Topic: Constructive Criticism?

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Please?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPOcJ4KeN4c" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPOcJ4KeN4c</a>

[bryan]

hmmmm. stretch more, you seem a bit un-flexible . other then that, I wouldn't really know because I never got into this kind of stuff. I guess practice make perfect, so keep doing what you do man!

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Yeah I know the flexibility part sucks ass cause it isn't an overnight thing xD
I hate not having flexible legs xD It limits me so much.

[bryan]

I know how it feels, im in the same boat.

[Sean Boyd]

That's not a bad bkick in the least, just keep drilling it. Study good wushu bkicks as well.

Study this tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibs8RgE9noY

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Thanks I do need to work on a whole bunch this summer xD

[Chad Zwadlo (Zwadloc)]

On every technique in that video you need to keep your head up a lot more.  When you look down at the ground like that it pulls your spine into an arching shape which is pulling you closer to the ground when you need to be lifting up.

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Oh God yes! xD I noticed that head thing I do that makes my back arch upward a whole looot! And When I was watching of B-Kicks I noticed people don't do that so I knew I had to fix that. So simply lifting my head up should help?

[Nick Fernandez]

YES! Do that. I was having problems with my b-kicks recently since I completely forgot how to do them, and when I focused on looking up and popping my chest up it made my back arch and they looked so much better. This is what they looked like when I fixed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzH1U3_kiBs

Didn't really keep my legs as straight as I should have, but my butterfly kicks looked like yours before I stopped staring at the ground the whole time.

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

YES! Do that. I was having problems with my b-kicks recently since I completely forgot how to do them, and when I focused on looking up and popping my chest up it made my back arch and they looked so much better. This is what they looked like when I fixed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzH1U3_kiBs

Didn't really keep my legs as straight as I should have, but my butterfly kicks looked like yours before I stopped staring at the ground the whole time.

Cool thanks. I'll see if I'll get off my lazy bum and try that tomorrow xD I really need to get that solid B-Kick because the other day I was trying B-Twists and you can guess how that worked out xD

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8X7r4egWkc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8X7r4egWkc</a>

I tried the looking up thing and my B-Kicks look soooo much better guys. Thanks! I still want to drill them more before I can get into B-Twists again.....in fact that's why I think I was failing so bad at them because my back was all arched awkwardly.....Now if only I could get those tornado kicks.....

I think my problem....several problems are:
--I'm not driving up hard enough or up enough with my knee.
--I'm not following through with the kick
--My hands are basically worthless throughout the entire kick xD

I want to work up to a 540 but I'm finding it incredibly difficult since I've never taken any form of martial arts class.

Also, hows my set up? I noticed that my legs are doing this awkward looking thing where my knees look like they're about to bump together.....take a look at 2:19 you'll see what I mean.

[Chad Zwadlo (Zwadloc)]

You are still doing the same looking down thing on your tornado kicks as well.  Do a little experiment with yourself...look down at your feet and try to lift your leg up as high as you can.  Then keep your head up looking forward and lift your leg up.  If you are doing it right you'll be able to get your leg a lot higher with your head upright.  Try to keep this position with your neck and spine when you are throwing your kicks as well. 

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Okay thank you soooo much this should help sooo much xD I'll try again tomorrow if I'm not being a bum.

[Nick Fernandez]

Read this: http://justtheskills.com/index.php?tutorial=tornado-kick

It's so helpful with understanding how the cheat setup works and cleaning up the tornado kick. I can't really say much else about it because this guide says everything.

Your butterfly kicks are looking a lot better. Try to lift your chest up, but just not as much as you are right now. I try to lift it up but not to the point where my chest is diagonal to the ground. Also lift your back leg harder, and more up than to the side. I know you said you're not really that flexible but I'm sure you can get a lot more spread with your legs than that.

If you can manage to kick your legs a lot higher it would be fine to keep your chest there, it's just that it doesn't really look clean when your chest is a lot higher than your legs.

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

[Mexican]Si senor. Thank you senor[/Mexican]
 

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

Hells yeah I'm getting better at this xD

The best B-Kick of my life so far is at :19 I should still kick up more though that really helped me.
My Tornadoes start looking better at :50, although I feel like I'm still looking down a bit haha!
That head down habit is going to a tough one to break xD

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdVWg6gQuOM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdVWg6gQuOM</a>

[Nick Fernandez]

You need to spot your target
spot your target
SPOT YOUR TARGET!!

It does a load of magical things when you keep your eyes focused on something the whole time. Try to look at something ahead of you the whole time and as long as possible while you pivot until your body forces you to turn around. Then quickly look for the target again and kick it.

The reason you do this for spins or really any kicks is so that you don't lose your awareness, don't get dizzy, etc. Try spinning in a chair really fast and then close your eyes. I think you'll see what I mean.

[Roberto Espinoza Jr.]

I was. If you noticed I pointed at the tree, I was making a mental note to myself to aim at this one leaf haha.

And when I was facing the camera I was aiming for a lightbulb above it.

Apparently I didn't do a good job at it though 

So do I spot it before during and after the kick? Because I just noticed in some of my tornadoes I only spot after the cheat set-up. I guess in those I was focusing more on my footing and set-up than on the kick. In a few though you'll notice I'm looking up (at the lightbulb) before the kick and I look at it again during the kick.

[Nick Fernandez]

It depends, really. But I think it's best to be looking/spotting the whole time, meaning you spot during the cheat set-up so you have an idea of where you want the kick to go. Then you spot again once you jump and spin around.

Think of how you do a cat leap or a precision jump onto, say, a wall or a rail. Before the jump you're staring at the spot on which you want to land, and during the jump you're going to stare at that same spot. You're not going to stare at your legs or the sky or anything like that when you jump, because you know you're in the air and you can't judge how far you're going to have to jump or how you're going to land if you're not focused on your intended destination.