 60kg - 65kg I could barbell low bar squat 120kg for 3 x 5. Lots of deadlift and pullups+dips too. The lack of strength is what stops a lot of freestyle fighters transitioning to muay thai and mma etc.

Aren't you like 6 foot tall? And you fought at 60kg? RIP your opponents

 

[exclamatio]

Love the little bambino randomly in the scene's. My little guy is my footwork drilling partner....he just loves chasing or me chasing him around so I incorporate it into my free movement rounds.

That clip reminds me to do more of the slow precise kick drills....but my workout is already three hours long and that's rushing it. Not enough hours in a day.

The eternal problem that stops us being masters of all, bloody time!
Love training around my lad because I don't have to encourage him to join in. Now he's 2 and uses me like a heavy bag xD

Aren't you like 6 foot tall? And you fought at 60kg? RIP your opponents

5'10 if I stop crouching down like I'm in a kungfu flick

 

[shincheckin]

Spot on. In my early days we did not stretch at all. Cause stretching is for nerds

Later on i began stretching. I had an elaborate sterching routine I would do for probably an hour everyday as part of my training routine.

Were all flexible when were young. The key is keeping that flexibility. The younger you start the better as the less you have "lost" Its pretty horrendous how stiff a majority of muricans are. They cant even touch their toes. If you dont use and stretch the muscle they will tighten up. When I got shoulder surgery and had my arm in a sling for a few months I could barely move my arm. It was stuck in that sling position and I had to do a elaborate stretching routine to gain back normal movement. Point being they tighten up quickly.

Mt tends to drill mostly body kicks.

Flexibility = athleticism

 

[Brazilian HKD]

I like the frog pose for the hips since you guys got the hamstrings covered. I get knee pain if I stretch my hips and hamstrings at the same time

Same here. I wonder why.