How to Stretch for High Kicks in Martial Arts

People always ask me how to stretch so they can kick higher. Unfortunately, as I admitted in my video, Flexibility Without Stretching, I don’t really stretch that much.

Don’t worry!

I still have a stretching technique to share from my old Taekwondo days. This simple, but effective exercise worked great for me back then and will work great for you today. Let’s get to it!

Video and article below. 🙂

How to Stretch for High Kicks in Martial Arts

Back when I used to care about full splits, my favorite stretching technique was proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation or “PNF stretching”… but you don’t have to remember that! Just remember, “squeeze and release”.

There are a few different ways you can apply this concept, but here’s the one that worked for me.

STEP 1: Put your foot up on a ledge or railing as if you are doing a front kick. Slide you leg up as high as you can.

STEP 2: Keeping good form, press down with your heel and/or calf as hard as you can for 10 seconds. At the same time, tense ALL of the muscles in your leg.

STEP 3: Relax your leg completely. As you do, your leg will suddenly slide up a little bit farther. It’s like magic!

STEP 4: Reset and repeat the process for another three or four sets. Make sure you maintain your gains by either sliding your leg up a little more or bending your support leg down.

STEP 5: Repeat the same number of sets on the other leg.

Wow! How easy is that?

But wait—you’re not done yet!

The front kick stretch is great for working your hamstrings, but to be a world class kicker, you have to figure out how to stretch your groin muscles, too.

No problem. All you have to do is roll your hip over into a side kick position. Now press down with your foot and squeeze your muscles exactly as you did before.

Don’t stop now! If you want to increase your overall flexibility, apply PNF stretching, or squeezing and releasing, to every stretch you do!

How does it work?

Well, I’m not a doctor or physical therapist, so please keep in mind that my understanding of PNF comes solely from my own personal experience. That said, here’s how I think about it…

When you stretch and push your body to its limit, what happens? Your body automatically tightens up. Believe it or not, that reaction is designed to protect you, not hurt you.

Think about it… your brain has never seen you do a full split before. So, when you suddenly start sliding your feet farther and farther apart, your brain jumps in and says, “Whoa, big fella—I’m gonna stop you right there.”

But here’s the funny thing—if you got knocked out cold by an attacker or if, God forbid, someone killed you, it wouldn’t be all bad.

The good news is you’d finally be able to do that full split! That’s because when your brain is turned off, your body just becomes a big bag of blubber.

The trick is figuring out how to stop your brain from stopping your body when you’re alive and awake. It turns out one way to do that is to voluntarily tense your muscles by pressing and squeezing.

Make sense? Hey—I don’t get it, either, but it works! So, give it a try.

Before you do, here are three more tips to make sure you know how to stretch properly.

Tip #1: Warm up.

Stretching a cold muscle is just asking for trouble. So, always make time to break a sweat and get your blood going before you stretch.

Tip #2: Be patient.

If you go crazy and force yourself into a full split right now, there’s a good chance you’re going to injure yourself. That means it’s going to take even longer to reach your goals. So, take it slow and steady.

Tip #3: Give yourself time to recover.

PNF technique is pretty intense, so make sure you’re eating right and getting suitable rest.

Remember—if you show up for a workout and your muscles are still sore from your last workout, that means your muscles are still healing. Sure, it’s okay to practice, but save your next round of deep stretching for another day.

That’s it! Now you know how to stretch for higher kicks. Better buy some stretchier pants!