BG Martial Artists/Yoga pplz (The one or 2 of you out there)

[SDSD]

You ride a bike 8 miles to school? damn man

Hushigoshi hit the nail on the head though, make sure you warm up before you stretch. It doesn't have to be much, even just running in place for a minute or two works fine. I wouldn't stretch after riding your bike personally, especially if your legs are already aching.

You should especially stretch after you ride your bike that far. Your muscles will recover faster and you'll feel less sore the two days after.

If you're going to static stretch (stand and stretch), you should do it after a workout. If you're going to get stretches in dynamically (plyometrics etc.), you should do them after a 5-10 min warmup jog.

[Hushigoshi]

8 miles? Damn.... for the average person that's a workout in itself.

Anyways, I don't know about the area you live in, but around here, MMA gyms are not the place to go to learn how to kick. All the people that I've seen that go to those gyms have horrible form when they punch and kick. It's quite painful to watch them, not rotating their standing leg, not using their hips for power, striking with the wrong part of the fist/foot/shin etc.

Speaking from nineteen years of karate training, if you want to learn how to kick high and kick properly, either go to a traditional martial arts school (karate/tae kwan do/kenpo), or if any of your friends do martial arts, have them teach/critique you. That's really the best option to do it right and to avoid injury due to poor technique while practicing.

[Blarg]

Muay thai seems to have the best kicks (not based on experience) in terms of power and actual uses outside of tournaments.

[Hushigoshi]

Oh yeah, Muay thai too. Always forget about that option because there's no schools here dedicated to teaching Muay thai in Anchorage haha.

[Cream Soda]

As for the 8 miles, it's 8 there, and 8 home so 16 per day mon-thurs 64ish/week. But on Wednesday, I have 1 class on a diff campus so I ride from campus A to campus B which is about another 6 miles, but is only about 6.5-7miles from my house so prolly end up 66-68ish a week to/from school.

From my house to main campus takes me about 26-35 mins trafic lights, I usually average at 30 mins.

As for joining martial arts, I can't rly at the moment w/ a full course load. Just looking for stuff I can fool around w/ in my own time and when I finish school I can join something like that, already being able to kick high, just needing to learn how to use it properly.

Also, I just signed up for my school gym (like 5 min bike ride from main campus) since its free for students. Will have access to machines and such as well as a heavy bag. I will be able to go on teus/thurs since on those days I have 3hrs between a lecture and lab and no car so not rly gonna go all the way home and come all the way back 2hrs later.

What are some things I can do gym wise for my legs? (in pertaining to stretching/kicking ability will work on power later)

[Blarg]

Draw racing stripes on your calves so they look super fast when you kick. It's all about the looks.

[Hushigoshi]

Spoiler: show

As for the 8 miles, it's 8 there, and 8 home so 16 per day mon-thurs 64ish/week. But on Wednesday, I have 1 class on a diff campus so I ride from campus A to campus B which is about another 6 miles, but is only about 6.5-7miles from my house so prolly end up 66-68ish a week to/from school.

From my house to main campus takes me about 26-35 mins trafic lights, I usually average at 30 mins.

As for joining martial arts, I can't rly at the moment w/ a full course load. Just looking for stuff I can fool around w/ in my own time and when I finish school I can join something like that, already being able to kick high, just needing to learn how to use it properly.

Also, I just signed up for my school gym (like 5 min bike ride from main campus) since its free for students. Will have access to machines and such as well as a heavy bag. I will be able to go on teus/thurs since on those days I have 3hrs between a lecture and lab and no car so not rly gonna go all the way home and come all the way back 2hrs later.

What are some things I can do gym wise for my legs? (in pertaining to stretching/kicking ability will work on power later)

Plain old splits are really the best (but hardest) way to increase your inner thigh flexibility to kick higher. If your gym has a machine that does something like one of these, use it. Start out slow, don't make a fool of yourself and attempt to go 180 degrees on your first time lol. Widen the stretch until there's a little discomfort, hold that position for 10 seconds, then lessen the stretch. Repeat that process many many times.

I'm very lucky that I kept up with my flexibility training during all my years of karate practice. When new people come in to take a class and see me drop into full-on Van Damme style split during our cooldown period, the look on their face is hysterical.

[Chips]

When you want kicking power, it's obviously best to do normal stretches, but dynamic stretching will net you power. Google search dynamic stretching techniques.