Kadour Ziani

I know my next post is really supposed to be about game two of Dallas Hoop-It-Up but I came across something this weekend that is post-worthy. I currently own a website that gives free information on how to increase your vertical jumping ability (www.howtojumphighernow.com) so I'm always scouring the web for information related to this. I was playing around on YouTube over the weekend and came across a video clip titled "Worlds Greatest Dunker". I expected to see one of the usual suspects like Vince, MJ, or someone like that but instead it was someone I didn't recognize at all. The guy's name is Kadour Ziani. He's a French citizen originally from Algeria (yeah I know, sounds like the profile of a jihadist) and he's a self-titled "professional dunker".

Okay. I'm impressed. I'm VERY impressed. Why? Gee, maybe because he's only 5'11" but has a 56" vertical!! The guy can jump up and kick the rim. No that's not a typo.
He can kick the rim. This is a guy who has centered his life around training to jump and dunk. There's videos of him jumping over a crowd of people while doing a 360 and dunking. I read an interview where he said his next goal is to do a 360 from the free-throw line. I'm sorry folks but this guy puts MJ, Vince, and pretty much about anyone else to shame when it comes to jumping.

This gets better. He's 33 years old. This is especially meaningful for me since I'm also about 5'11" (slightly taller) and 30 years old. There really aren't that many people under 6' that can honestly dunk. This guy is 5'11" and can do 360 windmills and make it look as easy as taking a nap. He sounds like a very disciplined individual and an all around interesting character. I think I'll put a better write up about him on my actual website. No jumping website would be complete without giving this guy props.

For any of us trying to increase our vertical, here is a big clue. Kadour claims to spend 4 hours a day stretching. That's right, stretching. Not running around with ankle weights or wearing platform shoes. Stretching. What more proof do you need that there is a direct correlation between flexibility and vertical jump?? Personally I have about a 32-33" vertical (on a good day). But my flexibility is almost non-existent. I've recently started working on it a little and seen improvement but I think hearing about Kadour really drives home the importance of flexibility. Makes me wonder what I could do if I could even improve my flexibility 20 or 30%?

Kadour, thanks for the inspiration.

For anyone reading this who wants to increase their vertical, go check out my website www.howtojumphighernow.com. Be looking in the near future for a more comprehensive article about Kadour. And go check out his insanity on YouTube.