5 Ways to Improve Your Blocking Power

Welcome to your U.S. National Taekwondo Association Monthly Training newsletter for our Taekwondo schools around the country.

Hi, I’m MariLiis Bateman and I’m from trembling Shock Martial Arts and today I’ll be showing you 5 ways to Improve your blocking power.

The first basic way to gain a powerful block is to breath. Although this may seem obvious, most people tense up to gain power and this makes people hold their breathe. Note, power does not come from being tensed. Remember to breath while sparring, holding your breath is a sure way to get tired. The proper breathing technique is to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Like breathing, you must stay relaxed until impact. This meaning keep your body relaxed and at the last moment tighten your body to make sure your strike is solid. Remember that a block in all actuality is a strike, so it does not follow the same aspect as a punch.

The third way to improve blocking power is to have a wide motion in your hips, also known as torque. For blocking, the weapon is thrown first, and the body follows behind. This ultimately meaning the twist of the hips. The torque of the hips depend on the stance. Now I’ll demonstrate a few stances, that are common with blocks and pointing out the torque of the hip.

The greater speed of your block, the more power it has behind power. In order to gain speed, you must practice isometric drills. This can include:

-High Plank

-Self Arm Wrestling

Lastly, exercising all parts of the hand is a main key to a strong block. It seems logical to block with your forearm, but your forearm is more susceptible to have injuries than your hand. The only way to train your hand is to practice your blocks repeatedly.

So, the 5 ways to improve blocking power are: make sure to breath, stay relaxed until impact, include torque into your stance, increase speed with isometrics, and block with your hand instead of your forearm. Combining those 5 tips will make your blocks more effective and explosive. Be sure to Like us at https://www.facebook.com/USNTATaekwondo/