Improving hip motion with a kicking exercise No1

Our hip motion and rotation is one of the most important elements of our striking ability

We use it as an enhancer of our striking force – knowing that a strike which does not include its motion will lack in its full power potential.

Improving the motion and power can be done directly by working on the hip, either with weights or other means of resistance, or by means of a strike. That is to say, we can improve our hip motion for a punch or elbow, when and while working on our kicking (for example) – the hip does the same movement…

Drill:

Kick a boxing bag either with the front leg or the rear. This simulates, rather accurately, the hip motion needed for front and rear hand striking.

Tips:

1. We shouldn't load the hip before kicking, even when striking with the front leg, if we do it with our front kick we will probably perform it with our front punch aswell (leading to a telegraphed strike...).

2. We can decide if we want to utilize the foot of the leg on which we stand in the same manner we intend to use it when we punch: If we raise our heal and turn on the ball of the foot (when hand striking) – we can practice the same way here. If we set the foot a bit open before the punch – the same before the kick.

3. Opening the foot at least a little bit either before or during the kick is important for preventing injury to the knee.

Enjoy the Sweat

The Warriors Project