Tan'Gun Taekwondo Academy

These teenagers are bouncing forwards, bouncing back and switching stance.

Forward once. Back once. Forward twice. Then, instead of planting the foot, they lift it straight into a turning kick or side kick.

Although the kick is what people notice, the footwork creates it. This is where they learn to stay balanced, move without hesitation and remain ready for whatever comes next.

It’s a small adjustment, but it makes the technique quicker, cleaner and harder to predict.

Book a TRY-OUT at our Welling Academy or Leigh Stationers Academy in Eltham.

They’re moving from one side to the other, repeating the combination and building the pace a little more each time.

Although it looks fast, speed isn’t the starting point. First comes the movement, timing and balance. Then, as they stop overthinking each action, the momentum begins to build.

That’s how good technique starts to flow.

Book a TRY OUT at Tan’Gun Martial Arts in Welling or Leigh Stationers Academy in Eltham.

One kick is easy.

But what happens when you have to kick again… and again… and again… without putting your foot down? 👀

In this part of our beginner Ninja front-kick lesson, we start challenging the children to keep their knee up while performing multiple kicks.

The goal is to stop the kick becoming a little flick of the foot.

🦵 Keep the knee at the same height
🦶 Kick and re-chamber
💪 Squeeze the big leg muscle at the end of the kick
⚖️ Control your balance
🔥 Then do it again!

And when it starts getting difficult, that’s when we discover something important…

If your balance improves, your kicks improve too.

Better balance means better control.

Better control means better technique.

And better technique means a much stronger front kick. 🥋🔥

Front Kick Lesson 3: Build Your Balance

🥋 Tan’Gun Taekwondo & Martial Arts Academy
📍 Welling
👦 Ninjas: Ages 9–11

Follow our Teaching Ninjas: Front Kick Series as we build the kick one skill at a time.

Up they go! 🐯🚀

When you’re three or four years old, jumping isn’t quite as simple as adults remember it being. 😂

Both feet have to leave the floor.

Your body has to work out where it is in the air.

And then, rather importantly…

you’ve got to LAND!

That’s exactly what our Tigers are working on here.

Jumping games are brilliant for helping our youngest martial artists become more confident with movement.

They’re learning how to use their legs properly, how to control their bodies and how to land without disappearing into a heap on the mat. 😂

And look at them go.

Some start with the tiniest little hop.

Then suddenly that little hop becomes a proper jump.

And once they realise…

“WAIT… I CAN DO THIS!”

…you can see the confidence change almost instantly.

That’s what Tigers is about.

Yes, we’re introducing martial arts.

But we’re also giving little children opportunities to move, experiment, succeed and become increasingly confident in what their bodies can do.

And sometimes…

that starts with simply getting BOTH FEET OFF THE FLOOR! 🐯🥋🔥

Got a little Tiger aged 3–4?

Come and let them jump into their martial arts journey with us.

“How much weight should be on the back leg?”

“ALL OF IT!” 😂🥋

And actually… that’s pretty much it.

You can talk about 70/30 weight distribution.
You can give children percentages.
You can explain biomechanics until everyone’s eyes glaze over…

Or you can make the idea so simple that they can feel it immediately.

“Put all of it on the back leg.”

Step.

“Where can you feel the pressure?”

“The back leg.”

Exactly.

That’s one of Master David’s real strengths as a teacher.

He can take something that sounds complicated and turn it into an instruction a child understands in seconds.

Because great coaching isn’t about proving how much the instructor knows.

It’s about finding the words, demonstrations and little tricks that make the student suddenly get it.

And once they get it…

you can refine it.

You can correct it.

You can eventually start talking about the finer details.

But first?

Make it click.

That little lightbulb moment is what we’re looking for. 💡🥋

And judging by the answer…

“ALL OF IT!”

…we think this one clicked. 😂

A strong technique begins with a strong stance.

In this drill, our intermediate grades are being tested on the details: not only whether they can stand correctly, but whether they understand exactly where their feet should be and why.

Small adjustments to foot position can change your balance, stability and the power you’re able to generate. That’s why we keep returning to the fundamentals, even at black-belt level.

The basics aren’t something you leave behind as you progress. You simply learn to perform them with greater understanding.

🥋 Confidence • Fitness • Success