By Shi Yan Ming, with Allan David Ondash and Meiling Gong (Black Belt Magazine, July , www.blackbeltmag.com)

Warning: Before elaborating on Shaolin Temple kicking methods, I must stress that they will not make you a better fighter overnight. To achieve maximum speed, power and accuracy, you must practice these techniques thousands of times. Kung Fu literally means "hard work," and the Chinese characters for that represent a man sharpening his knife from early in the morning until late at night. Always remember that you must sharpen your knife every day. The methods discussed below will help you bring intense effort, discipline and mental focus to your practice. There is no quick fix in the martial arts or in life.

Foundation
To kick with speed, power and accuracy, you need to be able to move your body effortlessly and instantaneously through a full range of motion. Because that requires an extraordinary degree of flexibility, daily stretching is crucial. Many martial artists make the mistake of stretching their upper and lower body separately or of assuming that to improve their kicks they need to stretch only their lower body. In fact, to achieve maximum power, you must kick with your whole body, which means you must also stretch your whole body. Also, bear in mind that you need to be able to kick low as well as high and at close range as well as long range, so the ability to contract your body is as important as the ability to extend it.

A good warm-up involves simple joint rotations. Quickly and smoothly rotate your wrists, ankles, neck, shoulders, waist, hips, and knees. When performing your basic stretches before a practice session, a gentle bouncing motion followed by a brief hold will help "wake up" your muscles and tendons. Another useful pre-practice exercise is to swing your arms and legs through a full range of motion in a controlled mannner at less than maximum speed. Performing straight-leg swing kicks to the front, side and back, as well as inward and outward crescent kicks, will increase your range of motion and get the blood flowing to your extremities. Again, always follow the principle of using your whole body when performing each stretch and kick. Never think of stretching a single muscle in isolation. Your whole body must work together. Moreover, because the body cannot be separated from the mind, you must maintain an open, flexible mind to achieve a flexible body. To generate power, the body must be relaxed, and the body cannot relax when the mind is tense. Consider also that in a real fight you may have opportunities to use not just your fists and feet to strike, but also your knees, elbows, back, stomach and head. Without a flexible body and mind, you will lose those opportunities, and you may lose the fight.

Roundhouse kick: Shi Yan Ming (right) faces his opponent (1). He raises the knee of his front leg as high as possible and slides forward (2), then pivots on his supporting foot as he extends his kicking leg (3). He strikes the opponent's neck with his instep or shin (4).

Basics
The Chinese arts teach four levels of power: tui li (pushing power), baofa li (explosive power), qun li (inch power) and tou li (penetrating power). The first objective for most practicioners is to develop explosive power in the basic kicks: qiandengtui (front kick), biantui (roundhouse kick), cechuatui (side kick), futoutui (ax kick) and houbaitui (spinning back kick). Unfortunately, many people train for years and fail to chieve full power because they have learned the basic kicks incorrectly. Without good basics, you will never progress. Therefore, it is worthwhile to revisit them.

When practicing the front kick, start with your legs together and face your target. Raise the knee of your kicking leg as high as possible and slide your body forward while kicking up and out. You should strike first with your heel, then with the ball and toes of your foot. Always kick as high as possible in practice, and try to achieve maximum power and speed at the highest point of your kick --the point of contact. As you hit the target, thrust your hip outward so your kick goes through the target, rather than simply hitting it. As you slide forward, the foot of your supporting leg will naturally pivot slightly outward at about a 45-degree angle, and the thrusting motion of your hip will cause you to lean backward and arch your spine.

To perform the roundhouse kick, begin by standing perpendicular to your target. Raise the knee of your kicking leg as high as possible to the side. Simultaneously pivot on you supporting foot more than 90degrees away from your target, twist your hip and kick horizontally, striking between your mid-shin and instep. Depending on the distance to the target, you may wish to slide your supporting foot forward. You should lean back naturally as you kick, but your torso should remain perpendicular to the target. Always focus on kicking directly across at the point of contact; your kick should go through the target. If you are advanced enough to aim for the head, you should kick across and then down, since the objective is to knock the opponent down.

	Spinning back kick: The opponent and Shi Yan Ming assume the ready position (1). The Shaolin monk moves his left arm forward to cause the opponent to reac (2). He then pivots clockwise with his kicking leg raised (3). As he completes the turn, Shi Yan Ming lifts his knee higher (4) before snapping his foot outward in a horizontal arc that leads to the opponent's head (5)

In executing the side kick, you should also stand perpendicular to the target. Lift the knee of your kicking leg as high as possible to the front or side, then extend your leg to the side while pivoting your supporting foot more than 90 degrees away from you opponent. Drive your hip forward as you strike the target with the bottom of your foot. You may slide your supporting foot forward, and your body should remain perpendicular to your target. It is OK to lean backward as you kick, but do not turn your torso away from the target. Many people limit their explosive power in the side kick by turning their upper body away from the target and rotating the hip of their kicking leg inward, with their knee and toes turned downward. Instead, you should keep your body sideways, your hips open, and the knee and toes of your kicking leg turned upward.

For the ax kick, begin by facing your target. Keeping your kicking leg straight, lift it at a slight diagonal (if you are kicking with your right leg, lift it to the left, and vice versa). Next, kick diagonally down and across the target (down and to the right with your right leg, down and to the left with your left leg). As you slam your leg downward with full force, drive your hip forward and arch your back. Strike first with your heel, then with the balls and toes of your foot. You can slide your supporting foot forward if necessary. As you kick, that foot will turn slightly outward.

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