I would like to share my side kick technique, and i'd be grateful for some input or feedback to tell me if it could be improved at all.

in right stance:
right foot lifts and slided about a foot forward, while back foot pushes off.
right foot touches floor and pushes forward (using groin and butt muscles).
left foot moves behind right foot, and lands about 1 or 2 feet infront of it, (there is a period where both feet are in the air), and the right foot goes into a kick, where the knee is drawn back slightly before initiating pushing motion.
at the same time, the back foot (with the toe pointing backwards), pushes forward (the leg is sligntly bent, but gets straighter).
my right arm is next to or below my kicking leg at this time, and my left is out behind me for balance.
the right kicking leg extends forward, while i bend backward slightly, and when it impacts and is nearly straight, i flick my hips anticlockwise, and push the extending leg deeper into the bag, (this also stops the leg from snapping itself and damaging because the force is no longer going in an arm, it is straight), and my left hand (behind me) whips slightly.
i am almost facing backwards at this point, nearly parallel to the floor.
the kick appears like bruce lee's kicks on his home videos, or on the starting of a warriors journey, (opening titles) where he kicks grandmaster ji han jae, veeery fast!
it feels right, and makes the bag cave inwards, then explode backwards, and if i take a step first before i initiate the kick, i can kick the bag from 10-15 feet away, and the bag (60kg+) goes paralel to the ground, very fast, sometimes over paralel.
is this good? how could i improve or change it?
thanks!!
-Jowan

The tensions of opposing muscle has to be released. Back of legs, and all muscle that brakes the mechanics of the kick. Takes keen awareness which you seen to be already developing.
Have a goal of speed, relaxation of muscles, only using the muscles that is needed for the kick. These muscles work like a team, a need to be brought to awareness consciousness. Feel the kick, visualize trajectory, slow it down. Get posivite feed back and gradually apply all these principle. Above all apply what applicable to your own structure. Tommy carruther is a good example. Older pictures not so sure but latest, see if this show "how to break this world record" in a sense. hope this link help
http://www.tommycarruthers.com/video.htm
or go to the original Bruce himself.

I think you are getting the hang of it. Some things to think about:

(I am assuming this kick is like the burning step sidekick in jkd)

You may want to think about using the critical edge to initiate the lead step so as to use the non-intention principle.
When you take that first step forward with the lead leg, you may want to sweep the lead hand upward like an impetus and also as a distraction.

I think if you go to chihand.com joel may be able to correct the more subtle things about your internal structure that I can't point out.

One thing on alignment I can help you out with though:

If you place your sidekick on a wall, just walk up to the wall and put your foot on it simulating the kicking position, then press your weight into the kicking leg on the wall, you should feel your rear leg get rooted into the ground the more you apply pressure into the kicking leg. If you get thrown back it means you aren't connected properly.


Also, I think it is good to aim for the bag to cave in and then bounce on the chain. If you watch bruce lee's kicks you see that the bag caves in then bounces up and down a bit. If the bag simply swings then there is a bit more push involved.

Good luck!

Wow Jowan you seem to have a very complicated side kick. When I do a side kick from a distant starting position, i move towards the opponent untill i get into range at which point i lift which ever leg is convinient up twist my hip and rotate my foot so my heel is pointing out and kick the guy. My hands have no set position. It varies depending on the position of my opponent.

You seem to have the traditional moving in sidekick down, but (if you are describing what i think you are describing) i do not do this, as it is easily seen and blocked. I have not had anybody do this side kick effectively on me for years. I also find that when I do this in the traditional manner i.e. the way lee does in way of the dragon, i limit my options as you need to commit to it quite relatively early. It also hinders the movement of the back leg as an attacking weopon should you choose to change which leg you use.

My main advice would be not to think to much about body mechanics, and poisition of feet and hands but simple move and hit. I can be a difficult idea to grasp it has taken me about four years since my Sifu first introduced the idea to me, for me to start applying this concept properly.

Question everything, Know nothing.

Dont worry about trying to kick a bag at ten or fifteen feet away. As a real person facing you in a fight you would never get that in. Unless they werecabout finished anyway. If you are going to step out then lift with forward motion as the burning foot kick. You do not need to travel your support foot ahead of the kicking leg. Practice your standing side then pendulim side then burning foot. But dont go over board until you can do it good. And thats all you need. i would never attempt to kick someone at a long distance. Because As I tell my students. someone could take a nap wake up parry and counter the move. To telegraphic. Looks good But not effective.

I've pulled this kick off once in a fight and several times in sparring. It's not the most useful kick, but I think it has it's place.

hmm, would you say that the most useful kicks to practise were the front and back front kick?
and when you do them, do you push off the front foot, lift the back foot into the air and place it down a bit further forwards, like in the side kick? i find this is slow, but any other way lacks power.
-Jowan

all kicks are useful if you know how to kick. the point is not to get too caught up in the detail. Also speed is not always everything. Good timing will help give you the illusion of speed.

Question everything, Know nothing.

Kicking has its needs. The range in which you can complete the kick is a deciding factor. If a person is in a range where you just need to lift and kick .You do so. If a forward advance is going to happen you are the the lead in the movement. unless its say a stop kick movement sometimes. Its just like wqhen a person punches at you. you do not need to advance forward. As they cover that range on there movement. So you just lash out say intercept. or parry and strike. Sure forward moving mass will give more power. But the distance. Range agin sets the need. Best way is think effect need of movement. Move no more then needed.