I want to make sure I remind my followers that I might be the CEO and Publisher, but that’s nothing more than a title. At my core, I’m a Taekwondo Man! A short while ago I posted that I love having my students do flying side kicks on a free hanging bag and thought I would go into more detail on why this exercise and technique is beneficial. First, the kick is great for coordination and balance. Most if not all of the human body’s stability muscles have to flex to stay on their feet when they land, not to mention the exertion it takes to get up off the ground. Like some of my students will say after trying it and not having practiced the technique for a while, it’s a different mindset! The whole body must work together through the entire kick for it to be successful. The last physical benefit of the technique I’ll say, is that it presents a fun, energetic way to cool down after a workout while also getting a final little cardio boost. I’ve brought up before the energy and fun that I see my students have with this kick. People are fairly stressed in today’s world, there is little getting around it. The process of running, jumping, kicking, and landing takes so much thought to do right students have no choice but to focus on what they’re doing, or they’ll fall. I like putting some sheet metal or something that makes a loud noise on the ceiling behind the free hanging bag so that way, when students can kick it hard enough the bag will fly to the ceiling and make a loud bang on the metal. Whenever a student can do this I have the others clap. Even my black belts clap for each other every single time they hear that bang, so long as they aren’t in the middle of the kick, at least! The flying side kick, especially at the end of class, can be a fun and energetic way to relieve stress and give students energy to take on the challenges of the days!
