This video shows three high kicking drills. The first is simply for impact. The second to encourage speed in getting the foot off the floor, and back to the floor. The third is for balance.

High kicks are not practical for self-defence, but they should be included in practise (if possible). I don’t believe everyone is built to kick high, but we should all aspire to increase our individual flexibility, strength and technique. This way we all kick as well as we possibly can.

One mistake I made in my own training was to abandon high kicking because it was not practical. For about two years, I never kicked above the waist … and my kicking got worse. The flexibility I’d spent years developing diminished, and my cherished low kicks got weaker as a result. So, I went back to stretching every day and including high kicking in my training. I keep that firmly in the “fighting box”, but there is no denying the attributes developed help with the low kicking for self-protection.

High kicks are also fun, useful in fighting (duelling with fellow martial artists), and they are great for attribute development too. All the people I know who have bone breaking leg kicks also have the strength, flexibility and technique for graceful high kicks too. The physical attributes are common.

Everyone can kick low and it is better to keep the kicks low for self-protection; if we kick at all. However, if we want the best possible kicks, then we need to work on our flexibility, strength and technique. High kicking then often gets included by default.

All the best,

Iain