Karate exercises for Muay Thai is something we spoke about in a previous Diesel Article, which I recommend you read before looking at this one.
Last year we spoke with Bellator and Glory kickboxing champion Gabriel Varga about his life and career. One topic we spoke about in particular was his background in karate and how he used karate to benefit his kickboxing training. We don’t typically think of East Asian martial arts like Karate, Taekwondo and various Kung Fu styles as being particularly effective when it comes to full contact fighting, though there are exceptions. One thing that cannot be denied about these styles however, is the excellent body control that practitioners have to develop in order to reach the highest level of the martial art.
This is something that Muay Thai does… differently. It’s not that Muay Thai fighters don’t have great dexterity, but the Muay Thai approach to learning martial art techniques is different. Muay Thai is primarily based around power and balance. Power to damage the opponent, and balance to maintain perfect technique while doing so. In Thailand if your balance is off you won’t score a point for a kick even if it lands.
So what is the problem? While in Thailand it’s impossible for fighters to train full time without developing the impeccable balance and mobility needed for fighting, when you train in the west and don’t have access to the best thai training, 12 times a week, the process to develop this bodily control and balance takes far longer. As westerners we have to develop work arounds in order to catch up.
This is where adopting drills from East Asian martial arts can be beneficial. Martial arts like Karate it’s offspring, Taekwondo have a syllabus of exercises that allow you to develop great balance and high kicks, not through simply kicking until you reach the desired height, but through consciously training the core and hip flexors to allow the leg to lift to the point you need.
Today we will look at one of the most basic drills, and one that those who I teach will be groaning at right now. Air kicks. Or as Gabriel Varga refers to them ‘JCVD exercises’. The method is simple, you lift your leg and hold it progressively higher in the air, kicking without bringing the leg to the floor. Over time this trains your kicking muscles to get better at lifting the leg without relying on momentum. There is an easy system for building this strength over the course of a few months.
Stage One – Laying Kicks
While some will recommend you start these drills standing, for those who are especially weak in the hips, it’s better to start these drills laying on your side. If you have ever seen Jane Fonda’s workout videos, or the many parodies that have popped over the years, you should already have an idea of what this drill will be like.
Rather than simply lifting the leg in the air however. We will deliver a snapping kick as though we were standing, delivering it low, then at a body height, then as high as your leg can muster. We do ten reps of each kick, for thirty total kicks, then change sides. We do two sets of these.
From there we while still laying, start to deliver a side kick from low, then middle and then again as high as possible. This will be trickier, especially as your legs will already be burning from the previous kicks. Finally, you place an object in front of you, reach a seated position (while keeping your hips side on) and then lift your leg to each side of the object. This will train the hip muscles to lift, without relying on the opposite leg to do any of the work.
This exercise will serve as a foundation for your high kick development. I’d recommend if you are a beginner to this type of exercise (regardless of your Muay Thai experience) you do these three times a week for about a month, before moving on to the second stage.
STAGE TWO – STANDING KICKS with support
After a month of training regularly with the stage one exercises, it is time to build up to stage two. Now we stand up.
We begin this exercise by finding a wall or chair that you can support yourself with, and pre pivoting your foot to the correct position for the end of a round kick. We then raise a knee to a chambered position, as though you were throwing a karate kick. Keep in mind that while these are training a karate style snap kick, they will not have any negative impact on your Muay Thai kick. These drills will build the muscles to make that kick easier, but they will not change your technique as long as you are practising your Thai kick regularly.
From the chambered position you snap a low kick, a middle kick, and a high kick, without ever lowering your leg. You continue to do this for 10 reps of each height. A total of 30 kicks, then change side. From there you will once again start throwing side kicks, for the same amount of reps. Those of you who have weight trained will understand this is simply progressive overload, the same exercises in principle, but harder. After you’re done with these kicks, you return to the roundhouse kicks, alternating between ten fast, snappy reps, and ten reps as slow as you possibly can. You repeat this three times, then change leg.
Finally, we go back to having an object to kick over. For some people a chair will be high enough, others may need to use a cabinet, or if in the gym, ring ropes. Slowly your lift your leg and bring it over your obstacle, and back again. For 30 reps, before changing legs.
Continue this 3 times a week for a month.
STAGE THREE – KICKING DRILLS WITH NO SUPPORT
By this point you’ll have quite strong hips, at least compared to where you were before. You should have developed the strength and co-ordination to be able to do these exercises without holding on to anything for balance. Have a chair or a wall nearby in case you feel you’re about to fall, but try to perform stage three exactly as you did before but without holding onto anything, or anyone for support.
We can now add a final drill, which is the slow motion round kick. It is exactly what it sounds like, with proper footwork and technique, you throw your round kick, but as slow as is humanly possible for you. You need to make your your leg lifts and you bring your hip through the target the same way you would on a normal kick. Doing 30 slow motion kicks, each side will force every muscle you have to control the kicks. Then shake off and throw your usual kicks at a normal speed.
Do this three times a week for a month, then move onto stage four.
STAGE FOUR – PUSHING BOUNDARIES
At this point, you will be competent at everything you need to be competent at for these exercises. However by this point it’s possible you’ll see a decline in your results. This is nothing to panic over, it just means that your body is getting used to this kind of work. So stage four, which is the stage you’ll be on for the rest of your life, is all about getting higher and faster.
The best way to do this is to experiment with these exercises and create new patterns. Such as going from side kick to round kick at varying heights, or by adding ankle weights or heavy shoes to add more resistance to the exercises. There is no one way to do this, the important thing is to remember the foundations and if you ever need to take a step back and rest, just go back to stage one or two, for a week or so.
These karate exercises will go a long way to giving you the high kicks you want. They just require dedication and work. After all, that was how Jean Claude Van Damme got there.
