How to Kick Higher and Harder for Muay Thai and Martial Arts

One of the most common questions asked in muay thai is, “How Can I kick higher and harder?”.

After reading this post you will have a full program that integrates all the required components to increase height and power in your muay thai kicks.

Also you will be able to search and find different exercises and mobility drills to mix and match and switch up things to keep improving.

Stretching alone may not be enough to improve high kicks

Most people who begin muay thai or any other martial art for that matter, think that a lot of static stretching will help them improve their kicking power and height. 

This is true.

But stretching is only one of 3 components required when it comes to stretching for high kicks and flexibility development.

All 3 essential flexibility approaches will be discussed in this post as well as a program that puts everything together.

But we must also consider your technique for high kicks and how you could improve in this area to kick higher and harder.

Technique for high kicks with power

A lot of the power and height of the head kick or high kick in muay thai comes from technique.

Learning good technique will help go a long way to performing high kicks well into your older and less flexible years.

This is an area you can start working on in your very next muay thai session or when you next use the heavy bag.

Believe it or not, there are a couple of different types of high kicks in muay thai. What is common is they all attack high on the opponent, at the head area.

These diffrent types of high kicks include, the question mark kick, axe kick, teep to the face and the standard head kick.

We will mainly look at the traditional muay thai roundhouse technique for the high kick and the areas where you could improve your technique to get more height and power.

1.Standing Leg – Step out on toes, push off, finish with heel almost turned completely to opponent

It is very important in order to get momentum for the the high kick that you step out on an angle with your lead leg.

Step onto the toes and use the toes and calf to push up.

how to kick harder and higher

This will drive the rear leg up powerfully.

The more you up onto your lead toes and drive up the more height an dpower you can get.

2. Lean back to get more height

By leaning back toward your lead-rear side you can drive your rear leg up more also.

Traditional Thai style doesnt encourage this though.

You will always be instructed to keep your body more upright to stay more protected.

But training alone or starting out, leaning back is another little technique to help you kick higher.

The ‘lean back’ to gain more height in your kick is discussed in the video below by ‘Ironboy Experience’.

3. Point to the target with the knee of kicking leg

I learned this trick off YouTube from the ‘Ironboy Experience’ muay thai channel and it works well!

Aim high with the knee and ‘flick’ the kicking up and out a little to strike with your foot/shin area.

This is also good if you have not yet developed enough hip mobility to ‘turn the hip over’ as in the traditional muay thai roundhouse.

Check out the full explanation below.

Flexibility & Mobility for the High Kick

Using the techniques above and working on these with the heavy bag a lot will reall yhelp improve your high kicks.

This is especially so if maybe you have decent flexibility but still cant really get your roundhouse kick on target up high on the opponent.

Below we go into the 3 different strategies for higher kicks with more power, including standard static stretching.

Stretching is only one aspect of 3 important methods that you can use to really improve your mobility and range of motion on your own.

What is sometimes referred to as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of Mobility is:

  • Stretching – to restore range of motion in movement patters
  • Soft Tissue Release – to treat tightness and restore length of soft tissue
  • Joint Distraction – to improve function of the joint (specifically the hip for high kicks)

i)Stretching for High Kicks

Stretching for high kicks to develop height and power is the most common method used and has been around for a long time.

Gymnasts, ballet dancers, Shaolin monks and all martial arts utilize stretching to increase flexibility.

This is the same for high kicks.

Most of those above mentioned arts, usually have practitioners who started at an early age and have developed flexibility over years.

Using stretching together with effective ‘soft tissue release’ and addressing ‘joint restriction’ you can improve mobility and flexibility for high kicks well into adulthood.

What Stretches to use for high kicks?

There are many free resources online and onYoutube on stretches for martial arts and flexibility especially for kicking.

Have a look and develop your stretching routine with stretches you like and are effecetive for you.

However there are some basic stretches that should be included. These are included at the end of this post as part of a full program to kick higher and harder.

Have a read of this post on the ‘7 Best Muay Thai Stretches‘.

ii) Soft Tissue Release

For those of us who started muay thai later in life and live a pretty sedentary lifestyle outside of muay thai i.e. a desk job, then soft tissue is likely all mashed up and tight.

This is especially in the hips, from sitting for hours a day for years.

Aside from the hips many, many areas of the body can have soft tissue issues from hunched over positions, carrying backs packs and being generally immobile.

For kicking specifically there are soft tissue areas that can be addressed solo with the use of a foam roller and similar tools.

There are a ton of resources on YouTube and in written form for soft tissue release using a variety of techniques.

I also recommend Kelly Starrett, Eric Wong as further resources in this area.

iii) Joint Distraction

This is one strategy that can help you get gains in your kicking power and height that is not well knwon espeicall yin muiay tha circles.

 leading authority in the area of flexibility, Micheal J. Alter, in his much referenced book, “Science of Flexibility”, attributes a lack of hip mobility and ‘resistance to movement’ to different factors apart from muscle and fascia issues.

In fact Alter attributes as much as 47% of movement restriction (hips included) to the joint capsule itself and 41% to muscle and fascia.

Muscle and fascia can be addressed through stretching and soft tissue release.

But joint restriction which can contribute 47% to movement restriction needs to be addressed as well.

Joint restriction can be addressed through joint distraction using a band when stretching.

How to Kick Higher and Harder – Putting it All together

In developing a routine what is important is that it is easy to implement and stick with consistently.

Consistent efforts over the long term i.e weks and months will bring the best results in improving you rkicking power and height.

Below is one example of how to put together a program for improving your high kicks that includes all of the elements discussed done in order below with suggested minimum time:

i)3-10 mins Soft tissue release – use foam roller and work:

  • calves
  • quads
  • hip flexors
  • lower back and glutes
  • upper back and lats

ii)10-15 mins Mobility Exercises

There are many more you could include but as a base pick two or more from below for 2-3 sets of 8-12.

You can add more exercises you like but the ones below will help with high kicks a lot when done before training or as a warm up.

Begin slow with less range of motion and work your way from there.

  • leg swings (facing forward and swinging out to the side)
  • leg swings straight out front
  • deep squat with single arm reach
  • reverse lunge with overhand reach
  • cossack squat

After these exercises you should have a little sweat going and your hips and joints should feel looser.

iii)5-7 mins Banded stretching (can also be repeated post workout)

This is the one area that requires some equipment and a band is all that is needed.

I would just follow the recommendations form the Liam Harrison video above and available here

Liam’s routine includes holding the different positions below for 1.5 to 2 minutes before and after training.

  • banded lunge stretch – squeeze the glutes as much as possible and hold
  • manipulate the band outward and in different directions to open up the hip
  • grab the band (if needed) and grab and hold the ankle of your back leg for an even greater stretch
  • rear banded hamstring stretch – targets entire rear of leg from glutes to calf; 50 reps each leg

iv) 1 focus drill/1 minute of any Round in your Muay Thai Workout

Focus on these drills in your shadow boxing and bag work.

Just for at least one minute within any round.

I would focus on one area alone for maybe 1 min each within your muay thai workout.

how to kick higher and harder

Also pay attention to these areas when sparring drilling with partners and see your kicks improve.

  • standing leg push up on toes and turn. Do it as a stand alone drill or pay particular focus on it when you throw roundkicks on the bag.
  • lean back kicks – do thoese when you want to test height on the kicks or to get hem up higher.
  • use the knee point technique to improve height in your technique

v) 10-15mins Post Workout Static Stretching

Some of the best post workout stretches to perform specifically for high kick flexibility include th eones below.

Hold each for 1-2 minutes up to 2 times.

  • Straddle stretch
  • Frog stretch
  • Calf stretch
  • Hip flexors
  • Hamstrings

If you can do the above routine consistently 2-5 times a week, then you will get excellent results in your kicking height and power within a few short weeks.

How to kick higher and harder – Summary

To summarize the suggested approach to improving flexibility for high kicks as well as how to kick higher and harder:

Technique is crucial to powerful high kicks.

Use the three suggested technical focus drills to improve your high kicks

Stretching together with soft tissue release and addressing joint restriction will help you reach your goals to kick higher and harder with mobile and flexible high kicks.