“Turn your Hip!” Part 1
It all begins with an idea.
“Turn your hip!”, “Lift your heel!”, “Swing your arm!”, “Step out when you kick”, “Balance!”, “Get up nice and tall!”. These are all cues you’ve heard taking your favorite Muay Thai class, but why can’t you do as your told?
I’ve recently gotten a few Muay Thai practitioners and hobbyists seeking help with improving their kicks, whether that’s hip mobility, strength/power, stability, speed, you name it. The common theme has been that most people don’t have the anatomy required to perform their goals. What does this mean? I’ll elaborate later in this So I want to share a few things I’ve noticed through observing, assessing, and even fine-tuning my own kick as well. Shoutout to @TwoBridgesMuayThai for being such supportive community of practitioners who are always looking to improve; and to all the coaches there who have played a role in helping me improve my muay thai. A special shoutout to Julian Ansah, muay thai fighter out of Legion Muay Thai in Staten Island, NY. He’s been a sponge soaking up all my coaching and put’s full trust in me to help him improve every day.
The Muay Thai kick is one of the greatest expressions of movement l I’ve ever witnessed. A great kick is seamless; with no sign of where it’s going to land, a great kick is fluid yet powerful, and a great kick makes a damn good sound when it connects. Take a video of your favorite Muay Thai fighter and put it in super slow-motion and see exactly what the nervous system has to plan, coordinate, and execute in order to throw the kick.
Let’s take the “Turn your hip” cue for example, there are a couple reasons why you can’t complete the cue but there are TWO main things I want to look at:
Do you have the necessary range of motion? Does your hip have the ability turn in that way? Do you have the joint space to accomodate that motion?
If yes, does your nervous system understand how to rotate in that way? Do the necessary muscles know how to contract to achieve that motion?
That’s some food for thought when assessing your kicking mobility. Stay tuned for Part 2!
