My kicks are whips....

[Abe]

Hi, guys. I'm new to this forum as well as muay thai (3months), so let's hope this question has not already been asked.

I'm very skinny, 177cm, 57kg. My kicking techniques is ok. I've discovered that although my kicks (both legs) make a hard impact, there's no "push" behind it. How can i fix that? I know i definately need to gain a lil weight but how else can i improve my kicks?

[Oreomeister365]

I dunno if this is what you need, but make sure to push through the target, not just hit their surface...like a knife cutting an apple or something, you dont just cut the skin of it, you go all the way through it.

[swisscom]

Hit higher on your shin (Almost up by your knee?), and throw more weight into your kicks. That = Push

Edit: Pushing someone with your kick is lame. I mean it works for some people.. but if they stay where they are, it's easier for you to combo amiright? Plus, whip kicks hurt more.

[Oreomeister365]

im not sayin you should actually push them, I'm saying you should be throwing it as if you wanted to cut them in half, as my intructor said.

[Khun Kao]

You just have to figure out how to get your weight behind your kicks. There are a couple of chief elements to doing this:

1. Step as you Kick: This gets your body weight behind the kick through your momentum

2. Lean your upper body away from the kicking leg: This sets up a counter-balance so that the weight of your upper body actually transfers into the kick. Think of a see-saw, when the one side of the see-saw goes down, the other goes up with the force of the one going down. You want your entire body to move like a see-saw as your kicking, from your shoulders to your kicking foot.

3. Rotate! You have gotta pivot properly when you kick. The rotation does NOT stop at impact! Your kick should continue to drive through the target after impact. Drive your kick through the target with your hip, as if you're trying to kick all the way through your opponent and back down into the floor on the other side of the target.

Hope this helps!

[Screamtruth]

When I kick, as Khun Kao said, I step in, and rotate! Another thing to remember, is I use my opponents target, whether the leg or whatever, to push off of to reset my leg. With all the above combined, you get the power from the rotation and pivot, then the followthrough, combined with that pushoff. Usually this not only creates a powerful kick, but it also will unbalance your opponent. Plus, it hurts like hell.

[gabbah]

2. Lean your upper body away from the kicking leg: This sets up a counter-balance so that the weight of your upper body actually transfers into the kick.

Huh? I agree with your other points but this sounds sounds wrong to me. Leaning back when kicking is what I see beginners doing, loosing all the power in the kick.
I say you have to keep your upperbody pretty much straight when you rotate. If anything, you should lean forward as you land the kick (doing a crunch with the stomach).
All beginners have problems rotating the hip enough when they kick. And they try to land the kick before the hip is fully rotated. I always say hip first, then leg.
Also, some beginners have their feet in line with the target before the kick, which will decrease power a lot. You should work at 45 degrees angles.

[Abe]

Thank you so much guys. I think my problem would be stopping my rotate on impact as u guys mentioned.

But what's with the lean back or not? i don't lean back when i kick to the thighs, but lean a bit when i go higher. Is that correct?

[Garland]

step in at a 45 as you kick, kick with your shin, doesn't matter how far up or down so long as it's not your instep. (unless you're going for their neck or face) turn your hips over, fire through, and swing your body behind it. Your supporting leg should be turned around and on toe.

[gong fu]

do kicks with ankle wieghts strapped on, and kick repeatedly with good form untill you cant kick no more, and as you gradually build up more power add more wieghts so it always gets tougher and tougher, this also applies to your punching with wieghts on your arms and wrist. start small and build up gradually dont rush into heavy wieghts start light man.

[Abe]

Thanks guys. Hope correct form and weights will see me through. thanks for the tips.

[gong fu]

the wieghts will help a great deal, but always remember to stretch every day before and after a workout. try some other methods along with the wieghts, go jogging with the wieghts on. do starjumps. jumping on the spot. plenty of squats. mix up your workouts always try new things within reason ofcourse.

[aseepish]

do kicks with ankle wieghts strapped on,

Be VERY VERY careful doing this, it's a good way to hyperextend your knee. In fact, I wouldn't recommend doing it at all.

[gong fu]

i would reccomend doing this, but with care and caution, the results of training with wieghts are very impressive, but there are dangers ofcourse, there are dangers at every turn within the martial arts training methods from all cultures and styles, its just about knowing how to do things correctly, always train with safetly in mind, do things correctly or not atall. but dont let dangers of certain training methods put you off if you want to advance into extream training, just understand the dangers and learn to work with them on your limits to your advantage, some people prefer to stay risk free in training, but fighting is not risk free and thats what your training for. you must train hard but carefully,

[gabbah]

As for leaning back when doing high kicks, this is normal. It's harder to maintain a straight upper body when kicking high. As you improve form, build hip strength and agility, you will not be forced to bend you upperbody as much when you kick high.
The disadvantage of bending your body back is that you loose power, it takes longer to regain balance after the kick and you telegraph your kick coming high to your opponent.
When you reach a certain level, you will not be forced to lean your body back when doing a high kick with your back leg, so your opponent will have a harder time seeing if you're doing a middle kick or a high kick to his head, and this is worth quite a lot I think.
So, as the other mentioned, "step in" (which is actually stepping in and to the side, at a 45 degree angle to your opponent), rotate upper body and hips so that they are in line with your opponent (as if doing a sidekick), and then let your leg hit the target. When the leg hits the target, tense muscles in leg and puch off your opponent with hips and legs. You will feel how this pushing off counters the full rotation of your body, transfering the energy to your opponent. This also helps you rotate back to your stance.
Remember to keep your hands up after the kick!

As for the weight training, I wouldn't recommend it at first. You should focus on getting the form right first. So maybe after a year or so you could try weights out.