“With high kicks, number 1, you don’t have to be as flexible as you need to… as you think you do. Actually, one of the worst things I’ve ever had to be in a fight, I think I was losing over the first round and I saw the guy’s left hand down, he was wide open for that right head kick and I threw it as hard as I could and sailed right over his head and he wasn’t ready for all, I saw him kind of flinch right afterwards. It would’ve been a 100% knockout and I lost the fight, and after that I stopped stretching as much.
So you shouldn’t do that.
You should not stretch but to get the head kick higher, the easy trick is if you move your head more to the side, then your leg comes up more and it keeps you safer for the punches anyway. So I kind of move my head like a see-saw; head comes down as I lift my hip up, and then I can cheat and get my leg up higher. Second thing is, most guys will actually sink down. So when you’re timing your high kick, all you need to do is aim for the shoulder. You aim for the shoulder, most of the times when they throw something and they try to put their weight into it, they’re going to sink their body down, they’re going to come to your level; it’s going to go right on the neck. And the neck is where you really want to hit.
It’s more effective than hitting higher up on the head, alright? Going into your original question, stretching can’t get you up there. If you can’t get up to the shoulder height, don’t stress to get up there. One of your best bets, is this your guy here—this one flat and then your toes up; your toes up on that side. That’s one of the best ones for getting your flexibility more up there for that.”