Here is a video of a basic Taekwondo class that covers the foundation material needed to pass through your lower ranks. The format is one in which you can play the video and follow along. This is helpful if you are on vacation and cannot make it to class, or if you would like to get an idea of what a Northampton Martial Arts class is like before coming in to view it or try it out.
Month: September 2019
Developing The Perfect Side Kick
Throughout human history, various factions of mankind have advanced to positions of great power in the world through the development and possession of an indomitable weapon. Early man rose to dominance when he discovered the spear thrower. The English development of the Welsh Longbow gave them the strength to overcome the Italian mercenary armies. The Samurai of Japan perfected their sword and ruled the nation for hundreds of years, overcoming the Ainu, the Mongolians, the Koreans and the first Portuguese, Dutch and English invaders. The Chinese, through their development of gun powder, have held a position of strength for thousands of years, protecting vast swaths of land against militant and powerful neighbors like Mongolia, Russia, Burma, and India. America was able to win the second world war thanks to their possession of the atomic bomb. Imagine what fate would have befallen these nations without the possession of such insurmountable power.
To the modern martial artist, the body, with its two arms, two legs, head and torso, are the battlefield, the army and the arsenal. Every drill master since the dawn of strife will agree that a soldier must know his weapons inside and out. Every general wishes each of his soldiers to be equipped with as many powerful weapons as possible. Every sword-smith knows the importance of tempering his creations so that they do not break or shatter when in use. So too must every modern martial artist know the importance of developing a powerful arsenal of techniques that are understood, numerous, versatile, and honed to perfection. Sun Tzu states in The Art of War that a warrior should not have a favorite weapon or a technique that he likes more than others. He states also that a warrior must not overlook any weapon or technique that may mean the difference between the ignominy of defeat and the adulation of victory
In every martial art, there are kicks to strike at every angle and direction. The primary five kicks are the front kick, the round kick, the side kick, the hook kick, and the back kick. Of these five kicks, the most powerful but the least understood is the side kick. The side kick is the most difficult kick to learn and execute correctly. The side kick is the nuclear bomb, the long samurai sword, or the Welsh longbow in our martial arsenal. This being said, why do so few martial artists use the side kick? Why do so few teachers stress its important and spend time teaching it correctly? Perhaps more importantly is how is the side kick meant to be performed?
To begin answering these questions, one might be best served asking, “What makes the side kick different from all other kicks?” First and foremost, the side kick is the only kick that attacks on a straight line from the side of the body and not centripetally. The side kick utilizes the gluteus muscle, the largest and most compact muscle in the body. The side kick strikes with the solid, condensed, and tapered bone of the heel, not a fragile small bone like the top of the foot, the shin (I include the shin here because it contains so many nerves), or the instep. The side kick is always performed with a full 180 degree pivot so that the hips are fully turned over. The side kick is thrown with the standing leg straight to provide maximum rebound resistance.
There are many common mistakes made by martial artists whilst executing the side kick. Few people understand which muscles come into play during a side kick, so few people stress the pivot. As a result, the side kick ends up looking like a poorly executed pushing front kick and lacks the muscle participation required to attain maximum power. Most people who throw the side kick do not bother to master it’s full range of motion, so do not chamber correctly, leaving their side kick to resemble a weak round kick. The third most common mistake I see is that people often throw the side kick while lifting their leg as opposed to chambering high and striking at a downward angle, with gravity. The danger in this is that many who throw the side kick this way end up smashing their foot into their opponents lead elbow, injuring themselves. The second danger in doing a side kick while lifting the leg is the vacancy of power. The power comes from the body being behind the kick. This is absent if you lift the kick into the target.
I am always shocked when I visit new martial arts schools in my travels and find that they have sloppy unrefined side kicks, and almost never drill them correctly in class. The average black belt will throw over 20,000 round kicks between white belt and black belt, but he will throw fewer than 3,000 side kicks during that same period. This is atrocious. A sensible person would ask why? If the side kick is more difficult and more powerful, why would a teacher lead round kick drills so much more often than side kick drills?
The answer to this question is that side kicks are hard to teach, hard to learn, and many teachers do not understand the side kick, perhaps because their teacher did not take the time to drill it into them. What ever the reason, this lack is a pandemic that needs remedying. A side kick renaissance is in order.
It is not enough though to learn to do the side kick correctly, one must understand the strategic importance of the side kick. A lead leg side kick is very useful in repelling a rushing opponent. A lead leg side kick is perhaps the only tool that will let you maintain a sideways facing while allowing you to strike powerfully at a target directly in front of you. The side kick is the best tool to use when your opponent switches facings allowing you to take advantage of their momentary full facing orientation. A turning side kick is invaluable when you want your opponent to begin retreating so that you can gain the offensive. When facing multiple opponents, a powerful repelling kick is needed to maintain a distance between your various attackers. The side kick is your power play. It is the technique that can smash through a guard and unbalance or destroy your opponent, or sneak in around your opponent’s guard and strike devastatingly at a vulnerable target. In World War II, America dropped the atomic bomb because Japan had too many advantages and was attacking so vigorously. Do not underestimate or neglect the side kick.
I love to travel. When I visit a new place I always make a point of visiting the local martial arts schools. This gives me the opportunity to learn new techniques, and new ways of looking at old techniques. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to be asked to instruct a class, or a section of a class. This gives me the opportunity to correct the students’ side kicks. Often times the things I say are the same things that their chief instructor has said, but because they had never stressed the details, the mechanics, or the logistics of the technique, my instructions sound different and strange.
I always start by having the class place one hand against the wall so that they can worry about technique and not stress balance, which will come after correct technique is understood. Then I have them pre-pivot their standing leg so that their big toe faces the wall. This is to get their muscles used to being pivoted while in use. I then instruct them to perform four separate moves on four counts (see graphic sequence). On the first count, I have the students lift the kicking leg and aim the heel at the target with the knee higher than the foot and in front of the sternum. If the knee is below the foot, then all the force of the strike will go downward into the ground through the knee and not out of the heel into the target. If the knee is not in line with the sternum, the heel will not aim directly at the target, and the striking tool will not travel in a straight line, which is the shortest distance between the heel and the target. On the second count, I have them straighten the kicking leg, keeping the heel and knee on the same level that they are on now. I instruct them to pretend that they have a laser pointer on their heel, like a gun sight. I have them place the light dot on their target and not to let it waver throughout the entire course of the kick. On the third count, I tell them to pull the leg back to position one. On the fourth count, and only on the fourth count, I let them put their leg down. If they are allowed to put their leg down during the kick they will not develop the muscles necessary to throw a good side kick with grace and control.
The most common mistakes people make when throwing a side kick, particularly a turning or rear leg side kick, is that they do not re-chamber or pull back after the kick. This is a huge mistake. If you do not re-chamber, what happens if your kick missed? You cannot throw a second one if you do not re-chamber! If you are throwing a turning kick and do not re-chamber before un-pivoting, you put yourself in a terrible position. You will be on one leg with your torso full facing. Always, always, always re-chamber after your strike.
It is important to make sure that the upper body remains erect and the lead hand remains up during the entire drill. This drill will force students to develop their technique, balance and good habits. After many repetitions of this drill, I will bring students off of the wall and have them perform the technique the same way without the wall and gradually, as they become comfortable doing the side kick correctly, I will allow them to pivot as they kick, or to perform a turning or spinning side kick.
Remember this axiom when you are training and/or teaching: “The student who performs a technique correctly 5,000 times is a beginner. The student who performs a technique correctly 50,000 times is an intermediate practitioner. The student who performs a technique incorrectly, even 1 million times is far less than the meanest beginner.” This means that every technique you throw correctly moves you forward and every technique that you throw lazily, sloppily or incorrectly takes you backwards, undoing any correct training you may have gone through. Always practice diligently, enthusiastically, and carefully.
The side kick is perhaps the most important tool in our martial arsenal. It is the most powerful strike that we have. To neglect it is to deprive our personal nation of its most powerful weapon. Do not disregard the side kick. Do not avoid the side kick because it is difficult. The side kick is well worth the years of arduous practice it takes to achieve. Arm yourself for victory; perfect your side kick.