Balance Issues

[trainer001]

I need some tips for better balance with my kicks
When I kick a bag with a kick I bounce off instead of striking cleanly how can I avoid this?

[Khun Kao]

Need specific examples, please!

[ciscodog]

My first guess is your body position when you make contact. Try to keep your upper body(from waist up) as vertical or upright as possible. For example, if you throw a side kick and lean back away from the bag when you make contact, the energy your producing hts the bag then travels back up your leg and follows the straight line you have and "bounces " you off the bag. Hope this amkes sense to you.

[pittbulldog]

You may also be kicking at the bag, instead of through the bag. Don't stop slowing your kicks too short. Really push through the bag as if your real intended target was on the other side.

[ciscodog]

try to aim the kick 2-3 inches into the bag...........

[Khun Kao]

try to aim the kick 2-3 inches into the bag...........

Actually, I would advise aiming the kick all the way through the bag, as if you're trying to kick something behind the bag. (or beside the bag, depending on which kick)

[fugetsu]

knee, hips and shoulders

Make sure that your knee, hip and shoulder (on the side that you are kicking with) pass in front of the bag (or whatever you are kicking) before you extend you leg when you kick. Don't divide your upper and lower halves, hips trying to pivot one way but your upper torso twisting the opposite. Make sure everything is going in the same direction. This way, you will have all your power going through the bag. Also, kick 45 degrees up at the bag, and hit the bag, using your shin of course, with your knee at an angle above your shin. Don't make a big round-house type kick. Follow a trajectory that is the straightest to the bag. And don't forget to yell "woooosh!" as you kick.
Fugetsu

[dynamic]

Ive heard lots of good stuff, but i disagree with the 45 degree angled kick, its should be about flat at 20 degrees or less (edited, my bad). Even more damaging ive seen a kick to the head where the guys shin came from higher than the guys head, down on his skull knocking him out, since his arm was blocking the side of his head surprise surprise. And if you kick a person with a flat angle, why not the bag or the pads? You will be working different muscles if you kick at different angles. ive never seen anyone experienced (5+ years) at my gym kicking at 45, and neither do I. But ive seen plenty of beginners kick like that, with straight legs and all lol . I think its important to practice a lot, and practice hard! Kicking at 45 (which i used to do like up to maybe two years ago) doesnt really work the muscles closer to your hip, which happen to be the ones that let you have a strong high kick, and overall better kick (like crocop!) and you kinda get lazy, but soon you will realize this is a really bad thing to be lazy with your high kicks, i always spot people at my gym kicking the bottom of the bag and being amazed with how strong their kick is. I used to be like this, but when i was told to kick to the head of the waist, i realized my kick was at least half or a third as powerful as when i kick the leg region. But lots of practice with high kicks will dramatically increase the overall flexibility, strength, and speed of all your kicks, and remember high kicks can be some of the deadliest. So dont slack there. Basically what im saying is that havingthe pads at 90 degree (just like the bag or a person is standing) is a lot better for your improvement than a lower angle. In fact, i would go so far as to say you dont need to practice low kicks, because doing the waist high kicks will improve your strength/speed in both areas a lot more than doing both low and high, but actually this is wrong because you need to learn low kick technique as well, but i guess i dont really kick low on a bag much anymore, but for a beginner, please practice everything and do what your told by your instructor/superiors. DONT SLACK! Good luck!

[fugetsu]

45 degree kicks

Watch Perry Ubeda vs. Sahkmonkhun, King's Birthday fight 1999, I think, where Sahkmonkhun dislocates his shoulder, but keeps fighting. From a southpaw stance, he uses the left kick to eventually break Ubeda's right arm (or damn near close, he kicked the crap out of Ubeda so bad that he gave up). Watch the angle of Sahkmonkhun's kick, it goes up at a 45 degree angle, his knee passes in front of his target (defending against Ubeda coming in any closer) and then when he pivots and extends his leg, only then does his leg hip turn over and his kick then hits at a 90 degree angle or so.
The kick hits at an 90 degree angle, but more important is how it gets there.

[chalambok]

For the sake of your balance, try kicking in the air and going around. Remember, the round kick is pulled through the target by the opposite hip/pivot. Doing this makes it moot whether you approach at 45 degrees or kick flat, because you still have to go all the way around. Usually, errors in kicking technique are due to non-adherence to the 3 basics: pivot, swing the arm, keep the leg straight. When you notice a problem, always check what happens before.

[dynamic]

Oh yea, im not saying 45 is bad in a fight. or did I? Im not even going to bother to check, but if i did, im wrong. Anyway, i just mean its better to practice with less than 45 and use your hip more. But for sure in a fight, it depends on how the kick get there, and what part of the body you are hitting. it would be kind of stupid to be kicking someones leg at 45 since their leg is already angled, so your shin would be sliding on their leg, (unless your kicking their lower leg, in that case your leg would be 45 degrees or more below the horizontal). And im not quite there yet, but the guys with really loose hips that can do the leg going up at 45 and then smacking downwards is really cool to watch like you said fugetsu. Theres a couple guys like that at my gym, and its one of those guys that did the kick above his head, and the shin came rushing down from above, so that angles really weird. And its a multi step move which is just really cool to do if youve got the kick down well. So i guess i shouldve been more clear about how all kicks are different, depending on where theyre being kicked to. Those rotating kicks especially on the upper leg, and i think the main advantage to guys with those good hips, is they can blast you with a great kick from extremely close. So to sum up: I was wrong in saying 90 is great. edit: I forgot to mention, but to get those great hips you should be stretching and doing nice 90 degree angled kicks hah