Hi, i've just started kickboxing and want to know how long it should take before you should be able to do this kick. I just don't seem flexible enough to kick very high. I've started doing plenty of stretching, is it just a matter of keep stretching and practice?

thanks

Hey!

Just take it slowly really. Stretch out regularly but don't overdo it at first. When I first started kf my kicks were rubbish, but once your legs get stronger and more flexible it will come. It's important to have a strong core area too so you can stay firmly planted and well balanced while kicking.
The best training is to practise as much as you can. Just do really basic drills ,work on your low round kicks first then get them really strong and start getting higher. No point in being able to kick high if there is no strength behind the kicks.

I agree with Su Lin. One of the fundamentals in Martial Arts is just take your time, dont rush in trying to get something right straight away.

Flexibility takes time, lots and lots of stretching and training.

As you have only just started dont expect results immediately, they will fall into place in time. Concentrate on the basics first (footwork, rooting, stances etc etc) the rest will surely follow.

Rushing things and expecting immediate results is a major problem with the MA community. One of the main reasons people leave a club or drop out is because they dont feel they are getting results quickly enough. Its like 10 years ago, for example, we would be ok with the internet taking 30 seconds to load a page up becuase we were happy with out 56k modems, nowadays with broadband and high speed connections, we get frustrated if google doesnt open up in 2 seconds. Its the same with martial arts, people get fed up with doing the basics and just want to learn how kick and punch. Its pointless. THe basics are the most important thing. Wihtout those, kicks and punches are usless.

In a nutshell: go with the flow and let mother kickboxing take her time

not much i can add here. Su Lin and spaced hit this one pretty square on. Just remember that high kicks aren't all they are cracked up to be (yes a TKD guy just said that). There are very few people that I can't kick in the head, but it is the body shots that really do the most damage. Your head is on a swivel point and won't absorb as much of the force from a kick as the body will. Bill "Superfoot" Wallace told me once that altough kicking people in the head is his favorite thing most of his KOs were scored off of a midsection side kick.

If your kick boxing system allows for kicks to the legs, then start by using your roundhouse kick for that. Slowly work it into something you can put anywhere you want on your partner. Again, it is going to take patience, time, and hard work.

Just simply practice, practice, practice. And when you're done, practice some more.

Thomas Kurz's column on stretching and building strength for high kicks is a great resource. You can read it at: http://stadion.com/column.html

yeh, practice.

Totally, exact same with the above messages. I do Hapkido and the same applies, we don't tend to deal much with high kicks at the moment. It's low hits, the body, not the head. If you wanna do high kicks, then you gotta work your way up from the bottom; just like climbing a hill. One...step...at...a...time! And, we Hapkido'ers don't wanna burst our new Levi's kicking someones teeth.

It took me ages to get this kick right and one of the key things I learned was to get your hips in the right position.

When your knee is in the chamber position, your hip should also tip over, if you don't it hurts. Also, make sure your balancing foot is pointing 45 degress away from you and then you will have the correct balance.

And of course, practise.

Good point, Lesley. I call this "stacking" the hips. This is one of the things that makes the Crescent kick and the Roundhouse Kick truly different.

I can't stress enough the importance of strength and balance.

What good is all that stretching if you haven't the strength to move your legs into position? And if you're hopping around or aligning yourself funny for lack of balance, you'll impair technique.

Once you can do several dozen bodyweight squats, start doing single leg squats (aka pistols). They'll do wonders for all of your kicks!

thanks everyone for the advice, i've only been having lessons for 7 weeks, so i'll keep practicing.

PS tonyli, how do you do single leg squats?, sounds painful!