help with roundhouse kick

[bushido_man96]

This is great teaching methodology. I think I just adopted it. Thanks for sharing!

no problem, I hope it serves you and your students well, and thanks for all the praise.

Thank you.

[hapkido princess]

Thank you for the advice on the grounded foot. I didn't get a chance to practice my kicks last night. (It was fight night. Although I did get to use the kicks I'm good at. hehe.) the funny thing is when I help teach the Jr. Hapkido class I tell the kids to watch the rest of their body. I'll say things like "where's your other foot suppost to be?" or "what's that other hand suppost be doing?" I guess I forget that when I get stuck on something.

[Ottman]

I guess I forget that when I get stuck on something.

Yeah this happens to me sometimes too. Easier said than done I guess.

[Zorbasan]

i think the grounded foot is the key to both the roundhouse and the side kick.

in both kicks your body is going to be facing 90 degrees to where it was when you decided to do the kick (providing your target was in front of you and you werent kicking to the side or something)

if you dont turn your foot around you are going to be doing some serious twisting to get your hips around.

try this: stand on one leg and rotate your upper body and hips 90 degrees to the side that your grounded foot is on (ie, left foot on ground rotate to the left (anti clockwise), but keep our grounded foot facing forwards. then do the same thing again but rotate your foot the same way as your body.

which is easier?

[Jiffy]

hahaha, that's funny, we actually did this in class last night. For me personally, I could get about an extra foot higher with rotating the foot.

Then remember, as you kick lower, the less you need to stretch, the more power you have available (muslces don't stretch and contract at the same time)

[hammer]

Just out of curiosity, do your roundhouse kicks go directly in front of you or a bit to the side?

Where I train, we are taught to perform roundhouse kicks on an angle (~35 degrees)...the argument being that the kick loses power if you kick directly in front of you.

In addition, we also emphasize grounded/stance foot placement; in our case it should be 180 degrees away from the target.

Primary target is the face, but for those of us with less flexibility, we shoot for the mid section first (to maintain balance) and work our way up as flexibility improves.

From what I've seen, it can be a challenge to get the bottom foot around for these kicks (especially when you start from a front stance), but you gain a lot of power when the bottom foot is in the proper position.

I really like this kick...the fake low/kick high combination is great for sparring.

[Ottman]

I've never trained with a 35 degree off center target particularly, but good snap and or following through the target will get you some pretty formidable power if you practice enough. Of course if you're sparring someone skilled, there is rarely a target directly in front of you for long enough to hit it, so it's good to be able to hit targets in a wide variety of positions.

[Zorbasan]

you dont really aim at a target at an angle, you aim for an angled target.

ie, no ppoint doing a roundhouse to the chest, it will skim off, but to the kidneys, side of the knee or even side of the face is the best target for this kick.

if your opponent is facing at an angle, then you could kick him in the chest but the other targets are more what it is designed for.

[bushido_man96]

I have found that if you pivot the base foot just a little before you begin the kick, that it is easier to finish the pivot when the kick is completed. An instructor of mine called this a "pre-pivot."

[Jiffy]

Do you mean you kick past the target a little or as Zorbasan though, you kick an angled target? If you are already kicking a side on target, but are taught to kick past the target (as I interpreted what you said), then yes, this should be normal. We should always aim to hit through a target, not on it.