Physical Preparation and Kicking In Kyokushin Karate

During a recent YouTube live with Shihan Cameron Quinn on his fantastic YouTube channel, he focused on the kicks in Kyokushin Karate (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ2dgVgKx_Q). A comment from the live stream read “train the quads for roundhouse kicks and the hamstrings for hook kicks”. 

If looking at the knee joint of the kicking leg in isolation, this is accurate. However it doesn’t tell the whole story. There is more than one joint used when kicking. 

Zooming out to include the hip joint tells a different story. The table below summarises hip and knee joint action during the roundhouse kick and hook kick. 

	Roundhouse Kick	Hook Kick
Hip Flexion (HF)	Yes	Yes
Hip Extension (HE)	–	–
Knee Flexion (KF)	–	Yes
Knee Extension (KE)	Yes	–

Viewed another way: 

	Roundhouse Kick	Hook Kick
Hip Flexors	Yes	Yes
Glutes	–	–
Hamstrings	–	Yes
Quads	Yes	–

Can you see the imbalance around the hip? 

The hip extensors (glutes) are neglected, while the hip flexors get loads of stimulus. Long term this typically results in challenges around the hip. It’s simply a matter of working one side of a joint more than the other. 

Visually such things can appear more obvious in the upper body. Rounded (protracted) shoulders and internally rotated arms from prioritising horizontal pushing exercises (bench pressing) over horizontal pulling exercises (rows). However this can happen at all joints.     

Can you spot the second imbalance in this example? 

How many roundhouse kicks are done per week compared to hook kicks generally speaking? I’m confident the ratio of roundhouse kicks to hook kicks in dojos’ worldwide would be 10:1 at best. 

	Roundhouse Kick	Hook Kick	Total
Hip Flexors	10	1	11
Glutes	–	–	0
Hamstrings	–	1	1
Quads	10	–	10

Can you see the imbalances around the hip and knee now? We have a total of 21 hip flexor and quad contractions combined, 1 hamstring contraction and no hip extension (glutes) contraction. A lot of work for muscles at the front of the legs compared to the posterior chain muscles. 

The above is a theoretical example as Karate-ka practice more than those two kicks. Let’s analyse the kicks used in Kyokushin’s Kihon (kihon is the word associated with basics in Karate).  

The table below outlines joint action at the hip and knee for the kihon kicks commonly practised in Kyokushin Karate.

	HF	HE	KF	KE
Knee Kick	Yes	–	–	–
Groin Kick	Yes	–	–	Yes
Front Kick	Yes	–	–	Yes
Mae Keage	Yes	–	–	Yes
Soto Mawashi	Yes	–	–	Yes
Uchi Mawashi	Yes	–	–	Yes
Side Kick	Yes	Yes	–	Yes
Knee Joint Kick	Yes	Yes	–	Yes
Back Kick	Yes	Yes	–	Yes
Thigh Kick	Yes	–	–	Yes
Middle Kick	Yes	–	–	Yes
Head Kick	Yes	–	–	Yes
Total:	12	3	0	11

 Viewed another way: 

	Total
Hip Flexion (HF) – Hip Flexors	12
Hip Extension (HE) – Glutes	3
Knee Flexion (KF) – Hamstrings	0
Knee Extension (KE) – Quads	11

The hip flexors and quads dominate, while the posterior chain contribution is minimal. Add the long deep stances in Ido-kihon and kata with the vertical trunk angles[1] and long term, it’s no surprise hip and knee challenges occur.

This is not a criticism of Karate or its kihon. There is no shortage of sports or activities resulting in imbalance in the body. Look at the racket-holding arm of a professional tennis player or the throwing arm of a baseball pitcher for starters. Golf is a unilateral sport as are the execution of many competitive combat sports including boxing and wrestling.

Interestingly, the traditional Migi (right) and Hidari (left) Sanchi-dachi stances in Kyokushin Karate with the arms in uchi uke (the fundamental start position) are wonderful stimuli to help reverse typical postural challenges we see in the broader society. Much of Kyokushin Karate actually helps square the body up, working the body left and right side plus forward and back.   

Nor is this a suggestion that kicking a lot is a problem. It’s only a challenge if we don’t address these imbalances along the way, ideally sooner than later.

What about the support leg? 

The non-kicking leg plays a huge role in kicking. Outside the obvious roles of balancing the body while kicking and rotating the foot of the support leg too:

1. Protect the knee from injury
2. Allow the hip greater rotation
3. Enabling superior kicking range/distance opportunities 
4. Greater kicking power  

There is some hip extension and therefore gluteal contraction. You can confirm this yourself via placing the palms of your hands on your glutes (left hand left cheek and right hand right cheek) and doing a few sidekicks, roundhouse kicks and back kicks. You will feel the gluteal contraction on the non-kicking side. 

While this helps maintain a degree of healthy muscle balance around the hip, in my experience it is not enough to offset the above discussion in relation to the hip flexors and quads.  

One caveat is that these concepts apply to most Karate-ka most of the time and not all Karate-ka all of the time. The younger and more gifted (in connective tissue range and softness) one is, the less this discussion may appear to apply. However with age and consistent training over the decades even this cohort will do well to understand these concepts and apply solutions.

The challenge of writing a generic article is the absence of individuality. In short, individualising training is of primary importance for optimal outcomes. The further away we move from individualisation the greater the opportunity cost for the athlete.

That said the length, tension and strength/muscle balance of our connective tissues play a significant role in maintaining joint integrity throughout the body. Let’s look at each of these individually. 

Length

Why stretch? The primary reason is to maintain the ‘joint gap’ between two bones. If this gap between bones is compromised, it leads to a range of problems including nerve irritation, inhibition, muscle spasm, joint surface damage (cartilage, etc) and the like. 

With enough unbalanced training added to the realities that gravity and ageing have on the body, it’s typically a matter of when, not if, the joint gap changes. 

Adequate stretching of hip flexors and quads is vital in this case. What’s adequate? It depends on how much training you have done, are doing and what your body presents.

As a general rule an hour a week (30mins each leg x 2 legs = 60mins) of hip flexor and quad stretching might be the bare minimum for a Kyokushin Karate-ka dojo training 3 – 6 times a week.

This could be 10mins/day (5mins per leg) six days a week or 30mins (15mins per leg) twice a week or anything in between. The point is to start, feel the benefits and individualise the time based on your response. And if you’ve got a noticeably tighter side, do that side first and give it more time than the other.

Two further points:

1. Kicking is dynamic and tension producing, so I want you stretching to the opposite: static stretching and tension reducing. If you have skills (and a partner) in partner stretching and/or PNF stretching of the hip flexors/quads, go for it. However, good old-fashioned static stretching will do the job just fine. 
2. Stretching all muscle groups is important and encouraged, however I’m prioritising the hip flexors/quads purposely as my personal and professional experience in martial arts has noted these muscle groups get less time stretching compared to other muscle groups of the lower body as a broad comment.

Tension

Tension is the ‘ease’ the body moves through the range it has at each joint. Kicking is tension-producing activity, particularly in the lower body. Add kihon, ido-kihon, kata, kumite and kumite drilling: all standing activities with mostly deep knee bend stances and it’s no wonder tension in the lower body is generally high.

A simple test to assess tension is to moderately push your thumbs into different muscle groups. If it hurts, your tension is likely too high and is costing you function, performance and maybe even joint pain.  

A skilled set of hands is the solution. However time, cost and competence can be friction points in receiving regular soft tissue work. Plus you don’t want to become dependent on anyone. Learning to do it yourself is the next best option.  

Lowering connective tissue tension via rolling the quads, hip flexors, glutes, calves, etcetera on a foam roller, tennis ball/baseball, etcetera (different muscle groups respond to different tools) will assist enormously. 

Again start with 60mins a week (could be 2 x 30mins, 3 x 20mins or 4 x 15mins) of rolling your legs with emphasis on the quads/hip flexors and any other areas you feel most discomfort on a foam roller and tennis ball or baseball. Ideally, don’t stop at 60 mins a week. Like stretching, more is generally better. Listening to your body will be your best guide.

Two further points: 

1. Flexibility and tension have a relationship that supports the other, however both are required to optimise connective tissue health and appropriate joint gap relationships. Doing one without the other is an opportunity cost. If you’re already doing one, fantastic! Now add the other and feel the improvement yourself over the coming weeks, months and years.  
2. If your connective tissue tension is high, initially you’ll use softer devices. As your tension drops, advance to harder devices.   

Strength Training

Shihan Cameron and I did a YouTube live session on supplemental training recently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltcNYwXovgg&t=17s. While we didn’t cover everything, it’s a great starting point.

In terms of strength training, prioritising the hip extensors (glutes/posterior chain) over everything else for the lower body as a general rule. The kicking, ido-kihon, kata and conditioning in dojo training are giving the hip flexors and quads ample work compared to the hip extensors. Strength training has the ability to magnify the outcomes we want to exaggerate when done appropriately. In this case it’s muscle balance around the hip.  

It’s beyond the scope of this article to detail the technical model for each lift. That said, exercises including prone and supine hip extensions, good mornings, straight knee deadlifts, the Olympic lifts (cleans, snatches and all their variations) pulling from the floor ideally and conventional bent knee deadlifts are fantastic, when executed appropriately. This includes abdominal exercises that contribute to posteriorly rotating the pelvis (for example thin tummy drills) and integrating them into the technical model of each lift. 

Always focus on technical execution over loading in your strength training. There is a limited correlation between the load lifted and expressing your techniques/skills against a non-compliant opponent. Olympic lifting, power lifting, strongman events and some field events in athletics have high correlations between load on the bar and results in competition. Kyokushin Karate and martial arts in general do not share this high correlation.

Conclusion

Prioritising stretching your hip flexors and quads more frequently and thoroughly on top of all existing stretching. Extend this focus to tissue work/self massage of the quads/hip flexors and any other parts of your body you feel tension in. These two additions alone will go a long way in optimising the length and tension of the connective tissues around the hip.

If you’re engaging in strength training, place posterior chain exercises at the top of the list of your programming. Weather they be slow speed body weight exercises, the Olympic lifts or a combination of both, is less important than the body getting some exposure to this stimulus while focusing on technique over loading.

Osu. 

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[1] Trunk angle during exercise influences if an exercise is ‘quad dominant’ or ‘hip dominant’. Ian King created this concept displayed as a continuum. The more vertical the trunk angle, the more ‘quad dominant’ an exercise. A trunk angle 45 degrees or below the more ‘hip dominant’ an exercise. A barbell back squat is generally ‘quad dominant’ while a traditional bent knee Deadlift is generally ‘hip dominant’ as are all ‘pulls’ (cleans, snatches and their variations) from the floor.