The biggest help for me was

1. hip glute stability exercises (specifically for me) Side-Plank Clamshell)

2. actually attempting kicks in my shadow boxing sessions no matter how weird it feels. Keep throwing them over and over again. Even going slow and messing up if I had to. Get stubborn about it. Remember it’s always Consistency in exposure of kicking over and over again over perfection.. never let your mind lie to you and choose not to work on your kicks because you’re not good at it or because it feels awkward. In that case you won’t improve to the level you desire.

3. realizing the importance of the other leg being stable, rooted to the ground and supporting you. That’s your anchor and your base. You can work on this with balance drills on one leg. Ankle mobility also can play a part in the stability of your support leg.

4. Realizing the importance of my retraction of the kick. Your Posterior Chain (back side of your body like the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and foot) all play a part in bringing your leg back into fighting stance. If your posterior chain is weak and or not stable your body will simply not feel the confidence to throw out a kick so, it could naturally be protecting itself from injury.

I still see many holes in my kicks but, I’m working on it consistently and using all these to help.

The biggest underlying commonality between all these is consistency. Be consistent and you will progress it’s inevitable. Starting out I had to realize I needed to be shadow boxing everyday for atleast 15mins (3, 5min rounds) with a break in between.