Keeping Balance during a Marital arts Kick?

Question

yeah Im in Martial arts, Im really good

I Kick hard

But each time I kick I can loose Balance

How do I keep balance?

Answer 1

pretend you are kicking near the shin or kneecap because there's more balance and it is harder for the opponent to get to.  

Also don't try to kick hard, instead work on your form first, otherwise you'll tire yourself out to quickly and lose balance.  Start going hard after you've gotten use to it.

The best way i believe is hitting the heavy bag, or have someone get some focus pads (if they know how to use them) and practice kicking.  I'm a beginner in JKD, but even so, i see the diffrence after going there 5 times a week.

Answer 2

keep practicing

a lot

a good excercise is to excercise standing on one foot.

once you can get a good balance feel on your foot.

Answer 3

Rob gave some good suggestions.

Another is to practice "rechambering" your kick after you strike or trying a drill called "Machine gun kicks".  

James

Answer 4

Don't kick so hard. do it right first! you will only gain balance with perfection. and stop telling everyone you know karate didn't your instructor tell you that?

Answer 5

This is my "how to have better balance while watching TV" workout.  I tell it to all of my students.

Week 1 - During the first commercial break stand with your left foot on the ground and right foot chambered as if you are going to do a front kick.  Keep your hands up.  Pretend you are wrapped in sleigh bells and don't want to make a sound.

Repeat during the second commercial break on the opposite side.  Keep going back and forth as long as you're watching TV.  You can sit and rest while the program is on.

Week 2 - During program, stand on your left foot, right foot chambered, etc. until the first commercial break.  Then sit and rest.  When the program comes back on, repeat on the other side.  Rest during the commercials.

Week 3 - During a 1/2 hour program, stand on the left foot (etc) from the time it starts until the end credits are finished.  Rest during the commercials before the next 1/2 hour program comes on, the repeat on the other side.

After 3 weeks, you won't lose your balance.

Answer 6

gross you do sound like your bragging tho.

u can practice by holding onto something and keep your kicks in the air.

for about a minute per kick per leg.

this helped my dad.

some are harder than others to maintain balence.

like the round kick is probably the worst for most people.

Answer 7

You need to stop trying to kick so hard, and start concentrating on kicking properly.

your stable foot is the balance foot,

some kicks require the balance foot to stay,

while others it requires the foot to move

Learn the proper technique and go slow and accurately.

And then speed up with more power.

Answer 8

yeah i am or was(not sure right now cuz of money) in kung fu.

practice balancing.  when you kick find that right way to position your foot

oh and one of the first rules is not to brag about bein in it.  your all like yeah i'm really good

Answer 9

If you can not maintain your balance when delivering a kick, then there no reason for you to have any sense of "self confidence!"

Quite the OPPOSITE!!!

As for "how?"....

practice, Practice, PRACTICE!

Answer 10

losing balance isnt 'really good" lol

seriously though...get off your heels. i did that for a long time...get on the balls of your feet when you kick. it really helps alot. and make sure you pivot on your support foot (the one on the ground) but again..do not pivot on your heel, but on the ball of your foot.

dont kick so hard that if you miss you have to turn around completely...ala muay thai. or muay thai wannabe's...watch guys like duke roufus ...you won't see them spinning after every missed kick like alot of so called thai fighters. let the body mechanics, skeletal alignment, technique, and the weight of your leg do the work!! cant stress that enough...the more "effort" you put into it, the slower and weaker your kick will be.

it really helped me to concentrate on kicking fast. not kicking HARD.

sometimes too i was kicking too hard against a surface that didnt give. so in other words i was pushing myself off balance. like kicking a wall that you cant move...naturally you are going to go off balance.

but you dont want your kicks to push...you want them to whip and snap. or thrust.

i think maybe too, you are too close to your target...dont jam yourself...find your kicking range. and understand where you are in relation to your target. ie...when you should be punching, and when you sould be kicking. ...also realize that if you are in punching range...you can still kick, just not with the top of your foot, or the ball of your foot...but with your shin.

practice good technique, at the proper range. and get off your heels. that is a good place to start. trust your body.

bruce lee once said that the best way to know balance is to intentionally put yourself off balance.

Answer 11

It's a common issue for new/aspiring martial artists. During my time teachin at a youth center, I found an effective method to be having a student move through the motion of a kick as slowly as possible in the beginning. Elongating the duration of the movement forces someone to work on their standing leg's balance, rather than attempting to crutch by using pull momentum to keep them afloat (bad, being that it works in practice, but upon switching to contact, be it a bag or person, you'll be falling down left and right). Once they're steady there, you start adding in power and it's quick from there.

Secondly, being self-trained? I would consider the possibility of makin a common mistake, if I were you. It's been known to knock people off balance fairly commonly. Check if you're keeping your heel down. Even with a competent teacher, a lot of people still make that mistake.

If you're standing on your toes while throwing a kick, the more force you have behind it, the more off balance you'll be.