Wushu - Chinese Martial Arts.

Wushu Kicks.

• Front Stretchkick (zheng ti) 
• Inside Circle Kick (li he)
• Outside Circle Kick (wai bai)
• Side Stretchkick (ce ti):
•                                                                                                                                                In this lesson you will learn how to do a proper wushu front stretch kick. In Chinese Mandarin this kick is called "Zheng Ti" (Zheng = Straight, Ti = Kick). The front stretch kick is the most basic wushu kick and should be practiced in every single training session. Make sure you always warm up and stretch before you practice the basic kicks and jumps. The front stretch kick should be the first kick in your.

wushu kicking routine. Do at least 2x8 kicks and then practice the inside circle kick.

Execution

• Stand with your legs closed and look straight forward.
• Step forward with your left leg, open your arms and look to your right hand. Relax your wrists so that your hands point slightly down.
• Then follow with the right leg, bend your elbows, flip your palms and push your hands out in a straight line. Turn your head forward again at the same time. Your legs are now closed again, your elbows are extended and your arms are slightly above horizontal level and behind the head. You are now ready for your first wushu front stretchkick.
• Step forward with the left leg again and kick your right leg.
• Kick your right foot to your forehead without moving the upper body. The hands have to stay where they are and the head should not move at all. Keep the heel of the standing leg on the floor and fully extend both knees.
• Kick as low as possible. Don't try to kick high! Fully flex the ankle of the kicking leg and try to see the sole of your shoe at the highest point. Both knees are fully extended.
• Pull the kicking leg back down even faster than you kicked it up.
• Relax the ankle shortly before the tip of your shoe touches the ground again. BTW, some schools teach to close the legs after every kick.
• Then step forward with the same leg and kick with the other leg.
• Do 4 kicks with the right leg and 4 kicks with the left leg. Then rest a minute and repeat.

Advice

• If you are not flexible enough to kick all the way up, simply don't kick that high. Just make sure you keep your upper body still, don't bend your knees and flex your ankle.
•  if you think your legs are too long for the wushu front stretchkick.
• Always warm up and stretch before you practice the basic kicks.
• There are special stretches to increase flexibility for the wushu front stretchkick.
• What you should not do:
  • Don't bend your knees
  • Don't elevate the heel of the standing leg
  • Don't bend your elbows.
  • Don't move your hands forward or down when you kick.
  • Don't lean back.
  • Don't round your back.
  • Don't kick over head height.
  • Don't extend the ankle of the kicking leg when the foot is in front of your head
  • Don't elevate your hips
  • Don't look up or down

Exercises

• Do you think your legs are too long for these wushu kicks?
• If you are having a hard time keeping your upper body and your arms straight, put an apple on the top of your head and try to do 8 kicks without letting the apple fall. Kick slowly and not very high at the beginning.

Wushu Inside Circle Kick

The inside circle kick is one of the most basic wushu kicks. In Chinese this is called: "Li He". From an upright position with the arms extended sideways, kick outside-up, slap your foot into the opposite hand and then pull your leg back down. Only the kicking leg and one hand should move. This wushu kick should be practiced in every single training session. Find instructions for more wushu kicks and jumps at the.

Execution

• The straight wushu stretchkick, the outside circle kick and the inside circle kick start the same way. Stand straight with your legs closed and relax your arms.
• Then step forward with your left leg and lift your extended arms sideway. Looking to the right for a moment. Lift your arms and let your hands follow (see illustration).
• Follow with your right foot so that your legs are closed again, look straight forward again and whip your palms up. Now your arms should be horizontally aligned and your palms should be behind chest level (when viewed from the side). Both palms point away from your body. That´s how the 3 most basic wushu kicks begin.
• Step forward with your left leg and and swing your right leg outside-up in front of your face. When your foot crosses from the one side to the other, turn the opposite hand and slap your foot and your palm together.
• Then pull your kicking leg down as fast as possible and bring your hands back to the beginning position. Make sure you don't bend your back and DON'T elevate your hip with the kick.
• Step forward and then kick the other leg.

Advice

• Warm up and stretch before you practice any wushu kicks or jumps.
• Stretch your flat stances and your splits before you do the inside circle kick.
• Do a couple of inside circle kicks before you start working on your wushu whirlwind kick.

Wushu Outside Circle Kick

The outside circle kick is one of the most basic wushu kicks. In Chinese (Mandarin) this is called: "Wai Bai Tui". From a standing position with your legs closed and the arms extended sideways, swing one leg inside-up and slap your foot through both hands (close to your face). The down-motion should be accelerated. Keep your upper body.

motionless. Only the kicking leg and and the hands move. Practice the outside circle kick in every wushu training session. Find

Execution

• The straight wushu stretchkick, the inside circle kick and the outside circle kick start the same way. Stand upright with your legs closed and your hands on your sides.
• Step forward with your left leg and lift your straightened arms while looking to your right. You kinda lift your wrists let hands follow (see video).
• Follow with your right foot so that your legs are closed again, look straight forward again and whip your palms up. Now your arms should be horizontally aligned and your palms should be behind chest level (when viewed from the side). Both palms point away from your body. That´s how the 3 most basic wushu kicks begin.
• Step forward with your left leg and and swing your right leg inside-up in front of your face. When you have your foot in front of your head, slap your foot through your left palm and then through your right palm. When you kick the right leg, your finger tips have to point to the right (where the kick is going).
• Immediately open your arms again and bring your hands back to its place. At the same time, pull your kicking leg back down to the floor.
• Make sure u never bend your back.
• Also, make sure you move your leg down faster than up. DON'T elevate your hip with the kick!!!
• Step forward onto the heel and then kick with the other leg (the same thing the other way around).

Advice

• Warm up and stretch before you start working on the wushu kicks and jumps.
• Stretch your splits and the flat stance.
• Do a couple of outside circle kicks before you start working on the wushu lotus kick.
• Avoid this kick if you are having hip problems.

Side Stretchkick - Wushu

The side stretchkick "Ce Ti" is the second basic wushu kick and should be practiced in every single training session. The kick itself is straight, like the wushu front stretchkick, but your body is turned sideways and the foot moves towards your ear and not your forehead. Arm and head movements give the side stretchkick an additional flash.

Execution

• Stand upright, legs closed, looking to your left. ( This means you are going to kick with the left leg. Left side = forward. Your left arm points to your left (palm up), and your right arm points to your right (palm up). Your left finger tips are at shoulder height and your right wrist is a bit over shoulder height. So your left arm is slightly below horizontal level and you right arm is over horizontal level.
• Step forward with your right foot, but keep your arms aligned with your walking direction. (Right foot passes in FRONT of the left foot)
• After this step, kick your left leg up towards your forehead. Don't Turn your hip OR bend your torso OR kick higher than your head.
• When you foot reaches the highest point of the kick, align your right atm vertically (Palm up, finger tips point forward your kicking foot. Turn your head 90 degrees clockwise, so that you actually kick towards your left ear and not to your forehead.
• Move your left palm with the finger tips pointing up to your right shoulder (elbow in front of your abs). Maintain this posture for less than a millisecond.
• Then let your kicking leg snap back down.
• At the same time, bring back your arms and your head back to the beginning position.
• Step further forward with your left leg.
• Start off at point 2 and do another kick.
• For the right wushu side stretchkick, do the same thing the other way around.

Advice

• Exercise for the wushu side stretchkick: Lift up your leg sideways and lean against a wall. Make sure your toes are not higher than your head. Grasp your foot with both hands and try to keep your torso straight. Stretch your side stretchkick.
• Stand in front of a wall and hold onto something in front of you with both hands (chest height). Swing your leg up sideways and do 10 to 20 side stretchkicks like if you were doing ballistic stretches. Make sure your hip remains parallel to the wall. Don't elevate your hip as you kick.