Stuck with roundhouse kick

[younwhadoug]

pivot on the ball of your foot i think its the whole problem here, less you say youve been doing that then its something else....

like the front snap kick you bring your knee up first, but to your side. your thigh and lower leg should be side by side flat like you could put a plate of food on it... then snap it out pivoting freely on the standing foot. and retract it befor you lower it to the floor

[Killer Miller]

He is studying Shotokan. That's why we are focusing on the snap concept.

- Killer -

Osu,

One first should ask what style of kick you are currently practicing?

Their is a difference between one style of round kick as compared to another styles.

The Snapping type kick is generall used in traditional karate styles such as shotokan, goju ryu, goshin ryu etc, and although our style of Kyokushin Karate was developed/created by Masuatsu Oyama pretty much in the same era as the styles stated, the techniques forged in kyokushinkai were different because of the fighting format.

The Kyokushin style of tournament fighting is called "Knockdown" we are allowed no padding or protective gear like shin pads or gloves when we compete so the techniques used differ greatly from the snapping type of kick because the kyokushin roundhouse kick was actually developed from the Muay Thai type roundkick which does not snap but more so smash's the shin into the opponent whilst driving though with the hips.

So, the only way to make your technique better is to stretch, train, and train some more.

https://www.marktysondojo.com

[Fish]

I've noticed recently that there seem to be two distinct ways of doing mawashigeri. In one, you lift the knee to the front (the same as when chambering the maegeri kick), and then rotate the hip around as you spin on the supporting leg. In the other way, you chamber the kicking leg to the side, parallel to the ground before spinning on the supporting leg and kicking.

Anyway, my question is, are both equally valid ways of performing mawashigeri? Are both equally powerful?

[elbows_and_knees]

Roundhouse is not a fleibility issue, it's a technique and relaxation issue. You must work on driving the Knee first, just like front snap kick, and let the foot go along for the ride. At the focal point, see how fast you can bring the foot back down...

- Killer -

with hip inflexibility, when you try to roundhouse, your kick is brought back down prematurely, preventing you from getting height on it. He could very well have a flexibility problem.

sit in horse stance as deep as your hips will allow with proper form. Also, sit on the floor in a seiza position. Now, spread your legs apart so that the insides of your knees are touching the floor (kinda odd to explain). Hold your hands out in front of you.

both of these will help limber up the hips a bit.

[KaRaTe_KiD456]

If u have a punching pag, it would help u practice, if u take it slowly, and then speed up as u get better

[aefibird]

Stretching will help your kicking, so make sure that you try to do some every day.

Also, practice just bringing your knee up into the correct chamber position and then back down. Don't worry too much about extending the leg, just keep working on the correct chamber position. This will help you for when you move on to the next stage of work, which is chamber then extension.

You need to make sure that you are pivoting on your supporting foot. The toes on your support leg should turn so that they are not facing the direction that you are looking in.

Some people say that your support foot should turn through 180 and that the toes on that foot point behind. Some people say that they support leg doesn't turn as much as that, so check with your instructor as to how much turn you give to your supporting leg.

However, you need to pivot on that supporting foot as you can do some serious damage to yourself if you don't.

Also, keep checking with your Sensei or a senior grade at your club as to what you should be doing. They will be able to help you get correct technique - we can only offer advice, based on your text, we can't actually "see" you doing the kick.

Finally, relax! Try to enjoy your karate - your technique will get better over time if you keep working on it.

[Sensei Mark]

I've noticed recently that there seem to be two distinct ways of doing mawashigeri. In one, you lift the knee to the front (the same as when chambering the maegeri kick), and then rotate the hip around as you spin on the supporting leg. In the other way, you chamber the kicking leg to the side, parallel to the ground before spinning on the supporting leg and kicking.

Anyway, my question is, are both equally valid ways of performing mawashigeri? Are both equally powerful?

Osu Fish, Yes their is a major difference betwen the two type of roundkicks when it come to the knee lift.

It seems to be a much stronger kick if the knee is lifted from a side position and a rotation of the hips to bring your knee to the front a split second before the lower leg releases.

If the knee is brought up in the front as you described, it can limit the powere transfer, because the kicking power in the leg is already halfspent.

Speed x Acceleration x Weight = Power

[KyokushinFX]

I think there is a trade off between the two. The conventional mawashikeri from the side is more powerfull but relatively easy to block. On the other hand, the Hensoku mawashikeri is hard to know which one is coming. Fighters sometime make mistake in a split of a second going for the frontkick and get caught. If I remember correctly, Midori Kenji mixed this type of kick a lot in his combinations.

[hurricane]

Thanks all!

I know about the pivoting supporting foot and do that. My problem is chambering the kicking leg up. This is the mawashigeri we do: The one where you chamber your kicking leg on your side, preferably so that it's parallel to the floor, and then extend the leg. Not the one where you chamber your leg like for a maegeri and then turn your hip over. So my problem is more like to get the flexibility to get that leg up high enough. So I will try the stretches some of you guys mentioned and also lift my leg up without extending it first. Thanks a lot for all your advice!!

[Fish]

I've tried the two different techniques. I find the conventional mawashigeri (chamber to the side) seems to be snappier and more powerful, but I imagine it's easier to block because it's more clearly telegraphed. On the other hand, lifting the knee to the front could precede one of a number of kicks and therefore may be harder to block.