To increase your kicking speed, a key focus should be on training your extender muscles to forcefully extend your leg and practicing controlled retraction.
Focusing on Extender Muscles and Retraction
According to training insights, improving kicking speed involves specific attention to the muscles and actions responsible for the kick's power and control:
- Focus on Extender Muscles: These are the muscles, primarily in the front of your thigh and hip, that straighten or extend your leg during a kick. Strengthening these muscles allows you to generate more power and speed in the outward movement of your leg.
- Powerful Extension ("Fire Through"): Practice movements where you focus on fully and powerfully extending your leg as if firing through the target area. This maximizes the force and acceleration generated by your extender muscles.
- Controlled Stopping and Retraction: The ability to quickly stop your foot's momentum ("stop my foot down") and efficiently retract or control your leg's movement after impact is also crucial. Focusing on retraction contributes to overall speed, balance, and prepares you for subsequent movements.
By specifically training both the explosive extension phase and the controlled stopping/retraction phase, you can enhance the speed and efficiency of your kick.
