Most of the various forms of martial arts require students to be able to withstand many rounds of sparring.
This means there is one thing each student needs to develop, their stamina. Taekwondo is an incredibly intense and high-paced combat sport.
In order to be successful, those participating need to be able to maintain their energy and not get tired.
One of the main aspects of Taekwondo is to be able to kick properly (Check out How To Do A Butterfly Kick In Taekwondo here). Stamina becomes vital when it comes to kicking powerfully and quickly in Taekwondo.
If you need to increase your kicking stamina, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, we are going to walk you through ways for you to increase your kicking stamina, so you can improve your ability in Taekwondo.
What Is Taekwondo?
Before we look at how to increase your kicking stamina in Taekwondo, we need to have a clear understanding of what Taekwondo is.
As mentioned briefly before, Taekwondo is an intense combat sport. Taekwondo has its origins in Korea and is dated back to the 1940s.
Yet, the modern version of Taekwondo was not officially agreed upon until the year 1955.
However, even though the modern version of Taekwondo is relatively new, Taekwondo is believed to have been around for centuries before its official origin dates.
Although Taekwondo is a combat sport, one of the main messages of this sport is to use your body to stop fighting and help create a more peaceful world.
Taekwondo is a combination of many different styles of fighting techniques. In Taekwondo, there is a large focus on footwork and striking.
This means that students are expected to be able to make repeated kicks.
Therefore, students need to have a high level of endurance in order to be successful at practicing Taekwondo.
Why Is Stamina Important?
Stamina is the ability to withstand prolonged mental and physical effort.
Therefore, when it comes to why it is important in various martial arts, the answer might seem clear.
When it comes to doing any physical activity, the first thing someone notices is how they become tired.
The muscles in your body start to feel fatigued and it can be harder to perform as well as you had earlier.
Therefore, in order to be successful at Taekwondo, you need to have developed stamina.
Since this sport includes a lot of cardiovascular activity, without stamina you will not be able to perform properly, whether that means you stop running out of breath or your body will be less likely to be injured.
Ways To Increase Kicking Stamina
So how do you increase your stamina? Well, there are a number of ways to increase your stamina but many of them start with becoming more fit.
Here are some of the activities that you can do in order to increase your stamina so your kicking stamina increases.
Practice Taekwondo
One of the best ways for you to increase your kicking stamina is to continue practicing Taekwondo.
By practicing the moves you’ve learned in Taekwondo, your muscles will become stronger and more accustomed to them.
If you only go to practice once a week, your stamina will not increase as you aren’t strengthening your muscles.
So, it is best to aim for three times a week.
Swim
If you are looking for a way to improve your stamina without it being a high-impact sport, then swimming is a great way to increase your stamina.
The best way to work on your stamina when swimming is to aim for both speed and distance.
Run
Running is an effective way to work on your stamina and it also works your leg muscles.
Rather than just increasing your running distances, you should try to sprint.
Increasing the distance you sprint, will raise your heart rate and help you to increase your stamina.
Sparring
Sparring is a great way to work on your technique and test your ability.
In terms of stamina, it is an ideal way to see if you would be able to last for many rounds.
Sparring can help you work on your stamina as you can push yourself to maintain your energy in each round.
Ways To Kick Faster
As part of increasing your kicking stamina, it should help you to kick faster.
However, there are certain muscles that you need to train in order to increase your speed and stamina.
The main areas you need to work on to improve your stamina and speed are:
Calves
Quads
Lower back
Abs
Hamstrings
To work on these areas there are a bunch of different exercises you can do in order to strengthen the muscles.
This will help you kick faster and increase your stamina. To improve your calf muscles you can do exercises such as lunges and step-ups.
To help with your quads it is best to weight train. This means lifting barbells and dumbbells.
Abs are vital for Taekwondo, so you should work on them by doing exercise such as crunches and push-ups.
To increase strength in your lower back then pull-ups can help with this.
The hamstrings can be improved by performing exercises such as lunges and low bar squats.
Technique
In terms of learning to kick faster, it is also important to master the techniques. This means you need to know the proper ways to conduct a kick.
One thing you should remember is that when you are going to kick you need to be on the balls of your feet.
This will help to give you the power you need and make your kick faster.
Conclusion
Increasing your stamina is vital to being successful at Taekwondo.
There are many different ways you can increase your stamina, but the best ways are to get your heart rate up and keep practicing Taekwondo.
To test your stamina, it is important to give sparring a go, so you can see your ability.
We hope this guide has helped you to understand how to increase your kicking stamina in Taekwondo. Thank you for reading!
Comments