Kickboxing

I’m teaching kickboxing to friends during the Summer of 2026. Here I keep my own notes and timers for the sessions.

Sessions

Welcome to the first session of kickboxing! Our goal is to have some fun and learn fighting techniques while getting a good workout in.

In general, our classes will start with a warm-up and/or a stretch, then we’ll focus on a few techniques and drills, and we’ll finish with some cardio and cooldown.

The first month we will focus on getting our fundamentals down, and we’ll have some easy sparring sessions every few weeks to practice what we’ve learned in a real setting. Once in a while, we’ll do a self-defense style class where we practice defending against a non-trained opponent.

Today we’ll start with our boxing fundamentals. Everything stays light and controlled.

Jumping jacks

Joint circles (neck, shoulders, wrists/elbows)

Stance — shoulder-width, lead toes forward, back heel off the ground, knees soft, slight curl through the stomach, shoulders rolled forward a touch.

Alice holds a relaxed, balanced stance. Bob nudges Alice’s shoulders and chest from different angles; Alice absorbs and resets without stiffening or tipping. Switch halfway.

Guard — hands just above the eyebrows with a small gap to peek through, elbows tucked in (not flared).

Bob taps slowly toward Alice’s temples and chin with open hands. Alice keeps the guard glued and just lets the taps bounce off. Switch halfway.

Jab & cross — palm faces down on impact, hip leads then the arm follows, shoulder shields the cheek. One hand out, one hand in — never both. Same target every rep.

Bob holds two open palms at head height as targets. Alice throws jab–cross into them, resetting guard each time; Bob calls out if the recovering hand drops. Switch every 2 min.

Hooks — arm horizontal, elbow lined up behind the fist, rotate the hips first then snap. Off hand stays on the head.

Bob holds palms facing each other at the sides of the head. Alice throws lead and rear hooks into them, keeping the off hand up. Switch every 2 min.

Uppercuts — power from the legs: bend, drop, unwind upward. Elbow stays below the fist; snap the hand straight back to guard.

Bob holds palms facing down at chest/chin height. Alice drives uppercuts up into them from the legs. Switch every 2 min.

Parry & turtle shell — parry: pat the punch across with the opposite hand (not a downward wipe). Turtle shell: gloves to forehead, back slightly rounded to absorb rather than get knocked back.

Bob throws slow single straights at Alice’s face; Alice parries each across. Then Bob speeds into a light flurry and Alice turtle-shells. Switch after 3 min.

Shoulder Tag — partners in guard try to tap each other’s shoulders. Three taps and you owe 5 push-ups. Two-minute rounds, rotate partners.

Core finisher — round of sit-ups per person. Push-up finisher — round of push-ups per person.

We’ll learn kicking fundamentals. A bit of boxing recap to get hands working.

Every kick is light and controlled, and we re-chamber instead of dropping the leg lazily. If your hips or ankles feel tight, ease off the height — form first.

1-2-step walks

Leg swings (front-back, then side-side) plus ankle and hip circles.

Boxing recap — quick stance check and a few jab–crosses so the hands stay sharp before we shift to the legs.

Bob holds two open palms at head height. Alice throws jab–cross, resetting guard each time. Switch every 30 sec.

Front kick / teep — lift the knee with the heel below it, pivot the standing foot onto the ball, point the foot then pull the toes back, and strike with the ball of the foot. Knee height sets kick height; re-chamber every rep.

Bob holds a pad (or crossed forearms) at belly height and braces. Alice teeps it lightly, focusing on chamber → pivot → re-chamber. Switch every 2 min.

Roundhouse — the pivot is important: the standing toes turn ~90° so the hips and shoulders rotate fully. Leg horizontal, strike with shin or instep. Kicking-side arm swings down, the other hand stays glued to the head.

Bob holds a pad (or kick shield) at rib height, angled, and braces. Alice throws controlled roundhouses, re-chambering each one. Switch every 2 min.

Knee strikes — like a teep but heel tucked to the bum and no pivot: push tall onto the ball of the standing foot and drive the knee through the belly. Hands pull down to protect the face.

Bob holds a pad against the belly with both hands and braces. Alice drives light knees into it. Switch every 2 min.

Leg defense — check: lift the shin on a 45° angle, toes up, hands high. Cross-block: reach the opposite arm across, bend the knees, twist into the kick to absorb it.

Bob throws slow, light low kicks at Alice’s thigh; Alice checks each. Then Bob throws a slow body kick and Alice cross-blocks. Switch halfway.

Small combos — jab–cross–roundhouse and teep–cross. Reset the stance after every kick.

Bob holds guard or pads as targets. Alice runs the two combos slowly, hands resetting between strikes. Switch every 2 min.

Pyramid Kicking — punch the 1-2-3-2 pattern followed by X roundhouse kicks where X climbs from 1 up to 12. Switch leg each round. At round 6, everyone drops for 10 burpees, then keeps climbing.

Core finisher — round of sit-ups per person. Push-up finisher — round of push-ups per person.

Today we bring the hands and legs together. You’ve got your boxing from session one and your kicks from session two — now we stitch them into real combinations and learn to fire them on command.

Same rules as always: everything light and controlled, re-chamber your kicks, and reset your guard after every strike. Form first — speed comes later.

We’ll also start naming our punches by number so a partner can call combos out loud. That sets up our cardio game at the end.

Shadowboxing — hands only, then add teeps and roundhouses

Leg swings (front-back, then side-side), hip and ankle circles, shoulder rolls.

Recap flow — quick stance and guard check, then wake everything up: hands first, then drop in a teep and a roundhouse so the legs are loose before we start stitching them onto punches.

Bob holds guard or pads as targets. Alice flows jab–cross, teep, and roundhouse at her own pace, re-chambering every kick and resetting guard between strikes. Switch halfway.

The number system — we name the strikes so a partner can call combos: 1 jab, 2 cross, 3 lead hook, 4 rear hook, 5 lead uppercut, 6 rear uppercut. Kicks get called by name — “teep,” “roundhouse,” “knee.” Same target each rep, hands reset between numbers.

Bob calls single numbers and kick names at random; Alice throws the matching strike and resets to guard. Slow and correct, not fast and sloppy. Switch every 2 min.

Punch–kick combos — finishing a hand combo with a kick. The classic is 1–2–roundhouse: the cross loads the rear hip and that same side unwinds straight into the kick. Also teep–2–3: teep to open up space, then land the cross–hook as the foot comes down.

Bob holds pads for 1–2–roundhouse, then teep–2–3. Alice runs each combo, re-chambering the kick and recovering into guard; Bob calls out any hand that drops. Switch every 2 min.

Level changes — mixing high and low so the target can’t settle. Cross to the body then lead hook upstairs (2-to-body, 3-to-head), and a low roundhouse to the thigh then the rear hand up top. Sell the level change with the eyes and shoulders.

Bob offers body and head pads plus a thigh target. Alice works 2-to-body into 3-upstairs, then low roundhouse into 2. Keep the off hand glued. Switch every 2 min.

Defense into counter — stitching last session’s defenses onto the combos. Parry the jab and answer 2–3. Check the low kick and fire the rear roundhouse straight back while the foot’s still up. Cross-block the body kick, then close with a knee.

Bob throws slow single attacks (jab, low kick, body kick); Alice reads it, picks the matching defense, and immediately counters. Switch halfway.

The Call — partners face off in guard. Bob calls a combo out loud — “1-2-kick,” “teep-2-3,” “1-2-3-low kick,” “check-roundhouse” — and Alice executes it clean, then resets to guard for the next call. Reward sharp form over speed; if a combo falls apart, call the same one again. Two-minute rounds, swap the caller each round.

Light stretch — hips, hamstrings, shoulders, wrists. Core finisher — round of sit-ups per person. Push-up finisher — round of push-ups per person.