Problems with MT round kicks

**chickenbox123** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 5:51pm

I joined my mma gym about 3 months ago. Grappling is a completely new and vast world for me. I'm no stranger to striking however, as I've been doing karate for about 6 years now. I am having a problem with the kicks in the MT classes though. They say I need to turn my hips more side ways, and be raised more on the ball of my foot that's not kicking. I personally think turning my hips more would make it harder for me to throw punches after the kick, cuz my line of striking is more to the side. As for the raised on the ball of my foot part, I feel really off balanced and this also makes it slower for me throw punches after the kick. I don't know where I've picked up my way of kicking. Guess they never stressed the turn of the hips in my karate style. I just wanted to see if other people felt the same way about their kicks

**lordbd** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:15pm

Chickenbox,

I think I'm in a similar boat to you. I've had to adjust from being a TKD person years ago, used to throwing out quick snap-kicks. It's been a big adjustment to switch over to MT where there is no snap, you try to follow-through, and you get all your power from turning your hips.

I found it helpful to purposely turn my hips even MORE than feels comfortable at first, in order to compensate. You want your kick to follow a basically horizontal angle rather than being sort of diagnoal like with a snap kick. A metaphor that was useful to me was that you should throw your leg around with your hips and let it follow through as though you were chopping wood. It does take more muscle and balance I think to throw a kick like that, but it's more powerful than a quick snap kick like we're used to.

I personally have been worrying about getting the form of the kick correct and am only just now starting to worry about how much speed I can get and how to fit it into combinations.

**chickenbox123** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:22pm

Thanks for the reply lord bd. I personally feel like I'll stick with the way I'm kicking now, cuz it's a lot easier to follow up. I'll be taking a lot of flak from my coaches though, as they constantly remind me about my hips and ball of the foot. Maybe if I see an experianced striker follow up quickly after throwing a mt kick I'll start trying to get it down

**lordbd** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:34pm

Chickenbox,

You should drill the MT way of kicking just so that you know you are able to. It's better to have more skills in your toolbox rather than less.

My advice: Get really good at doing the MT type of roundkick at a low height so you can whip out those really powerful leg kicks. Those are quick and easy to set up after anyway, and leg kicks are pretty effective and viscious for sparring purposes. In my experience so far, doing a TKD type of kick (which anecdotally is similar to a karate kick) doesn't set you up with a strong leg kick that will actually let your opponent respect your feet.

**chickenbox123** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:36pm

Guess I might as well try it out to see if I can do it. I'll see if it'll work out for me. Thanks

**itwasntme** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:46pm

Originally Posted by chickenbox123

Guess I might as well try it out to see if I can do it. I'll see if it'll work out for me. Thanks

Why take MT if you're not gonna listen to your coaches?

But from what I've seen, it's more likely you'll throw punches to set up (hide) a kick than kick to set up punches. Granted I practise Kickboxing so there could be a style difference or it could be a coaching difference.

**chickenbox123** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 6:51pm

True but I also feel it's important to incorporate some of your own style based on Experiance, which I don't even have much of which is why I'll atleast try to get the kick down. As for the combo I agree with you, I think I mislead when I said "follow up with punches." I think the kick will mostly be a finisher but if I see an opening for another 1-2 then i'd prefer to kick my way cuz its a lot easier to follow up.

**itwasntme** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 7:05pm

Originally Posted by chickenbox123

True but I also feel it's important to incorporate some of your own style based on Experiance, which I don't even have much of which is why I'll atleast try to get the kick down. As for the combo I agree with you, I think I mislead when I said "follow up with punches." I think the kick will mostly be a finisher but if I see an opening for another 1-2 then i'd prefer to kick my way cuz its a lot easier to follow up.

Just slow it down, bro. You already admitted to having little MA experience anyway and you have been in your current style only 3 months. Don't start trying to pave your own way just yet, you won't learn much if any and your coaches and training partner will surely get annoyed with that **** pretty quick.

**Neo Sigma** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 7:55pm

Originally Posted by chickenbox123

True but I also feel it's important to incorporate some of your own style based on Experiance, which I don't even have much of which is why I'll atleast try to get the kick down. As for the combo I agree with you, I think I mislead when I said "follow up with punches." I think the kick will mostly be a finisher but if I see an opening for another 1-2 then i'd prefer to kick my way cuz its a lot easier to follow up.

You ever heard the phrase "you have to know the rules before you can break them"? It applies equally well here. You're having this "problem" because you don't know the basics of the kick, and as someone with a little more experience in muay thai, let me tell you that it takes longer than three months to learn how to really throw a good kick. In your case, there isn't a silver bullet, because there never is. It's simply a matter of practice, practice, and more practice.

You better lose this "I'll just do it my way instead when I feel like it" attitude, too. You're there to learn from your coach, aren't you? Paying money to do so, in fact. So shut your hole and open your mind, empty your cup, whatever cliche you like best. Coaches can generally tell when they deliberately aren't being listened to, and they aren't going to keep banging their heads against a brick wall with someone who doesn't respect what they're trying to teach, because they've got other students there who DO want to learn. Would you go to a restaurant, order a meal, and then decide you didn't want it, so you pull out a sandwich you brought from home? No, that would be stupid. Sure, they'll still take your money, because they're a business, but neither of you get what you wanted out of the deal.

Basically, don't waste your money and their time if you're not going to do it the way they tell you to.

**chickenbox123** · Posted On: 6/16/2012 8:44pm

Lets not freak out guys, I already said I was gonna start learning the way they teach it (about 3 times actually). I agree with what your saying though, and I realize I have been disrespectful