Short of time: Side kick drills

[Zyndrof]

Hey all,

I'm doing try-outs for the Swedish National Team of Taekwon-Do in little more than a week. I truly believe I can make the patterns team if I improve my side kick. I need to increase about a foot in height on both legs and I do not have time for anything but the most effective drills.

Which drills do you recommend? So far I have been warming up and strengthening with sumo and cossack squats before slow kicking (low-mid-high combo) using post-it targets on the wall. Afterwards I practise the splits.

Thank you.

[frozenpeon]

You want to increase your sidekick height in a week?

[tuareg]

you're not going to improve on anything within a week.

[Zyndrof]

Well, not if I had your attitude I wouldn't...

I have improved quite a bit already in a short time.

[Aiden Bloodaxe]

I think gaining a foot in height side kick is achievable. Very hard,but achievable. I'd keep your drills the same(whatever they may be),but you should certainly get doing static & isometric stretches. If your gaining flexibility knowledge isn't up to scratch then go & read Juji's flexibility section on the main site & put it to use.

[tuareg]

Well, not if I had your attitude I wouldn't...

My attitude? You'll not achieve anything significant in flexibility during that one week time period, and my attitude isn't the reason i know this.

Kicking higher is flexibility not just experience in kicking. I know this because i have a good sidesplit and can kick vertically up because i'm awesome like that. But really, if your flexibility isn't so top notch i doubt you'll gain a foot in kicking hight within a week.

Work with what you have. Chances are you're still good to go.

[Aiden Bloodaxe]

I retract my statement of being able to achieve a foot in height,but you can still gain some flexibility in a week. Every little helps,right?

[tuareg]

Well it does help of course, but who knows how much haha.

There are a lot of things to be said about how much time it takes to gain flexibility, but i wont go into it. Most of the things are from my personal experiences, so it's well different for a lot of people, but i'd say a decent flexibility gain would take at least a few weeks.

[Papa Lazarou]

We should really have stickies for this stuff. I mean, he's asking a totally generic question.

[zambri]

loosen up your i.t band and hip flexors

[Papa Lazarou]

Aah, neither of those are stretched in a sidekick?

[Augenatic]

man, why do you need a higher sidekick? since you're doing the trials, I'm guessing you have a sidekick at head height, at least - and that's all you need.. it's not a good thing to kick higher than you're meant to kick in patterns. just drill the sidekick and drill keeping it out cleanly for a split second.

also, if you just want to improve your "sidekicking flexibility", do dynamic sidelifts and dynamic front lifts with both legs.

[Ashtar]

Every little bit helps, but since it's a forms competition, drilling the forms will ensure better success than aggressive stretching (which could be injurious).