Footwork Drills

Anyone has any drills for footwork and reflexes (solo, no training partner).

I've problems with my slide-in front leg turning(roundhouse) kick - the one which is commonly used when in closed stance. I'm not exactly sure where the problem is, it seems to be the crappy recovery speed and the lack of power from the kick. I've no problem just doing a front leg turning kick, good power, but coupled with the slide-in, the problem surfaces. Not smooth, not strong, not fast.

Apart from that, my stepping forward and backward in fighting stance is "rawr" slow. Is there a more efficient way to improve on the speed and smoothness apart from repetitions? Or do you guys have any fixed training regimen that you could suggest or provide?

Sparring Strategies

I belong to the heavyweight category, nearly 100kg, and I prefer being defensive because being offensive eats my stamina fast. So I was thinking, instead of attempting the usual dodge and counter, should I just block and counter? Drains less stamina and more stable, and I'll definitely get into range easier, considering the height of fit heavyweights.

Or what strategies do you guys suggest for a 169cm 100kg guy, 5th Geup, with quite a low stamina capacity.

Thanks!

Jumping rope!  Can't be beat to help your footwork as well as your stamina.  Doing step ups to a raised platform or just a set of steps will also help.  Step from the floor to the step/platform w/ your right foot.  W/out removing the foot, step up w/ the left.  Step down to the floor w/ your right foot.  Step down to the floor w/ your left.  Do 4 sets of 25 in a controlled manner.  Work on increasing your speed as you become used to the exercise. 

Blocking can be a useful tactic but remember, it takes more energy to block then to avoid.  That being said, an effective block can do all sorts of things:

1. Upset your opponent's timing
2. Upset your opponent's balance
3. Close the distance
4. If done correctly, a block can also be an offensive strike.

Use blocks w/ a combination (block-strike-kick or block-kick-kick, etc).  One thing that you should do is always work on your stamina.  The person that gets winded in a match is usually the one that gets into trouble.  I don't bounce.  I don't move or chase.  I am always right in front of you (though just out of range I hope ) but I still run, jog, and do H.I.I.T. to keep my stamina level moving up.  Nothing gives me greater satisfaction then to see my sparring partners or my opponent w/ their tongues hanging out and dragging on the mats.  When that happens, it is a lovely day. 

Lol yes I'm currently working on my stamina, but it's reaaaallly short. -.- I'm like at 4mins of slow-moderate jog, trying to increase 30s to 1min each day. Hopefully by next year I'll have enough stamina for a full round even with lots of movement.

For me when I meant block, I mean like for example, if both of us have our right leg forward [right closed], he attempts a slide-in turning, instead of sidestep + kick, I just switch/step forward with my left to stop the score [he will hit my arm], then switch back/step backward and fire off a right turning back at him, if I'm fast enough, 2 kicks before he can switch or retreat. I'll definitely get bruises on my arm but that beats losing I guess. But that also means my footwork must be fast enough to follow up with a kick, which goes back to footwork drills. Lol.

There is another type of block, which involves letting the opponent kick your arm, while you lift up your lower arm to "hook" his leg, of course not making it too obvious, kick/punch while he's trying to balance and let go before getting a warning. Found that on the net. Don't know if I'm allowed to post this URL here. Anyway http://www.monkeysee.com/play/6527-basic-olympic-taekwondo-punches-and-blocks

Cage block and teap.  Stay light on your front foot.  Raise the knee to the elbow.  Since you've got your hands up when you raise your knee to the elbow you should have a blocking area from your head down well past the target area.  First of after a few of these you can frustrate your opponent.  As soon as you feel him make contact blast him with the side kick of your blocking leg.  If you push the block you can throw him off balance and use that momentum setting the foot down and throwing a roundhouse with the rear leg.  Since you are already in motion moving at a 45 to the side of your opponent you generate a ton of power and speed and even if they block it, it will be hard to counter.  Easy to practice by yourself, I use it as a warmup to open up the hip flexors too.

Taep kick basically a front leg push kick on the front part of the hip of their kicking leg.  For maiximum effectiveness don't throw it like a push kick (chambered and using the muscles of the leg),  raise it up in front of you towards your target and pivot using the hips to explode into the target.  Great for throwing them off balance and continually frustrating and a nice set up combinations of your own.  Practice on a heavy bag, the wall, the car, the kids, neighbors kid, the dog, you don't really need a training partner per se, just a willing victim.

Remember...relax and fight their technique not the person...BREATHE

Jump rope, make your movements in the ring small 2-3 inches max, never circle to towards your opponents rear leg.  Watch for a change step as an opportunity to throw the back kick.  Do not worry about you last kick just keep throwing them.  If a boxer doesn't score with a punch he doesn't stop throwing it, same with your kicks.

Hope this helps I think I just gave up everything I know

Tai bo usually halps with timing and endurance as long as you have the right level. u can also try light incline jogs.  the lighter you are the farther you will go.

light leg weights keep you light on your feet and speed you up and heavy leg weight tone your muscle so you can go muscles.

hope that helps.

narc and OG have some very good suggestions.  another thing you can do, like latino said, is weight training - basic training to be exact.  jogging, weight lifting, etc.  bigger muscles mean more strength, and more strength means more speed.  and with basic training, or general fitness, your body will get used to moving around a lot, and things will get easier over time. 

just remember that this takes time.  however, by doing general fitness training with tkd, you will improve faster. 

one form of cardio i do is HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio.  this will burn more fat, or so i've been told (hasn't worked for me yet), but this has increased my stamina and endurance so fast.  before i lift weights in the morning, i do light cardio (e.g., 10 min jog), and after weight lifting, i go on a stationary bike, set it to interval hill training, and try to maintain certain rpm the whole time.  and i increase either the level (resistance set by the machine) or range of rpm every 2 weeks.  for example, i've been on L7 75-80rpm till last week, so this week, i went for L8 65-70rpm, and i'll keep this up for 2 weeks.  during that 2 weeks, i'll sneak in 70-75rpm for couple of intervals, and when the 2 weeks is up, i'll keep up at 70-75rpm whether i like it or not.  i do this for 16 minutes, because there are enough space on the screen of the bike for 16 intervals, so each interval lasts 1 min, and this is easier for me to mentally prep myself between each interval. 

in march, i couldn't last 5 rounds of 3 min round, and i started doing hiit cardio in may, and by end of june, i was doing 10 rounds of 3 min round sparring, and 5 rounds of 5 min grappling, and i still had energy to teach class by myself...  i'm starting to think i need to adjust my diet since i didn't lose any weight this summer... 

Light leg weights - will attaching light ankle weights [1-2kg] during normal daily activities[like walking] help develop strength and endurance in calf muscles? Is attaching ankle weights when jumping rope and jogging etc useful and safe? -.- or are ankle weights even recommended for overweight people? or will going to the gym to use the machines suffice?

@OG - Isn't that teap kick like a traditional front kick [just that you use the front leg instead of the rear leg] where you slide your hips forward to explode the kick into your opponent?

@doughboy - So for HIIT - for a guy whose stamina can last barely 5mins for a slow-moderate jog, how many intervals should I do, or just do until I can't "cycle" anymore? And how often do you do it, everyday? And won't bigger muscles mean more mass to take care of which reduces speed, or at least keep it constant relative to the increase in strength?

Don't chamber it like a front kick raise to the target and push with the hip and pivot.  You're not going for knock down power just jam the kick and push them off balance, step forward and blast.

i would suggest at least 10 minutes to work up the sweat.  just set it to the easiest level and try to maintain 60-65 rpm and see how you feel.  use that as a baseline.  if you managed to do it without much difficult, then try doing 15-16 minutes the next session.  i do 16 intervals for 16 minutes, no more, no less.  usually, the last 5-6 intervals get pretty tiring, but when i don't feel tired, then i'll just crank it up and go up to higher rpm for couple of intervals, instead of doing more than 16 intervals.  i do this 2-3 times a week, the other 2-3 times a week, i either do cross country thingy or steps. 

and, yes, bigger muscles could mean being slow, but unless you are built like the governor, it wouldn't slow you down.  imagine being 180 lb with 30% bodyfat or 220 lb with 10% body fat.  i'm willing to bet my house on the line that 220 lb with 10% body fat is a lot faster than 180 lb with 30% body fat.  as you work out to build your muscle, you will burn fat, and you may notice that you don't lose any weight even though you are getting stronger.  chances are, you are replacing weight you lost by losing fat with weight you gained by building muscle.  so you may maintain 100kg while lifting weight, but you will be faster and stronger.

@OG - Lol I find it difficult for me to not chamber it. But I don't chamber all the way in anwyay, just the bend of the knee enough to put power behind the kick together with the hips.

@doughboy - I see. Thanks.

@every person out there - will attaching light ankle weights [1-2kg] during normal daily activities[like walking] help develop strength and endurance in calf muscles? Is attaching ankle weights when jumping rope and jogging etc useful and safe? -.- or are ankle weights even recommended for overweight people? or will going to the gym to use the machines suffice?