What's in a name: the "do" and "jutsu" debate
15 hours ago
May 7, 2008
Taekwondo Do san: Front Kick
Last night, my newly promoted orange belt was working on her front kick. The front kick is aimed towards an opponent standing in front of you, as opposed to an opponent grabbing onto you. This means that the kicking foot is flexed forward in order to strike the body of a standing opponent. Notice how beginners would figure the kicking motion out quickly - meaning to get the right balance and power that the kick goes out smoothly and comes back without too much wobbling. However, most beginners, especially those working on 'traditional' technique forget to 1) engage hip movement to generate power, and 2) have great difficulty in keeping the COG low. Hips have got to be rotated in order that the kicking motion is driven by body mass without hip movement, you're only kicking with the leg, rather than the whole body. Keeping the COG low and not stand up whilst kicking allows you to control the supporting leg and drive yourself forward as you remain connected with the ground.
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What I found helped me keep my COG low, and to have good control of my support leg was to work towards keeping a bent knee on the support leg. I found that this even helped me to drive myself forwards when I needed to. However, convincing that support leg to stay with a bent knee while I kicked was quite a piece of work, and took much mental effort on my part, I don't blame people for choosing to kick with a straight leg.
I'm with super. The trick is the bent knee.
Hard to get though, especially when the other leg is extending. But like a drummer or guitarist or pianist, we can do it.
I think the problem is everyone is going for the Kodak moment - fully extended leg held high, beautiful posture and hands in a nice guard position. Trying to achieve that whilst kicking sometimes means you forget about what you can't see. I mean, most people who kick think only of the kicking leg or striking tool. One of the key lessons of thursday night (practicing reverse snap punch too) was that the technique needs you to think about initial power generation much more than the end tool that you use - most people do it the other way around.
Colin
I think that the reason that most people are looking for the kodak moment in their kicks is because they are still in the learning phase of the movement. They are imitating what it "looks" like instead of thinking about what it "feels" like. I found that striking a heavy bag is a real awakening call because suddenly you realize that although it seems to look right when you do it, you find yourself being sent all over the place from the force of the strike. "Whoa!" Your brain announces to your legs.. "something has to be fixed here."
Yeah. You are absolutely correct. That's one of the reasons why I think every different training aid or drill complements whatever the student needs to learn. You can't just kick air or work on one type of kick shield. You've got to work on a human target, the air, heavy bag, kick pad, etc. Colin
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