Leg lifts and soft jumps
Ready when: Front kicks down the lane (b4) started.
What you are learning
Flexibility and soft landings: lifting one leg toward the forehead and the ear and holding it, then tuck jumps and split jumps that land quietly with bent knees. Quiet landings protect the knees and back.
Words on this card Horse stance, Leg lift, Tuck jump
- Horse stance
- Feet wider than the shoulders, knees bent as if sitting on a horse, body upright.
- Leg lift
- Raising one leg toward the forehead or the ear and holding it.
- Tuck jump
- Jumping with the knees pulled up; jumping with the legs split wide.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Leg lift: bring one knee to the chest, unfold the leg up toward the forehead, support it with a hand, head up; lower gently. Then lift it to the side toward the ear.
- Tuck jump from horse stance: jump, pull the knees up, land quietly back in horse stance.
- Split jump: jump, legs wide, hands toward the ankles; land with bent legs.
Your part while they practise
Count; listen for quiet landings.
Step by step
- Leg lift to the front: knee to chest, then unfold; support with a hand; lower gently. 3 each side.
- Side lift toward the ear, 3 each side.
- Tuck jumps from horse stance, landing back in horse stance, 5.
- Split jumps, hands toward the ankles, landing with bent legs, 5.
How much: 12 lifts and 10 jumps 10 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Silent landing
A parent closes their eyes and counts the landings they hear; fewer heard is better.
Who plays: the child against their own best; a parent listens.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- The parent closes their eyes
- The child does 5 tuck jumps and 5 split jumps
- The parent says how many landings they heard
- Fair play
- The parent must say honestly what they heard.
- Points
- 1 point for each landing the parent did not hear.
- Fouls
- That jump does not count
- Landing with straight legs
- Landing off the mat
- A fall
- Winning
- Beat your best.
- 4 points for 1 star
- 7 points for 2 stars
- 10 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Hold a rail for the lifts; fewer jumps.
Higher lifts, held longer.
What you will see, and what to say
- loud landings
Land soft, bend the knees
Like a cat. - the leg is dropped
Lower it slowly
Control it.
Self-check
5 tuck jumps landed in horse stance without a sound.
Stop and get a coach when
Knee or back pain on landing.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains flexibility, jump power, landing.
awiseathlete.com/sports/wushu/wushu-b6