Common Kickboxing Mistakes: How to Fix Them?

Kickboxing is a thrilling martial art that uses a powerful combination of punches, kicks, footwork, and defensive techniques. Like any other sport, it requires proper form and technique, which can make one susceptible to injuries.

Starting the kickboxing journey feels exciting, but all fun can go down the drain if your form is incorrect. Not paying attention to technique during training and fights can impact your career growth. Many beginners are often seen practicing without focusing on technique, eventually hurting themselves.

By practicing proper form and technique, you can dig out the maximum benefits of kickboxing workouts while preparing your body to fight in the ring effectively.

Suppose you are a beginner joining the kickboxing journey. In that case, you might feel a little lost initially, but worry not as this article will help you understand all common kickboxing mistakes that you might be making and effective tips to fix them.

Not Paying Attention to Warm-Ups

Imagine it’s your first day at a kickboxing session. You are very excited to start, and in all this excitement, you jump straight to practice drills and techniques without warming up the muscles. This is where the problem starts. One of the common beginner’s kickboxing mistakes is skipping warm-up exercises. Not spending enough time warming up the muscles can lead to increased injury risk while affecting overall performance.

Warm-up is essential to prepare the muscles and joints for intense physical activity. Kickboxing is a high-intensity sport, which means you will be training hours, and not warming up the muscles can seriously threaten your health.

A warm-up session before training increases blood flow, improves heart rate, and enhances flexibility. Avoid the most overlooked kickboxing training mistakes, and make sure to spend at least 20 minutes in a dynamic warm-up session. Include stretches and some specific movements to prepare the body for kickboxing.

Neglecting Technique

One of the most common kickboxing corrections that we would like to make here is that “power is important, but so is technique.” Many beginners start their kickboxing journey thinking that executing kicks and punches with strong force and power will make them successful in the sport, which is true to some extent. However, forgetting the correct technique while showing your maximum power can turn the tables for you.

You should be working on your power, but in the process of doing that, don’t forget that poor technique can also put excessive strain on the body. When starting your journey, make sure you spend time refining the basics techniques first and then move on to advanced options. Once you know how to throw a punch precisely, you will strike with maximum energy and power.

Practice consistently with a trainer and focus on refining your technique with a proper form.

Ignoring Footwork and Kickboxing Stance

Beginners are often ignoring their footwork techniques and making kickboxing stance mistakes. You can never progress in the kickboxing career without practising footwork and mastering basic stances, yet many beginners ignore it. With good footwork techniques, you can maintain balance and build coordination while creating openings for your strikes.

Footwork mistakes include not working on agility drills and ignoring them while spending all the time in the gym practising punches and kicks. For kickboxing, learning how to position yourself and follow good movements is important. Not working on your footwork and stance techniques increases your injury risk and weakens your position in the ring.

You need to learn how to fix kickboxing mistakes by practising basic footwork drills such as ladder drills, lateral movements, cone drills, skipping rope drills, etc. Pay attention to your footwork and stance in the ring so that you can deliver your techniques with precision and solid strategy.

Poor Breathing Technique

Holding your breath or not paying attention to breathing patterns is a common mistake in kickboxing and various other sports. The surprising part is that breathing is ignored by professionals and beginners alike, as they think it has to do with their form, technique, punch power, or stance.

Proper breathing patterns in kickboxing ensure that boxers are using their maximum potential without feeling exhausted or fatigued. With every punch and strike, you utilize your body’s fuel, but proper breathing helps conserve that, paving your way toward victory.

The basic rule is to exhale through the nose every time you are throwing a punch or strike to supply maximum oxygen to the muscles. Exhaling through the mouth keeps the movement going; at the same time, helps you to execute solid punches with power. Do not make the mistake of not breathing properly when training or fighting in the ring, as it can be a true game-changer.

Improper Punching Techniques

Apart from working on your stance and footwork, it is also important to work on good punching methods. For this, firstly, you need a reliable pair of training gloves that can protect your hands and arms while you practice the punches. Always invest in high-quality gloves, as they can make or break your kickboxing game.

When practicing punching methods, pay attention to your hand position and ensure you are making a punch with your knuckles. For extra safety to hands and arms, you can use a hand wrap, allowing you to practice punches without any fear of getting hurt.

Many newbies make hitting mistakes, such as flaring their arms too much or bending their wrists forward or backwards. But with proper gear, such as RDX training gloves, you can keep your arms straight, ensuring good hitting form.

Never practice your punches without wearing proper gear.

Inconsistency In Training

One of the most overlooked kickboxing tips for newbies is to stay steady in their training. You might have heard this from your teacher, family, or friends, but the truth is that many people skip their training sessions occasionally, which can hinder their progress.

In kickboxing, determination is what gets you to the heights of success. When you are spending a good time in the gym paying attention to your form, technique, footwork, stance, etc., you are touching all important elements of kickboxing, which finally help you in improving your technique.

It is okay if you miss one day of training for some reason. However, missing the training classes regularly and not showing up can put a big question on your growth. If you want to be the next kickboxing star, you need to train regularly and constantly, even if things get hard.

Skipping Conditioning Work

Without strength and endurance, kickboxing sessions can feel really tough and challenging. Hence, for beginners, it is essential to improve their strength and endurance by doing regular conditioning work. The problem arises when kickboxers completely skip physical conditioning sessions because they think they are training hard and practicing different skills and techniques.

Not doing conditioning work will affect your strength and endurance, eventually reflecting your kickboxing performance. You get fatigued easily, you cannot throw strikes and punches with power, and your progress becomes slow as you cannot endure long training sessions.

Make a habit of regularly incorporating strength training and cardio exercises in your weekly routine to build the physical strength and muscle endurance needed for kickboxing. You can do resistance training targeting different body muscle groups or do aerobic exercises such as cycling.

Not Working on Defense

Many kickboxers are often seen working on their offense while completely ignoring defense, which is one of the biggest kickboxing technique mistakes. It is mandatory for everyone to pay significant attention to learning defense skills as this way, you will be able to protect yourself in the ring and evade incoming strikes.

Practicing good defense skills keeps you safe in the ring and ensures you do not take unnecessary hits. When you are learning offense skills, make sure that you pay equal attention to defense work, as this will allow you to outmaneuver your opponent.

Learn how to block the opponent’s attack by incorporating drills that use head movement and blocking techniques. You must tell yourself that learning defense is important for your safety in the ring and improving your overall skill set. A good kickboxer also knows how to work on his offense and defense.

Conclusion

Kickboxing is fun, but it’s important to do each move correctly. Don’t do these bad things if you want to get stronger and toned through kickboxing or if you want to get better at fighting.

You should try to learn new things and look at your method often if you want to get better at kickboxing. You can learn new things and get better at training if you get feedback on it often.

To avoid the common kickboxing mistakes that some athletes make, you should focus on learning the basics and getting better at your skills.

As long as you train regularly, you can move up in your job without getting hurt.