Answer from Sang H. Kim:

Dear Richard,

First of all, you need to strengthen the ligaments and major muscle groups of the lower body. If your legs are heavy and you are not very flexible, there is some danger of a muscle or ligament injury if you push yourself too hard at first. By concentrating on strengthening your torso and legs, you will have the necessary support structure to make your kicks more flexible. Rather than concentrating on doing a split, why not concentrate on improving the flexibility of your kicks. Since you are very strong, flexibility will only add to your power. Here are some suggestions:

1) Daily sit ups (3 sets of 15 to 20 sit ups)

2) Standing knee pitch to your chest from fighting stance (3 sets of 30 times daily)

3) Lie back on the floor and raise your legs up, hold for 60 seconds (3 sets of 1 minute leg raises)

4) From #4, split your legs slowly as far as you can (3 sets of 30 seconds)

5) Sit and bring one foot to your center on the floor and stretch the other leg out and bend your body to touch the floor

6) When you are fully warmed up, after training, gently sit and work on your stretching.

7) Every week re-evaluate your progress and goals using your training notes and your observations.

Try this step for a month. Keep the track of your progress and frustration. Don't be afraid of the second. It is a part of the progress-mentally and physically. Remember to drink lots of water and breathe deeply when you stretch.

I wish you the very best luck and patience!

Sincerely,

Sang H. Kim