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| Ian Sly |
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Flying kicks are an ancient arsenal of techniques which have survived the ages. Today the kick is used mostly for demonstrative purposes, though in ancient days the kicks served a practical purpose for the Hwarang warriors, who developed them as a means of kicking opponents off their horses’ backs.
Today there is no such need for flying kicks and a practitioner would be ill-advised to use such kicks for most self-defence purposes for a number of reasons.
1. Flying kicks are telegraphic to an opponent as the kick has a long trajectory, thus making them easier to counter;
2. All high kicks restrict the foundation of your balance to just one leg. The higher the kick the more pressure you place on your stationary leg;
3. When executing flying kicks your lower anatomical targets – such as the knee of the supporting leg and the groin – are exposed for a longer time (it takes longer to reach a high opposing target [the head] than a low one [the legs]);
4. When executing a turning flying kick you are momentarily blind to your opponent while your back is turned;
5. Self-defence situations operate in miniscule time frames. A situation can become life threatening in a milisecond and therefore quick, sharp, short techniques should be utilised instead of techniques such as flying kicks which take a long time to reach their target – remember, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
That said, flying kicks are a fantastic way to develop balance, speed, strength and explosiveness and add an element of surprise to competition. However to accomplish these benefits, flying kicks must be done right and require plenty of perfect practice.
Know your Targets
What is the intention of your proposed flying kick? What is your target? How far away is your target? And how high?
Whether you are kicking at boards, an opponent’s head or fresh air, all of these questions must be answered before attempting a flying kick.
Pose the Kick
Visualisation of a technique is imperative for all martial artists. Before your body can learn to do it, your mind must believe that a flying kick is possible. Lie on the floor and pose your kick in the final kicking position. Tense the muscles you would require for the kick as if excuting it. Make sure your kicking foot is flexed and the proper section of the foot (toes, balls of feet, etc) are positioned correctly at the target. This exercise will help your cerebral and muscle memory to memorise the kick safely.
Putting it into Practice
To perform a flying kick you need to know how to fly. Flight is attainable not by donning a red cape and wearing your underpants on the outside of your dobok, but through plyometrics – the Soviet-developed form of training designed to enhance power, speed and strength development.
The term plyometric refers to a training method based on the theory that pre-stretching a muscle prior to a maximal concentric (muscle shortening) contraction will result in a more powerful contraction.
The theory behind the influence of pre-stretching is that one or both of two mechanisms are responsible for improved contraction force. These two mechanisms are:
1. The storage of elastic energy in the pre-stretching, or eccentric muscle-lengthening phase of the movement;
2. A stretch reflex (myotatic).
The training effects of plyometrics result in an increase in muscle strength and power due to an increase in muscle elasticity and adaptation in neuromuscular function, which is also related to an enhancement of the stretch reflex.
Your plyometric workout should consist of 10-to-15 minutes of warm up and stretching and 20-to-30 minutes of exercise. Remember, plyometric exercises are anaerobic and require more time for the muscles to relax. As a general rule of thumb, use a one-five or one-10 rest ratio – for every second of exercise, allow a rest of ten seconds.
TAKE OFF TIME
After honing your muscular explosiveness through plyometrics, it’s time to begin basic flying kicks such as jumping front-kicks and jumping roundkicks. Leave the spinning, back and hooking kicks until you’re more advanced.
To get more height on your kicks it is important to use your non-kicking leg just as much as your kicking leg. A common mistake is to let the non-kicking leg dangle in mid-air. A dangling leg makes it difficult to execute a flying kick as it becomes nothing but dead weight and can also jar your landing. You must drive the non-kicking leg and tuck it at the moment the kick is executed. By driving the legs (knees) upward during the jump, you will fly. The momentum of throwing the weight of the legs upward will continue to carry the body into the air even after the jumping leg has finished flexing. The tuck will increase the overall height of the kick and allow for more hang time, as with basketballers.
Practice all techniques with an experienced partner or your instructor the holding pads.
“Tae” means jumping or flying, to kick or smash with the foot, and “kwon” denotes destruction with the fist. Therefore the development of “Tae” – those spectacular flying kicks you thought were only possible with Hollywood wires – are an essentially part of the make-up of Taekwondo and your development as a more complete Taekwondo practitioner.
BASIC PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES
Learn to jump before you can fly. Following are some basic plyometric exercises you can use to develop the explosiveness required to get airborne for flying kicks:
TUCK JUMPS
From a half-squat position with your knees about six inches apart and arms by your side at a 90-degree angle, jump vertically as high as possible, bringing your knees to your chest. Keep your back as straight as possible and do this exercise as quickly as you can.
DOUBLE LEG BOUNDS
From a half-squat position as above, jump forward (horizontally) as far as possible.
RUN UP
This exercise is designed to increase your front-kick chamber speed. Place a mat on the ground and step on and off the mat as quickly as possible (alternatively, you can use a step). Concentrate on lifting your knees quickly and straight up.
STANDING PUNCH-JUMP
Stand in the same starting position as the Tuck Jump, but keep your arms by your side. Jump and keep your legs straight. Land and jump again, making sure you explode back up as soon as you land.
SINGLE-LEG HOPS
Launch yourself and drive your opposite knee as high as possible. Aim for maximum horizontal distance. You can choose to alternate legs or use the same leg consecutively.
SAFETY TIPS
1. Be sure to use your muscle strength and NOT your knee joints to stop your momentum when jumping down.
2. Elevated surfaces give your body increased downward momentum and place more stress on your leg.
3. Avoid using ankle weights as they increase the chance of injury.
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