Proper form of a "sidekick"

[hottiescientist]

Ok, I've always wanted to know this and any advice would be great.

I did some training with shotokan and I felt that when I did a sidekick in that style, I was raising my leg in folded form and then springing my lower leg out...very similar to a roundhouse kick at times. But when I saw Tae-kwon-do people do it, it felt like they brought up a folded leg, turned their hips a lot more, brought the folded leg in a little more, and the "pushed" the heel to straighten the leg. When doing a sidekick in aerobics, how should I do it? I don't want to hurt myself, but I guess I always took more time to a sidekick? I realize that its hard to talk about this on a forum, but I'm really curious.

 

[Gibbee]

RE: Proper form of a

I have a black belt in taekwondo (1st degree) but I no longer practice. Now, having said that, in aerobic kickboxing I think of stomping to the side. In TKD, we pulled the knee in to the abs (coiled up), hip turned toward the target and slightly forward to get more force into the kick, then extended it straight (pushing through the heel and the side blade of the foot), re-coiled it and then brought it to the floor. A 4-part kick. Hard to explain, really. Does that make sense?

 

[hottiescientist]

RE: Proper form of a

It does -- can you do all 4 pts in time with some of the aerobic workouts? You were a blackbelt so maybe, but I've always wondered. I want to get my cardio on, but I don't want to have such bad form that I hurt myself, you know?

 

[jonahnah]

RE: Proper form of a

For me, it's faster to execute a proper side kick in most aerobic KB workouts than a roundhouse. It can really torque my knee if my leg is not fully raised in the strike position for a roundhouse and I find many workouts don't give me enough time for the lift, snap and recoil.

Jonahnah
From now on, I'm going to be more decisive. Possibly.

 

[Irisg1]

RE: Proper form of a

I take Cardio Kick-boxing classes at a Tae Kwon Do Studio, and I notice we don't do a whole lot of side and round house kicks. I've never asked any of the instructors why this is it, but I'm thinking it's because the speed at which the classes are paced, would make it a little unsafe, in particular the side-kick. I think you received some good tips here for how the side-kick is done. For me the main thing is to make sure you are pivoting to the side, raising your hip up, bringing your knee in, and striking with the heel. I find my side-kicks are more effectively executed when I strike with the heel, toes pointing downward.

 

[hottiescientist]

That's sort of how I feel about sidekicks!