Anyone can throw a kick, but there are methods into making those kicks much deadlier and more powerful.  The subtle or small details of your kicks which can produce the most results resulting in powerful and explosive technique.  In this post, we will break down the kicks to maximize on their use.
If you are new to kicking you are not comfortable doing them alone, I would recommend getting with someone who is seasoned at kicking, or join our ministry in September 2013.  Performing your kicks incorrectly will produce ineffective results and will take much more time to break down.  Let’s begin.
Crawl – Slow Kicking
We are only going to focus on the front kick in this post, because it is the simplest form of kicking.
Front Kick – Slowly chamber your leg so your knee and thigh are parallel to the ground, your shin and foot point downward.  Extend your leg out and hold, then bring it back to the original position before you set down.  For those who have experience with this will know how to perform this.
Perform the front kick as many times as you can to build muscle memory and strength.
Walk – Medium Paced Kicks
As we did earlier with the slow kick, now we are going to increase the speed into a fluid motion.  You will perform the slow kick in a controlled manner without breaks.  The purpose of this drill is to teach the body the kicks full range of motion.  Chamber, Extend, Chamber, Set down.  Perform this drill as many times as you can for each leg.
Run – Explosive Kicks
The explosive kicking drills you will perform now will hopefully incorporate everything you learned in the last two sections, but now at run time speed.  With the correct range of motion, kick as fast as you can.  If you see or feel any discrepancies on a consistent basis, stop and start over.
Remember, if you do not feel comfortable performing these kicks on your own, supervision by a seasoned instructor is recommended.  This is critical if you want to perform the kicks right the first time.
These drills can be applied to any basic kicks you want improve on such as the round kick and side kicks.  It can also be applied with boxing technique as well.  Good technique is essential in being an effective martial artist.  It requires dedication and repetition.  When you focus on good technique, you are setting yourself apart from the rest.