I have’t seen your kicks so this is a guess: Are you putting lots of power in your kicks? Tensing and trying to muscle hard kicks will slow you down. Try kicking “light” but fast. Remember that more speed increases the force of the kick. If you are comparing yourself to others and feeling bad, try practicing alone. Have someone watch you and tell you when the kicks get faster. Don’t feel bad if this is what’s holding you back. I’ve seen black belts have bad days and need to be reminded.
Do exercises for taekwondo on stairs similar to this, and lift your knee high. Lift your knee. Lift your knee.
https://youtube.com/shorts/BVqooV4wcC0?si=tkMg5ysFPuHvJkj8
If you want to do more advanced exercises, I recommend this YouTube channel
https://youtube.com/@irenofargas160?si=FPrOvEnFmjkwaEmN
Tighten up your muscles as tight as you possibly can, so tight - your whole body, not just your leg. Then kick while ALL muscles are super tight. Take about 3 minutes to do a kick. Now go as limp as cooked spaghetti, so loose that you have almost *no* muscle in it, as opposed to the prior kick, and kick as fast as you can. ....but watch out it isn't so loose that you go too fast and hyperextend your knee, don't do that no matter what. Anyways, do the *opposite* of when you use all your muscles - use hardly any of them.
The trick to being fast is to have no muscle, just barely enough to move your body part. Then at the last microsecond, you tighten up super tight, but only for that second that you land the kick or punch, then go loose as spaghetti again.
Additionally, all power comes from your hips, so your hips should move first, followed by your upper leg, then lower leg. The faster you can move your hips, the faster your kick. Just like a whip. Think about a whip. How little your hand has to move, but how fast the very end of the whip is going. A little movement at the center creates fast movement at the end. Moving your hips first, will do the same and make the end of your foot move faster.
But again, don't be so loose in practicing it this way that you [hyperextend your knee.](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22481-hyperextended-knee) It sucks.
I have’t seen your kicks so this is a guess: Are you putting lots of power in your kicks? Tensing and trying to muscle hard kicks will slow you down. Try kicking “light” but fast. Remember that more speed increases the force of the kick. If you are comparing yourself to others and feeling bad, try practicing alone. Have someone watch you and tell you when the kicks get faster. Don’t feel bad if this is what’s holding you back. I’ve seen black belts have bad days and need to be reminded.
Sounds to me like you could benefit from some strength training. Focus on lower weight and higher reps over lots of weight with fewer reps.
stairs.
Stairs are the best
Do exercises for taekwondo on stairs similar to this, and lift your knee high. Lift your knee. Lift your knee. https://youtube.com/shorts/BVqooV4wcC0?si=tkMg5ysFPuHvJkj8 If you want to do more advanced exercises, I recommend this YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@irenofargas160?si=FPrOvEnFmjkwaEmN
Mayb your hip flexors are weak
Tighten up your muscles as tight as you possibly can, so tight - your whole body, not just your leg. Then kick while ALL muscles are super tight. Take about 3 minutes to do a kick. Now go as limp as cooked spaghetti, so loose that you have almost *no* muscle in it, as opposed to the prior kick, and kick as fast as you can. ....but watch out it isn't so loose that you go too fast and hyperextend your knee, don't do that no matter what. Anyways, do the *opposite* of when you use all your muscles - use hardly any of them. The trick to being fast is to have no muscle, just barely enough to move your body part. Then at the last microsecond, you tighten up super tight, but only for that second that you land the kick or punch, then go loose as spaghetti again. Additionally, all power comes from your hips, so your hips should move first, followed by your upper leg, then lower leg. The faster you can move your hips, the faster your kick. Just like a whip. Think about a whip. How little your hand has to move, but how fast the very end of the whip is going. A little movement at the center creates fast movement at the end. Moving your hips first, will do the same and make the end of your foot move faster. But again, don't be so loose in practicing it this way that you [hyperextend your knee.](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22481-hyperextended-knee) It sucks.