Kickboxing: How to Improve the Speed and Power of Your Kicks
Not surprisingly, a powerful kick is an essential component of kickboxing. Do you want to kick harder? Training for stronger kicks can help make you healthier and more resilient in the ring. This can be achieved by practising the right techniques, and effective kicking can open up many possibilities in the world of MMA.
So, if you are looking for an MMA class in Brampton to improve your kickboxing, you must train with an instructor who can teach you the right techniques.
In this post we outline three expert-recommended techniques you can follow to increase the power of your kicks.
3 Techniques to Develop the Power of Your Kicks
To increase the power of your kicks, you have to do the right exercises and follow the right techniques. Here, we share three techniques that are worth doing to produce stronger kicks.
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Develop Maximum Lower Body Strength
The ability to move your hips smoothly, turning them over when throwing your kick, is based on having solid hip mobility. If your hips lack that mobility, you will have difficulty executing a proper kick. Whether you want to speed up or generate more powerful kicks, first you have to strengthen your lower body.
Typical exercises like squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, leg presses, sit-ups, planks, and single-leg variations all fit into this category. They will strengthen your hips and lower body to give you optimal balance and posture for a perfectly-timed, strong and fast kick.
In addition, you can follow a hip mobility routine to keep your lower body mobile and build it towards producing smooth and solid kicks. This will also decrease your rate of injury or any lower body tightness that could create obstacles in achieving your goals.
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Plyometric Workouts
If you want to gain explosive strength to land solid, powerful kicks, plyometric workouts are great for your entire body and cardiovascular health. They build muscles and strengthen your bones, joints, and ligaments. Adding plyometric workouts to your weekly training regimen will also lower your risk of injury.
The following are examples of plyometric movements that will increase the explosive power of your kicks:
- Burpees
- Jump Squats
- Tuck Jumps
- Jump Rope
- Lateral Jumps
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Breathing
Breathing is extremely vital for a proper kick. Without practising proper breathing, you’ll probably find yourself tiring easily, as your energy depletes quickly which not only affects your kick but your entire game.
With proper breathing techniques, enough oxygen will flow through your body, making you move gracefully around the ring without tiring. Especially when executing high-impact techniques on both offence and defence, you can optimize your energy expenditure. Eventually, you will have a calm, relaxed mind that will help you produce powerful kicks.
Fortunately, there are many breathing techniques to assist you in managing your breathing during a struggle. Taking long, slow breaths in through the nose and exhaling in short bursts out when striking is one effective technique.
So-called ‘4-7-8’ breathing is also effective. Here, you breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds to reduce anxiety.
By leveraging plyometric workouts, hip mobility, lower body strengthening and breathing, you can prepare yourself to strike solid kicks. If you are looking for more ways to increase your kicking power, be sure to attend kickboxing classes near you to learn from expert trainers.
