side stretch test

[BOy2K]

lo all
sorry first post and im already throwin questions heh
right.
i am a blue belt kickboxer and have been doing it just over a year.
i have always had problems with side kicks front kicks im ok with
but ive always had problems with side ones.
it feels like my leg tightens up just as i get to the kick out part of them.
i have tryed the side stretch test and i get a similar thing.
i can get my legs completly in line on the test but it feels very tight
and sort like its pulling on my hip joints.
my sister used to do gymnastics when she was younger and could do
all splits with ease which leads me to belive im just natuarally stiff.
i also get some clicks in my hips when i do outside scoop kicks.
does this sound like the kinda things you would experience if you was
just naturaly stiff? or does it sound like i will never be able to side kick
properly?

any help or advice would be great.
thanks

[kiwisting]

Hi, when you say Blue Belt kickboxer. I was not awear kickboxers had coloured belts. What country do you come from? I have trained in Muay Thai now for 15 years and in all the events and training camps I have been to all around the world, I never knew of a grading system like Karate has. Our grading was due to our fight records, amature or pro.

Anyway, to help you out.
When you do your side leg raises make sure you raise them to the side. Slightly flex (bend) the raising leg as it makes its lateral movement. Keep your supporting leg comfortable but do not let your heel point to your target (where your raising leg is going). Do not try and keep your supporting leg dead straight either, if your hips dont allow it. Another thing is almost every athlete has variations with muscle and bone structure with some being shorter and others taller.

The tightness in your hips could be relieved by stretching our your Buttocks, Hip Flexors, Quads and also your Abbductors (muslcles on the outside of your hips).

I left fighting some 6 years ago and last year decided that I need to regain flexibility in order to teach my students better. I used Kurz method for about 10 months now. I have full front splits again and I am about 6 inchs from my side split. My leg raises how ever are the same as Kurz shows in his book and video. When I started his method I also had tight hips but it will pass through.

Good luck with your Kickboxing and remember that there is alot more to it than just high kicks. I had never been able to do side splits in my life yet I have a better fight record than many who can. Boxing is just as important in not more so. Knees and elbows are the best weapons us kickboxers have and they require just above standard flexibility. And all about high kicks, when I was young and started training, my coach came to me while I was kicking high on the heavey bag. He said, if I give you an axe and tell you to cut down a tree, will you climb to the top of the tree to begin cutting it down.

Good luck.

[dragon]

Kick boxing does have a grade system unlike Muay Thai.It usually depends which system the particular Kickboxing class is based around(usually Karate or Kung Fu)

Keep your supporting leg comfortable but do not let your heel point to your target (where your raising leg is going).

Many would disagree with this.I've tried it both ways and get a much better stretch/less pain doing it with heel pointing towards the target(Pavel Tsatsouline actually says that's the only way it should be performed).Even on the Secrets of Stretching DVD,Kurz seems to be performing the side leg raise slightly back,not perfectly to the side(although that could be camera angle).
There is also an overhead view here:-http://www.stretching.info/column_stretch6.html

I think alot of depends on an individual anatomy.

Dragon

[kiwisting]

You may be right on the angle used for side leg raises but I still find it hard to come to grips with a grading system in kickboxing. Is this some form of semi contact kickboxing like on the USA tapes.
I retired a long time ago but have stayed active in the sport as a sparring partner and corner hand during my old stable mates fights!
Even Tom wrote in one letter about how north american Martial Arts gyms called them selves full contact but were really only semi contact. My background before Thai Boxing was in conventional boxing not karate or kung fu. Right through our career's we were taught to fight, not hit mid air or a target. No punching bag has ever hit me back! It makes you think about the concept of Martial Art as Martial means war and Art is to perfect something.

I may be ignorant but I never lost to any North American fighters in my career and none of my stable mates ever did. I guess we were prepeared differnt.

Oh, I apoligise on the belt system because we did have belts. Most of them were provisional, Pan, Intercontinental or world. Being a fighter I still regard systems like UFC as elite in comparison to us but thats a differnt sport to ring fighting.

[dragon]

I can't speak for/represent U.S Kickboxing as i don't know much about it.In the U.K though semi contact is called semi contact,full contact is called full contact.No doubt you'll find some practitioners who claim to do more than they really do but i think you get that minority in most systems.I'm sure you can find people who may have done a bit of grappling who claim to be cage fighters for example.

As for grades in Kickboxing:-It's there just to show rank in class.I don't know what grades are like in the states but the clubs where i've trained make you fight for your grade as well as show technique.Not everyone who trains has the goal of professional fighting,but it's still possible with experience and good technique to be a good instructor.I know many good boxers who make lousy coaches so being able to fight means just that-you can fight,not necessarily teach.Gradings help to keep a record of progress.

Right through our career's we were taught to fight, not hit mid air or a target. No punching bag has ever hit me back!

I don't know of any professional Thai boxer,Kick boxer,or Boxer who doesn't do shadow boxing(hitting mid air),pad work(hitting a target),or use the heavy bag.
I doubt a punching bag has ever hit Mike Tyson back but i'm sure he couldn't have developed his punching power without one.

Dragon

[BOy2K]

heya guys
heh hope i havent opened a can of worms here

yeah we have belts here in the uk i think its a good way to
track skill and progress and also give a sense of acheavement along the
way.

our kickboxing is full contact but it is also open to people who wish to
train and not compete as well, they just dont spar and use it as a way
to work out.

i really want to develop my side kicks not just to kick high but i feel at
the moment i have inadiquate side kicks. the tightness doesnt just stop
me kicking high but also takes out the power and technique and as you
well know most kicks are down to technique. im not really that botherd
about being able to do the full splits i just want to be able to kick properly.
i have managed to get this far but i cant see myself being able to progress
in the sport without finding a solution to this problem as im now finding
the advanced kicks a problem.

[dragon]

We have digressed a little from your original question.
Training for one year is far to early to write yourself off.
You say when performing the side split test you try to get your leg perfectly in line.
It shouldn't be really.Either tilt your pelvis forwards or point your toes upwards.
When performing a side kick,again,don't try to keep your leg and body perfectly in line.Twist your supporting leg so your heel faces your target.This will put your hips in a more comfortable position and prevent your thigh jamming into your pelvis.
Check out some of the articles on kicking on this website.

Dragon

[BOy2K]

wicked thanks dragon.
man it recons 2 weeks till delivery!