Every taekwondo student would love to be able to kick someone in the head while sparring.  Unfortunately, a lot of students automatically assume that they will never have the flexibility to do so.  In reality, with a little stretching and a lot of patience and perseverance you can slowly (but steadily) improve your flexibility until you get to the point where kicking people in the head comes naturally.  Heavy stretching, like weight training, should not be done daily because of the way it works your body.  Never push your body to the point of pain when stretching, but do go slightly past what is comfortable; otherwise you won’t make progress.  These stretches are a good starting point, but as with any other workout routine you should vary things so your body doesn’t become used to it.

Supine Alternate Hamstring Stretch: Lie on your back with both legs straight.  Grasp the back of your right thigh and bring your knee to your chest.  Pull on your thigh until you feel a stretch in your low back.  Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds.  Then, extend your knee so you feel a stretch in the back of your right hamstring muscles.  Hold the stretch, then return to the start position.

Lunge Stretch: Step forward in a lunge with your right food and flex your knee.  Keep your knee directly above your ankle.  Stretch your left leg back so it’s parallel to the floor.  Press your hips forward and down until you feel a stretch in your quadriceps muscles.  Hold the stretch.  Balance by placing your arms at your sides, on the top of your knee or on the ground.  Repeat this exercise on the left side.

Groin Stretch: Stand in a wide straddle with your legs turned out from your hip joints and your hands on your thighs.  Go to one side by bending one knee and keeping the other leg straight.  You should feel a stretch in the muscles on the inside of your thigh of the extended leg.  Switch sides and repeat.

Pigeon Pose: Kneel on all fours on a yoga mat, with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips.  Slide your right knee forward until it’s close to your right wrist (your shin will be at a 45-degree angle to the wall in front of you), and flex your foot.  Extend your left leg behind you, with your toe pointed.  Lower hips to the floor, keeping them level.  Walk your hands forward and lower your torso until you feel tension in the right side of your butt.  Rest on hands or forearms, or put your forehead on the floor.  Hold for 30 seconds, then walk hands back to the right leg.  Switch sides and repeat.

On the heels of the tournament a lot of people are still throwing a LOT of punches when they spar in class.  Now, punches are good for tournaments because you can score the points quickly but none of the judges are going to be impressed watching punches at testing.  There is no magical number of techniques to throw – it varies with age, rank, ability, etc.  Here we will try to address common mistakes people make with testing sparring, but remember, these are just guidelines, not ultimate rules.  You should put forth as much effort as you posses during sparring.  As with everything, effort counts!

-Use good physical control.  The goal is to make contact, but never impact.  Contact means touching your partner.  Impact is excessive force and can hurt your partner.  If you hit your partner too hard, be sure to apologize.  You will fail testing for repeatedly hitting too hard – it means you don’t have control.

-If your partner hits you too hard TELL them.  Adrenaline is pumping and it’s easy to accidentally make more contact than you meant too.  Not saying anything may lead to you getting frustrated and the match can quickly deteriorate into a brawl which means neither of you will be focused on demonstrating a variety of techniques.

-Taekwondo is world famous for its kicks.  If you’re tournament sparring and you punch the other guy 1,000 times but fail to throw a single kick, there’s still a good chance you’ll win.  If you’re sparring at testing and you punch the other guy 1,000 times but fail to throw a single kick you will not pass. It is not called “the art of punching and then punching again”.

-Variety is the spice of life.  It is also a buzz word at testing.  Anyone off the street could learn how to do an impressive round kick in one 30 minute class. That won’t help them pass testing at the green belt level.  To impress the black belts sitting at the head table you need to throw three or more techniques in a sequence.  You may have heard this in class described by another buzz word: combinations.

-Basic kicks are just that: basic.  Green belt and above are intermediate and advanced ranks.  Intermediate and advanced kicks mean jumps, spins, jump spins, and 360 kicks.  These are not encouraged they are EXPECTED at testing, especially for red belt and above.   Extra points if you use them in combination.

-Mr. Lacy is forever saying “If you don’t get hit, you can’t get hurt”.  Not only is this true, it also demonstrates the last thing we’re looking for: effective blocking.  As a minimum, you should block most of your partners techniques (at least half).

So now that you know what the judges want to see, how do you do it?  The best way to practice is to come to class and spar people who are better than you.  Ask them to help you.  There is no faster or easier way to improve your own sparring.  If you can’t make it to class or want extra help outside of class you can practice combinations on a target.  You can work on distance by standing closer to or further from the target.  You can work on hitting different target areas by having your partner vary the height at which they hold the target.  You can also have your partner try to tap you either with their hands or with a piece of your gear and practice your blocking.  With testing a week away there’s still time to work on your sparring, but in order to look your absolute best at testing you should be putting forth the maximum amount of effort every class you attend the whole testing cycle.

Today is all about abs!  These great exercises will have your body moving and abs toned up faster than the Wii Fit hula hoop!

Windshield Wipers (2 minutes)

Lie face-up on the floor with arms out to sides, legs extended and abs engaged.  Place a folded towel between your knees.  Bend knees 90 degrees and raise legs so calves are parallel to the floor.  Keep legs together as you lower them to the left side.  Return to center, then twist to the right.  Alternate sides for 2 minutes.

Boxers Abs (2 minutes)

Sit on the floor with legs extended in front of you, knees slightly bent.  Lean back slightly and twist torso to the left, reaching across your body and punching with your right hand.  Immediately twist to the right, bringing right hand back to your chin and punching across your body with the left hand.  Make sure you keep your spine neutral and abs tight.  Continue, alternating for 2 minutes.

Double-Leg Lower/Lift (2 minutes)

Lie face-up, abs engaged.  Place hands under the bottom of your spine.  Lift head and extend legs towards the ceiling, feet directly over hips.  Lower legs towards the floor for 3 counts, then up for one.  Continue for 2 minutes.

Weighted Squat with Knee Lift (2 minutes)

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a medicine ball or dumbbell in front of chest.  Lowering butt and thighs towards the floor, bend knees 90 degrees, in a deep squat.  Hold for 2 counts.  Slightly straighten legs, shifting weight to left foot as you lift right knee to waist height and extend arms overhead.  Repeat to start and perform same sequence with the other side of your body.  Alternate for 2 minutes.

Figure Four (2 minutes)

Lie face-up with legs lifted over hips, feet pointed towards the ceiling and flexed.  Extend arms over shoulders, palms facing in, fingers also pointed towards the ceiling.  Engage abs and lower left arm and right leg toward the floor, without arching back or shrugging shoulders.  Lift arm and leg back to start position.  Switch sides and repeat.  Alternate for 2 minutes.

These exercises will all help tone your midsection and strengthen your core muscles, but you’ve got to burn the fat on top to see the muscle definition below.  Sparring or cardio kickboxing is a great calorie torcher, so get to class! Until next time, always aspire to perspire!

With testing just over two weeks away there has never been a better time to make sure you’re breaking the right board with the correct techniques! (You can double-check boards here: http://www.lacystaekwondo.com/testingrequirements.htm).

If you haven’t started practicing yet don’t worry.  Every time you hit a heavy bag or target pad in class you’ve been practicing your board breaking technique (this is why it’s important to focus and put forth a lot of effort when we do target drills in class).  The only difference between hitting a piece of wood (or rebreakable board) and hitting a target or heavy bag is the target itself.

Board breaking is a required part of testing for all brown belts and above.  Once you have decided what techniques you would like to break with and determined which size or color board you need to break, check with an instructor to make sure you are setting up your wood correctly.

Now, least but not least, the secret technique for breaking your boards: hit it fast, strong, in the center, and with good technique.  Simple, right?  If you’re breaking real wood you don’t even have to hit it in the center for it to break!  Students (and parents) make all sorts of excuses for not breaking boards but the truth is if you hit it hard, fast, and with good technique, it will break.  When people have a problem breaking boards it is usually because mentally they do not think they can do it, so close your eyes and visualize yourself breaking your boards with good technique every day.

Still struggling?  Let us know!  We have a limited number of private lesson spots still available leading up to testing and would be happy to work with you on breaking your board.