how to strengthen my legs to hold kicks out?

Question

how to strengthen my legs to hold kicks out?

Answer 1

Short answer: do isometric exercises.



Long answer, try these (not all are isometric):



Squeeze a stability ball with your feet, and with your legs outstretched (not bent) for 20 seconds, rest 30 seconds, repeat 4 or 5 times. When I say "squeeze", I mean your goal is to try to pop the ball.



Stand with your shoulder to a wall and with your foot resting alongside the wall; using that side of your body, slowly push against the wall with your foot as hard as you can, for 20 seconds. Release, rest 30 seconds, and repeat 4 or 5 more times.



Similarly, stand with your shoulder to a wall; this time, lift your right leg (later, you'll repeat the process with your left) so that your thigh is along the wall and parallel with the floor, your foot will hang down. Next, press on the wall with your knee; you might need to brace yourself on the left using another person or heavy furniture for counterbalance.



Use ankle weights at the heaviest you can tolerate. With your leg straight, lift to the side as high as you can. At your max height, hold for 20 seconds. Slowly lower, rest for 30 seconds, and repeat 4-5 times.



Without the weights, do side kicks in super-slo-mo. Do about 50 side kicks in this manner, being sure to perform each side kick in as close to 20 seconds as possible; hold for 10 seconds; and then reverse the process. Rest 10 seconds in between each kick.



Do the same, but lift in the front.



Do the same, but lift at 10:00 position (45 degrees to your left); then again at 2:00 position (45 degrees to the right).



Do these exercises every other day, do NOT repeat them two days in a row; give yourself another day of rest in the week (so, for example, do them every monday, wednesday, and friday).



Finally, I might add that since you are 15, you might still be growing. It is not a good idea to be doing isometric exercises until after your last growth spurt; if this is your case, reduce the reps and number of sets by about half, and double the number of slo-mo side kicks.

Answer 2

I recco jogging. you will not get the immediate results that come from leg presses and squats but in 15 years your knees and lower back will thank-you. The strength in your karate kicks should come mostly from your hips. Not your legs. You only need enough leg strength to maintain control. Start standing on one leg while your other leg is in a proper chamber for karate (heel on the plane in front of the standing knee). Keep your standing leg bent, stay low. Hold it as long as you can. Begin to practice your kicks in slow motion with 110% control.

Answer 3

Dude, do lots of Hydrants. My instructor recomended it. Having a strong butt is very important to getting your kicks up. Get down on your hand and knees, raise one leg to waist level, do as many circles as you can, then do as many roundhouse and sidekicks as you can. This will help your flexibility as well.

-Roger, Koha (black belt candidate)

Answer 4

You being a black belt should know, that it's not strength, but balance.

Answer 5

And exactly what purpose would this serve? This is useless in a fight unless your goal is to get thrown down and mauled. Rather than waste your time trying to look good, how about focus on being able to throw one kick, really freggin hard?...

Answer 6

A old training drill for developing the overall strength in your legs and hips for the purpose of making your kicks stronger or being able to hold one out there is to practice doing your kicks slowly while resting your finger tips lightly on the side of the heavy bag or side or corner of the wall or back of a chair. At extension hold the kick for ten seconds and then retract it slowly and pay strict attention to the form and technique to make sure you are doing it correctly and not cheating and doing it incorrectly thereby making it easier. That will develop bad or poor form and technique as opposed to good form and technique. I do this with my students and for advanced students we don't use anything to aid us in our balance.



As for the reason to practice doing your kicks like this sometimes it will make them over all stronger throughout the entire technique as well as give you the ability to use them more effectively. Having the strength to hold a kick out there for a second when fighting like on a side kick keeps your opponent from moving in and being able to counter and also keeps him out there at the end of your reach to follow up and get full extension on hand combinations so that when you then retract it and setting it down you can follow up with those hand combinations. So sometimes I will leave mine out there just for that reason for a fraction of a second. I also like to hit a guy with my side kick lightly sometimes on the body or arm and shoulder and check his ability to move in and then slide in slightly off of that and clock him with my round house kick up over his shoulder without setting it down. I can always stick it in there hard pulling it back right away and if I hit him and he then drops that hand, arm and elbow some to better protect that area better I will then use it like what I mention here and score with the round house then.



Doing your kicks slow to extension with good form and technique and holding them out there will make them stronger and give you the strength and balance needed to be able to use your kicks better and more effectively which is why this is an old traditional training method developed hundreds of years ago.