“Eric, do you have any stretches or exercises to help
me kick higher and develop more kick power?”
It’s one of the questions I’ve gotten most.
It’s also one of the questions that I’ve shied away from answering, because quite frankly – I can’t kick worth shit.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’ve stuck to boxing… [Actually, it’s DEFINITELY one of the reasons]
I attribute my poor kicking ability to my old man’s hips, which I’m guessing came from the years of hockey without any proper mobility work or even <gasp> static stretching.
That’s not to say I have no kick power… as long as the target is knee height or below.
If I ever fight a midg– errr, little person, he’d better be careful I don’t Crocop his ass, otherwise, it’s a safe bet you won’t get clubbed with a roundhouse to the head from me.
But that’s all going to change…
I’ve been working at improving my hip mobility and playing with exercises to do so and the one I’m going to show you in this video will definitely help you kick higher.
I actually came up with it when working on my hips to help me get deeper into the squat for the Olympic Lifts and realized it was a perfect exercise to improve one of the reasons my hips are so terrible – poor internal rotation mobility.
[SIDENOTE: the word “mobility” is a combination of the words “movement” and “ability”, which alludes to the fact that mobility is “your ability to move in and out of a certain range of motion”. It’s one thing to be able to get there (flexibility), it’s another to be able to move in and out of there smoothly (mobility). Just thought I’d share]
Since I’m Canadian and I grew up playing ice hockey, I call it the “Goalie Saves” exercise and when you watch the video, you’ll see why. If you’re not an ice hockey fan – after you watch this exercise, watch this YouTube video to see what I mean.
Watch the video now, then we’ll discuss details after:
Stop the exercise if you lose good form.
Do a total of 10 reps per side (10 on left, 10 on right), either in 1 set, or broken up into 2 sets of 5 per, or 3 sets of 3-4 per. Whatever it takes to get 10 per side.
Do it daily and you’ll see TREMENDOUS results.
So How Will This Help Me Kick Higher?
As I mention in the video, this exercise improves the ability for your femur (thigh bone) to rotate in the hip joint.
Being able to kick higher with the roundhouse requires a ton of rotation around both hips – the one that’s kicking and the one that’s planted.
If you don’t have this ability (like me) then you won’t be able to kick higher or kick with any power.
If this isn’t a limitation for you, then it won’t help.
But most people in our society have problems with internal hip rotation, so for the majority, it will help.
Of course – you need to learn proper kick technique first, so if you don’t have that, send Steven Seagal an email.
“Got Any Other Resources To Help Me Kick Higher?”
You greedy bugger. 🙂
I’ve got a few, check these out as well:
Another Hip Mobility Exercise – this will help you kick higher as it also works on your hip rotation, but more external rotation
The Jacknife – this exercise trains your hip flexors; the single leg version is particularly helpful to improve kick power
That should keep you busy for a while…
Now please, if you liked this post – LIKE IT UP using the handy buttons below. Thanks a million!
– Eric
P.S. The bottom line is that everybody from athletes to desk jockeys should use this exercise because it won’t just help you kick higher and increase your kick power, it’s also good for other things like getting into the Deep Squat for Olympic Lifting and just making your hips feel 10 years younger.