One problem with practicing Tae Kwon-Do at home is finding adequate space to work on your techniques. Most of us don’t live in the wide open dojang, so bringing Tae Kwon-Do back home with us requires a little bit of creativity.
I like to practice my accuracy with spontaneous kicks and punches. So one time, I wadded up sheets of paper balls and hung them each by fishing line at various points and different heights around the house. That way I could randomly walk through the house, room to room, punching and kicking hanging paper balls. Masking tape on the floor is another great way to make sure your stances are correct while working on your patterns.
Obviously, these were tricks I thought up as a bachelor and had little furniture in the house. I get it. Not too many significant others will want you decorating the house like a paper ball planetarium or having masking tape stuck to the floor.
Don’t Practice on Your Partner
Speaking of significant others, unless he or she is trained in the martial arts, I wouldn’t recommend practicing your self-defense or sparring techniques on your girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse. It’s exciting to learn a new learn a new technique, and once I came home to show my now ex-girlfriend a scissor takedown. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how to break a fall. She hit her head on the floor and that was the last time I saw her.
Tae Kwon-Do Moves at Home
Since your home is more than likely furnished, there are ways to utilize your furniture when practicing Tae Kwon-Do at home.
Coffee tables are fantastic for split-position training. They sell all sorts of different stretching machines, but you’ll find any long rectangular coffee table will do the trick just as well. Sit down on the ground, spread your legs apart, and straddle the ends of the coffee table with your ankles. Slowly inch forward bringing your groin flush to the table, stretching your legs further and further apart. Viola! You’re in the split-position.
To work on your kicks, I recommend using a chest of drawers. By pulling out different combinations of the drawers, you can work on combinations of low, middle, and high hook kicks, spinning kicks, and side kicks. There’s an underlying motivation for accuracy with your kicks, because if you miss, trust me, it hurts.
Go Outside
But if you feel your home is just too cramped to practice, then I always tell my students to go outside. Training outside is awesome, especially when it’s hot. You get a good sweat going, and with all your yelling and screaming, the neighbors will think you’re crazy and leave you alone.
Master Gorino’s Tae Kwon-Do offers a trial program for individuals and families in Buffalo, NY and the surrounding areas that allows you to get a feel for the different classes, meet our instructors, and experience our dojang. It’s a great way to see if Tae Kwon-Do is right for you. To learn more or to sign up, register online or call (716) 836-KICK (5425) and a member of our team will follow up with you on next steps. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals. Pil-Sung!
