High flying kicks

[miked]

In my years of experience within the Uechi system, little emphasis has been put on teaching/training the high flying, entertaining and (yes) less than effective Tae-Kwon-do style kicks.

Despite their lack of effectivenes, these kicks are enjoyable to watch and practice.

This being said, would someone please describe in detail how to execute a jump spinning back kick and other such high flying techniques (i.e. flying split kick where a simultaneous side kick and back kick is executed while in the air).

Any help is appreciated.

Regards,

Mike D
Los Angeles

[Bill Glasheen]

Got a movie contract in the works, Mike?

I teach and play with a lot of kicks. I've developed numerous drills for my students, and choreographed a form that has all the most common kicks seen in martial arts - done off both sides. My goal isn't to create a legion of super kickers, although now and then I find a kicking prodigy and have been able to help them maximize their potential. My primary goals are: 1) to have people understand the techniques their opponents use, and 2) to teach people that the same principles of movement that apply to the upper body work also with the lower body.

Now to your specific questions...

Whenever I'm teaching a complicated technique - whether it be TKD or Uechi Ryu - the first thing I do is break it down into its fundamental elements. For example with Uechi "hawk chases sparrow", there are four parts: the downward scoop, the upward scoop, the crane leg, and the rotational element preceeding what people THINK is the start of the technique. For the groin strikes in Seisan, I can actually break that down into Sanchin kata elements (too long to explain here).

The first thing I do is to have people practice the individual elements. Everyone seems to be able to get their arms around those, and so this builds some confidence that it can eventually be done - if not that day. Then when there are more than two elements, I start adding random pairs of the elements together. Then I add random triplets of the elements together, etc., etc. Eventually then I have them stop, and I show them everything put together, were the elements seem to disappear into the blend like a spice does in a proper evening dinner. At this point a good number of people will be lost. My final prescription is "Sleep on it!" Coming back another day, and another, and another, is part of the recipe. Believe it or not, your body sorts things out in-between sessions.

That being said, here are the elements I see in the techniques you've listed.

jump spinning back kick

• The back kick. (Do you mean true back kick with heel to heaven and toe to floor, or do you really mean a side kick where blade is parallel to floor? There is a difference, FWIW.)
• The spin. (Plyometrics training helps)
• The jump. (Plyometrics training helps)

flying split kick

• Each individual technique (e.g. side kick and back kick). FWIW, each of these techniques can be broken down into simple components, and I often drill those individual components before putting the kick together. The key here is seeing the movement of the core (something that exists in EVERY kick), which then leads to the extension of the technique. A proper yoko geri (NOT the Uechi sokuto geri) is actually a fairly difficult kick to execute with proper precision and power. But when you get it right, it's one of the most devastating kicks in a martial artist's arsenal.
• The ability to do a front split and/or a side split.
• Proper jumping ability. (Plyometrics training helps)

Then you work it from there, Mike. Don't get frustrated with not being able to do these techniques at first. Just play with the individual elements, and ENJOY the fact that you're learning to get stronger, more powerful, more flexible, and more coordinated. If you focus on the elements and putting them together, the final product eventually will fall into place.

Then all you need to do is smooth out the rough edges. With many of these techniques, there's an element of the principle of sequential summation of motion. The timing of the contraction of one body part with respect to the next is critical to getting it right. Ultimately it's a system optimization problem, and you need literally thousands of repetitions to hone in on the optimal solution to the motion problem.

Have fun!

- Bill

[miked]

Bill,

Thanks for the response.

I was hoping to be able to teach these kicks to my students but I need a point by point break down how to properly execute the kicks.

For flying jump kick: Drive rear kee up into air, execute front kick with opposite leg and land in stable stance, etc.)

for the back kick I was looking for the parallel version of the kick. For spin back kick, i understand the mechanics (i.e. pivot on non-kicking foot, draw kicking knee to chest, thrust backwards, retract leg, and come back to front position). How do we change this to a jumping spinning kick?

How is the split kick executed (i.e run forward, bend knees, thrust arms in air?, etc. etc.)

Comments?

Mike D.

Mike

[TSDguy]

Try Google'ing "martial arts trick kick tutorials" or some variation. The kicks you're referring to are generally known as "tricks" or "trick kicks". Fortunately for you, the people that can do them are also web and digital video saavy. There are about 900 variations on split and jump back kicks, so just look around for the ones you had in mind.

I'm sure you're aware that many of these kicks are anywhere from very difficult to nearly impossible for the average joe-son. I'll second the plyometrics reccomendation.

[Valkenar]

How do we change this to a jumping spinning kick?

I'm no master of jump-kicking, but I took a more showy style as a little kid and some of the more elaborate techniques have stuck somewhat. So bearing in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about, here is how I do a flying, jumping, spinning back kick.

Starting in a left stance

Take two running steps: right foot, left foot.

The second step is a jump preparation, so you need a deeper bend in the knee than a normal step. It's just the same as you'd do to run and try to grab something high. Practice on tree branches.

The second step also begins your turn. Your launching foot (your left) should be turned out slightly to accomodate the twist you're beginning. Turn the leg out at the hip, not at the ankle. Your knee and foot should be pointing in the same direction.

Turn your torso counterclockwise past your hip. For me, about 45 degrees works.

Jump in the air, launching off your left foot and bringing your right knee up. You get momentum from your torso twist, your right knee moving towards your left, and optionally a swing of your left arm (probably considered bad form). You also should be getting some help by using the turned-out position of your left leg to pull you around. Think of how you'd transition from a right leaning stance to a right leaning stance without coming up in between. You can use that kind of action to generate some extra spin.

For me, my the twist works out such that my knee reaches it's zenith when my hips are 90 degrees to target. It's as if I was running forward and then kneed someone directly on my left.

So now you're spinning in the air. As your torso gets around 180, untwist your torso and use that action to snap your hips around to face in the opposite direction of the attack.

As your hips snap around, extend left leg into proper back-kick position.

Extending your leg will help slow or stop your spin, so that you can land safely on one leg. It's not good for your knee to be spinning and then try to stop instantly on one leg. So be careful here.

Land on your right leg, being sure to bend the knee to absorb the vertical impact, but not rotational strain. If you know how and have strong enough muscles in your feet, it's useful to use your ankle as a lever to absorb some of the the shock as well. If you're still spinning, bending your knee makes it easier to slow the spin using your hip joint, which is made to twist much more than your knee is.

Place left leg on the ground towards target. Twist back into left sanchin.

That's probably a horrible description of a completely incorrect way to do the technique, but if you're just looking for something goofy to try, that might work for you.

Things to be careful of: Don't throw yourself off-balance when you bring your knee up. When you kick out you might lean forward a bit, which is okay, but if you rear backwards trying to get more height you're going to have trouble coming down properly.

Don't land straight-legged on your right, and don't be spinning quickly when you land on it. It's okay to absorb a little momentum with your right leg, but be careful that you aren't using your knee as a brake for the spin.

[TSDguy]

To build up to Valkenar's type of jump back kick there is a series of practice steps:

1) Practice a regular standing back kick.

2) Spin into the back kick position as normal, then scoot/jump into the target like a sliding side kick.

3) Take one step, plant your foot and do a spin into a regular back kick.

4) Take one step, plant your foot, spin into the sliding back kick in step 2.

5) Take one step, do not put your foot down, spin and jump into the back kick. It may help to think of the step as a fake front kick or fake crescent kick.

[Bill Glasheen]

Part of doing spins is to recognize how the principle of sequential summation of movement works. Basically you have to view your body as a series of springs that store and subsequently release energy. For spinning techniques, you need to view your body as a torsion spring. Ultimately you are working with both passive (viscoelastic) and active (neuromuscular) forces.

For example with a spinning hook kick, you start first with a rotation of the front leg (180 degrees) and a complete rotation of the upper body. The kicking part of your body will not have turned, and so you have essentially stored energy in a kind of torsion spring in your trunk. When you release that energy (the sequence) and let your hip fly around (with side of pelivis pointing to heaven), you let the subsequent hook kick add to the lateral energy (summation of motion) that the kick has in it. It's a bit like how a baseball player first whips his hip around before swinging the bat with his arms.

- Bill

[Piche]

I always emphasize getting the head around first when doing spinning kicks. The body follows the head. Plus, you must see your target. If the targets not there anymore there is no sense throwing the leg out.

Though jumping and spinning kicks ****** for self defense they can be a great weapon come tourney time. Have fun.

Don

[miked]

I very much appreciate all of the advice that has been posted.

To those are have additional knowledge on this topic, please post.

Best regards,

Mike D.
Los Angeles

[Bruise* Lee]

yeeeaaaarrrrsss ago I use to like doing jump kicks for exercise. I weighed 175 or so. Now I weigh something like 210. But I would kind of like to do this as exercise.

What to use as a target to protect my knees? Plain old air but caution with extension? Pad? Bag? What do you guys like to use as a target?

[Valkenar]

yeeeaaaarrrrsss ago I use to like doing jump kicks for exercise. I weighed 175 or so. Now I weigh something like 210. But I would kind of like to do this as exercise.

What to use as a target to protect my knees? Plain old air but caution with extension? Pad? Bag? What do you guys like to use as a target?

I wouldn't use a bag until I was really confidant with the technique. Otherwise you run a pretty strong risk of knocking yourself off balance when you contact the pad.

[Willy]

What do you guys like to use as a target?

People.

[miked]

I took advice given in this thread and found the following site that contains all sorts of videos and information on how to perform and excecute "tricks" (high flying kicks, aerials, 540's, etc.)

http://www.trickstutorials.com/



From my initial review of the site, it is quite informative and helpful in learing how to teach and train these tecchniques.

Thanks to all of you that responded to my query.

All the best,

Mike D.
Los Angeles

[miked]

http://tkdtutor.com/09Techniques/Kicks/JumpSpin.htm

This site seems to have good information on all sorts of jumping kicks.

Mike

[miked]

"Although it first seems the wrong way to do it, when performing a jump-spin kick, you must first jump, then spin, and then kick. Most beginners, and many advanced students, try to spin first. This means they barely get off the floor with the jump. If you start the kick before the spin, your leg will move away from your center of balance and throw you off balance. Keep the arms in a tight guard position; if they move outward, you will be thrown off balance, and, since you will not see your opponent for a moment when the head is turned, you need to protect yourself against a counter attack. Also, if the spin is done properly, your head will snap around quickly at the beginning of the jump-spin. When the head suddenly stops after the spin, it takes a moment for the brain to settle down and the vision to clear. "

Bill, what do you make of this advice?

This seems counterintuitive.

Mike