In this article, we want to see 5 type of jumping exercises for beginners.

Important premises:

The exercises

Exercise 1 (wave jumps):

Ideal for knees warm-up and for muscle chain

This exercise is useful to get used our knees to bend

We start from a standing position

Our foots must be parallel and with an opening at the shoulders level

We have to flex a little bit our knees

Let’s “bounce” up and down flexing our knees

Let’s try to involve our entire body in a wave-like motion that starts from foots and arrive at the head

We do not perform jumps, our feet do not leave the ground

Beginners can do small flexes, advanced practitioners can do a full flexion (similar to squats)

Exercise 2 (toes bouncing):

Ideal for learning fighting mobility and generation of power

We start from a standing position

Our foots can be in a free position (we can use a fighting stance)

We have to flex a little bit our knees

Let’s “bounce” up and down flexing knees but this time rising our heels

Our toes does not leave the ground

Let’s perform bouncing with synchronous and with asynchronous leg motions

Exercise 3 (free small jumps):

Ideal for stamina building and understanding of weight distribution

We can stay in a standing position or move in all the directions (better)

Our foots can be in a free position (eg. we can use a fighting stance)

We have to flex a little bit our knees

Let’s “bounce” up and down flexing knees but this time rising our entire foot

At each jump the foot return completely to the ground

We can make only light and natural jumps (a few centimeters)

Let’s perform bouncing with synchronous and with asynchronous leg motions

Let’s alternate the shoulders position in the motion

Exercise 4 (alternating openings):

Ideal for stamina, coordination and speed

We start in a standing position with attached legs

We jump and we open the legs on X axis

We jump again and we close the legs

Then we jump and we open legs on Z axis

Again we jump and we close our legs

Now we do the same thing for the 2 oblique directions and then we restart

Let’s try to do not make errors and to gain the maximum possible speed

The arms can follow the openings or (better) go in the opposite directions

Exercise 5 (skip):

Ideal for stamina and kicks power

We start in a standing position but we can move in all the directions

We raise the right leg bending the knee (with feet looking downward)

We stay straight and we try to make the knee to go as higher as possible

Then we leave the right leg returning down

In the exact moment where the right leg touches the ground we raise the left (in the same way)

Then we repeat the sequence until the end of the execution

Let’s try to maintain a good speed without losing a high knees elevation

All of these exercises have to be performed for (at least) for 10 minutes. We can do specific sessions of each of them or we can divide the amount of time dedicated executing altogether (eg. 2 minutes each).

Variations

These are safe and extremely simple jumping exercises ideal for beginners (or as a warm-up) but they have to be performed also by advanced practitioners.

Let’s see some interesting variations (not for novices):

Use a kettlebell or a weighted vest (15-25 Kg) to make the exercise harder

Add obstacles on the ground (let’s do not do this when we are weak or fatigued, the risk of injuries is very high)

Doing jumps our arms and hands are free, once we understood the mechanics of execution we can perform simultaneously exercises with upper limbs (read Optimizing the available time)

…

In the next article of this series, we will see more jumping exercises.

Author: Master Kongling Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu. Twitter Facebook

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