Static Active Stretching

As part of our workout this Saturday, I led the class in some static active stretching exercises.  I like to do these stretches because they help develop the strength and balance needed to deliver solid, controlled kicks. This day's exercises consisted executing front kicks and round kicks in the following progression:

1. Position the pedestal leg for the kick 
• Front kick: turn base foot outward 20 degrees
• Round kick turn base foot outward 90 degrees from the target
2. Lift the leg to chamber for the kick
3. Extend the kick as high as possible and hold for 5 seconds
4. Re-chamber the kick
5. Put the foot back down

This type of exercise helps develop superior strength in the legs, hips and foot.  This will make both sparring and forms training easier in the long run because students will have the strength to hold themselves strong in every component of a kick technique.

Joint Warm-ups

Joints hold the body together and if our students have been sitting at their desks all day and commuting to work, their joints are probably very tight and stiff.  Before tossing limbs about, it is essential to warm up the major joints that will be employed during the workout.  I have used the following progression recently:

1. Head rolls (deep slow rolling of the head from one shoulder, down to the sternum and up to the opposite shoulder and then all the way up trying to touch the back of the head in between the shoulder blades)
2. Head twists (Slowly turning the head side to side as far as it will go)
3. Head nods (Slowly nodding the head back and forth as far as it will go)
4. Shoulder rolls (Shrugging the shoulders up and rolling them back trying to scrape the shoulder blades together
5. Arm rotations (Spread arms wide parallel to the floor and make small circles , gradually making the circles larger (forwards and backwards)
6. Arm crossovers: (Straight arms cross in front and then spread them out wide (back and forth)
7. Trunk Rolls (Lean as far forward as you can and roll making sure you lean as far back as you can (look behind you if you can)  [clockwise, then counterclockwise)]
8. Hip Rolls (Veritical) (Chamber for a front kick and rotate you hip outward as far as you can and put it back down)  [Left and Right]
9. Hip Rolls (Horizontal) (Chamber for a front kick and rotate it into a round kick chamber and rotate it outward and put it down behind you) [left/right]

Class Structure

I wanted to share how I structure a class at my school.  I have been teaching Taekwondo for about a year now and have settled on some simple plans for a good adult martial arts class.  When I started, I did not want to simply emulate what I had been taught, but rather improve upon it by sharing what I know and understand through my own personal training.  The basic class structure is as follows:

1. Joint Warm Up
2. Cardio\Strength Training Warm Up
3. Dynamic Stretching
4. Practical Curriculum Elements
5. Stretching

This structure above is designed to take the adult body, which is probably stiff as wood when it enters the dojahng and prepares it for its best possible performance for the "Practical Curriculum" section of the class.  Traditional martial arts warm-ups start with items #1 and immediately follow to #5.  This doesn't work for me and from what I have learned through research, it doesn't work for most people and could lead to injury if care is not taken.  The body is much more elastic after a workout and focus on stretching to enhance flexibility should be done at the END of class, not the beginning.

Front Kicks and Fore-hand techniques

This Saturday I focused on sparring for adults and focused on techniques that may work for those with limited flexibility.  In sparring, we want to try and not expose our center-line to our opponent to avoid becoming an easy mark for them.  #2 kicks and reverse hand techniques should be used with great care.  Today I focused on making use of front kicks in sparring.  In general, it makes sense to use techniques with the hands and feet you have closest to your targets.

Front-Kicks in Sparring

When I started at ATA many years ago, I was instructed not to use front kicks in sparring because of center-line exposure.  This is true if we are talking about a back-leg #2 kick.  However, if we make use of a #1 front kick with limited center-line exposure, we may discover a alternative tool for adults that have limited lateral flexibility to reach head-high for round kicks, hook kicks, or side kicks.  Some key targets that are good for front kicks are:

• Under the forehand guard of your opponent
• The torso, if you can "V" out and deliver the kick
• The head too if you can "V" out and deliver.

I found that the during the exercise, the students had started to gravitate toward a more exposed posture to deliver the kick more easily.  I then highlighted how to quickly turn the hips toward the target, kick, and then retreat.  Following this, I had them try an inner-crescent kick and then use that momentum inward to help them retreat into a defensive posture away from their opponent. 

Forehand Techniques in Sparring

I was taught long ago that hand techniques score points and that you must use combinations.  Kicks in my mind are a means to an end and you are lucky if you can score with the kick.  To score with hand techniques, you have to have fast hands.  To deliver fast hand techniques, you have to understand the bio-mechanics of your body's weapons.  To deliver a fast hand technique, such as a backfist, you must remain relaxed until ready to strike and rely on twitch muscle fibers to help you accelerate the hand to its target.  To illustrate, I broke down the back fist into its sub-components.  The mechanics of a backfist from a resting position are as follows:

1. Forehand is relaxed at the fighter's side while he/she is in a sparring stance facing their opponent
2. The arm must be lifted such that the elbow is pointing at the opponent and the forearm is parallel to the floor
3. The arm must be extended outward sharply to strike the target
4. The arm must be quickly retracted and then dropped to its relaxed position

Executing steps 2 and 3 must be done as quickly as possible and rely heavily on the twitch muscle fibers for speed.  Today, we practiced the above using kick pad targets (pork-chop pads).  Because ATA forbids throwing hand techniques to the head, backfists are only useful as a fore-hand technique when you and your opponent stand in an open stance against each other (i.e. your belt knots are pointing in the same direction).  Aim for the upper or lower torso for scoring.

The second drill I covered was the fore-hand hook punch.  The mechanics are similar to that of the backfist but differ in the striking direction:

1. Forehand is relaxed at the fighter's side while he/she is in a sparring stance facing their opponent
2. The arm must be lifted such that the elbow is pointing at the target and the forearm is parallel to the floor
3. The arm must be driven in  a hook motion around your opponent's guard into a spot on the upper or lower torso
4. The arm must be quickly retracted and then dropped to its relaxed position

This technique is best used when you and your opponent are in a closed stance against each other (i.e. belt knots are pointing in opposite directions)