The Ax Kick
Nov. 9th, 2007 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrHoly cow, I thought the hook kick was bad.
Last night at karate, Mr. Dingmann started us out with kicks: the hook kick, the hook kick/round kick combination, and the side kick. I had my usual frustration with the hook kick and my usual uncertainty over whether or not I was doing it right (he said that I was, but I had a hard time believing it. It still feels so very odd). But I was balancing better than usual on my side kicks, so that was some comfort.
He stopped the class, however, because the majority of the students seemed to be having difficulty. "Well, I can see you're getting frustrated, so let's leave that for the moment and try something completely different. I'm going to show you the ax kick."
I've never tried it before. You pivot your supporting leg all the way around as you would for a side kick, and bring your opposite knee up toward your chest, chambering it as you do for a side stomp. But then instead of kicking down, you open the leg up, as you would for a front kick, and then slice it on a downward diagonal, across your opponent's body. It's a good kick for forcing down the opponent's blocking hand. If you're sparring, when the leg comes down, you can shift your weight onto it and perhaps followup with something like a backfist/punch.
So I tried it. If I thought the inflexibility in my hips made the roundkick hard, it makes the ax kick impossible. I mean I literally couldn't open my leg up with my leg chambered in that position. My wonky hamstring isn't helping either. Guess I'll have to wait on that kick until I get the ligaments in my hips sorted out and I'm more flexible. But how long is that going to take? Another six months before the kicks start opening up? A year? Longer? If I let myself, I would get sooooooo frustrated, both in class and in sparring, because I can barely kick waist level on some kicks. I'm trying to hang onto the mentality that they teach you to develop in yoga class: be patient, do the best that you can with your body the way it behaves today, and be satisfied with that, and simply try again tomorrow. It's hard. I want to be able to kick to the head the way that the 20 year olds in my class can do. The way Delia and Fiona can do. The way that I could do, for heavens sake, when I was a kid.
Besides the exercises that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cloudscudding gave me to try to help the hamstring, pazlazuli suggested I do wheel kicks, starting low, and working up to waist height, and then, when I'm warmed up, taking them up to full extension. I'll try those every day, along with the hamstring exercises. Perhaps that will help open up my damn hips.
I was watching Delia's class on Tuesday, and Mr. Dingmann went down the line of the students, one by one, and had them demonstrate how low they could go doing the splits in each position. When it came to Delia's turn, and she plonked down immediately in a perfect splits without the slightest bit of strain, I watched in pride and some amusement as at least half the parents in the waiting area stood up from their chairs and craned their necks to see her, gasping in astonishment. She truly is incredibly gifted with flexibility. (See pictures here and here)
I used to have that flexibility. I did! And it just about kills me that I don't have it anymore. I want it BACK.
Last night at karate, Mr. Dingmann started us out with kicks: the hook kick, the hook kick/round kick combination, and the side kick. I had my usual frustration with the hook kick and my usual uncertainty over whether or not I was doing it right (he said that I was, but I had a hard time believing it. It still feels so very odd). But I was balancing better than usual on my side kicks, so that was some comfort.
He stopped the class, however, because the majority of the students seemed to be having difficulty. "Well, I can see you're getting frustrated, so let's leave that for the moment and try something completely different. I'm going to show you the ax kick."
I've never tried it before. You pivot your supporting leg all the way around as you would for a side kick, and bring your opposite knee up toward your chest, chambering it as you do for a side stomp. But then instead of kicking down, you open the leg up, as you would for a front kick, and then slice it on a downward diagonal, across your opponent's body. It's a good kick for forcing down the opponent's blocking hand. If you're sparring, when the leg comes down, you can shift your weight onto it and perhaps followup with something like a backfist/punch.
So I tried it. If I thought the inflexibility in my hips made the roundkick hard, it makes the ax kick impossible. I mean I literally couldn't open my leg up with my leg chambered in that position. My wonky hamstring isn't helping either. Guess I'll have to wait on that kick until I get the ligaments in my hips sorted out and I'm more flexible. But how long is that going to take? Another six months before the kicks start opening up? A year? Longer? If I let myself, I would get sooooooo frustrated, both in class and in sparring, because I can barely kick waist level on some kicks. I'm trying to hang onto the mentality that they teach you to develop in yoga class: be patient, do the best that you can with your body the way it behaves today, and be satisfied with that, and simply try again tomorrow. It's hard. I want to be able to kick to the head the way that the 20 year olds in my class can do. The way Delia and Fiona can do. The way that I could do, for heavens sake, when I was a kid.
Besides the exercises that
cloudscudding gave me to try to help the hamstring, pazlazuli suggested I do wheel kicks, starting low, and working up to waist height, and then, when I'm warmed up, taking them up to full extension. I'll try those every day, along with the hamstring exercises. Perhaps that will help open up my damn hips. I was watching Delia's class on Tuesday, and Mr. Dingmann went down the line of the students, one by one, and had them demonstrate how low they could go doing the splits in each position. When it came to Delia's turn, and she plonked down immediately in a perfect splits without the slightest bit of strain, I watched in pride and some amusement as at least half the parents in the waiting area stood up from their chairs and craned their necks to see her, gasping in astonishment. She truly is incredibly gifted with flexibility. (See pictures here and here)
I used to have that flexibility. I did! And it just about kills me that I don't have it anymore. I want it BACK.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 04:06 pm (UTC)My flexability is crap even with my double jointed hips.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 04:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 04:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 04:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 05:29 pm (UTC)Seriously, us elderly sorts ain't gonna get there as fast as your daughters. I _started_ karate at age 40. I had to adjust my expectations.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 05:38 pm (UTC)That's a new one.
Happy thought... my daughter is four today!!!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-09 07:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-10 04:28 am (UTC)