I don't want you to listen to your teacher. I don't even want you to listen to me.
I only want you to listen to your body.
Ask your body these two simple questions--
Question number one: Hey, body, do you like it better when I swing my leg
forwards and backward, or do you like it when I swing side to side?
I'll bet one of those feels better than the other. Question number two:
Hey, body, do you like it better when I stomp on my heels
or when I stomp on the sides of my feet?
In fact, don't even try that one.
If your body is anything like mine and you're not built like a jellyfish,
I'll bet your body just told you something about throwing sidekicks.
It probably just told you that your body is built to deliver and receive pressure
and force along the joints, not across the joints.
That's the way you've been walking, and running, jumping, and climbing your entire life.
Which brings us to an interesting discovery-- the sidekick is not actually
thrown to the side of your body.
If you put pressure across your ankle, across your knee, or even across your hips,
You're just asking for pain and problems. Now, yeah, you can get away with not
turning your body if you're just hacking away at low targets like ankles and shins
and maybe alligators, but as a general rule, I want you to remember this--
the higher you kick, the more you have to pivot. I'll say that again--
the higher you kick, the more you have to pivot.
Okay. Listening to our bodies, here come three tips to throw a more powerful side kick.
Tip number one: Make sure you turn your support foot. Make sure that force is
running along your foot, not across it.
On offense, it's not so easy to throw a powerful kick if you're driving in off the side of your knee or
the side of your foot. On defense,
if you get jammed up because your timing is off, or they catch your foot and throw this back at you,
all that pressure coming in is going to cause you to roll your ankle or tear your knee.
So, if you're going to throw a side kick, make sure you turn that support foot.
That's going to give you the power to really cause some damage. And if things
go wrong, it's going to give you the ability to absorb it and hopefully walk away and reset.
Tip number two: Kick with your heel, not the blade of your foot.
I know. There's lots of people out there who will tell you go ahead and kick with
the blade of your foot. I'm just not one of them.
If you're kicking with the blade of your foot and it's working for you, keep it up.
But for me, when I stick the blade of my foot onto a target,
all I feel is pressure on my ankle and my knee. I don't want any part of that.
What I prefer is to make sure my heel is digging straight into that target like throwing a spear.
I can feel the alignment of my bone and my muscle right behind that. It feels no
different than stomping on the ground. And that's good for me and bad for the other guy.
Tip number three may be the only one you need, because if you do this one right,
both of your feet will take care of themselves. Here's the tip--
Get your butt in line. This is what I mean. You've got three parts to this kick--
your heel, your butt, and your torso. Try to line those up as best as you can for
a really good side kick.
Here's the wrong way to do it. Foot is up,
you're looking cool, but your butt is not in alignment at all. Your butt is sticking out.
Why is that a problem? Well, on offense, you're not using the biggest muscles
that you've got to deliver power. On defense,
if this gets crushed and pushed back into you, all that power is going to get stuck
right here and pinch your ribs and your hip.
That's uncomfortable and will probably knock you off balance.
So, here's what I think-- aim your butt to kick their butt. Meaning--I aim my butt
then I can kick their butt. That's probably why I like it.
Because it feels like there's trash talk built right into the technique.
I don't even have to open my mouth. I just turn, kick, enjoy.
So, now you know the secret to a powerful side kick is making that full pivot.
Now there are three ways that you can time that pivot.
The first way would be to make the pivot first and then send out the kick second.
The second way would be just to pivot halfway and then while you're
finishing the kick, crank over the supporting foot.
The third way is more for speed,
where you're just going to send that foot up as fast as you can in a straight line and
right at the moment of impact,
crank over your support foot. Now, they're all fine.
There's a time and a place for everything. Just make sure that at the
moment of impact, your body has turned fully and this leg feels just as strong
as when you were swinging it or when you were stomping the heel. If you don't do that,
I promise you-- one, your kick is not going to be very strong,
two, you're probably going to get knocked off balance a lot more than you should,
three, you look ridiculous, especially if your tongue is hanging out of your mouth,
and four, there's a good chance you're going to end up with injuries in your
ankles, your knees, and your hips.
So, listen to your body and let it tell you how to throw a sidekick.
Okay, that's it. If you like that tip, guess what? I've got more coming.
Don't forget to hit subscribe and you won't miss the next one. Even better,
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Until next time, keep kicking and keep fighting for a happy life.