Roundhouse Kick issues

[pittbullJudoka]

Base foot I knew I forgot something Bushidoman

that also prevents knee damage. I've seen people who have all their power ever when leaned over far that their kick is almost vertical.

[bushido_man96]

As a general rule of thumb, the higher a kick goes, the more power it loses. However, that doesn't mean that high kicks aren't strong and powerful. If they are, then that will mean that the lower ones will usually be even more so.

[hammer]

Another way to help open the hips up is to make sure that you pivot completely on your base foot. What I teach is to make the heel of the base foot point at the target you are kicking at. This opens the hips, and doesn't restrict the kick.

That's what we work on...getting the toes pointed 180 degrees from the target.

One other thing that we do is aim our roundhouse kicks on an angle from where we are standing (10 or 2 o'clock position)...I believe that if you do a roundhouse directly in front you don't get quite as much power from it.

I've been told both ways on the body lean...on the one hand, it's OK if you have to lean to get the kick up higher but, on the other hand, it's not preferred because you can tend to telegraph the kick if you lean away from it. That's a nice goal but I have enough challenges getting my right foot roundhouses above the waist as it is, so if I have to lean I do it.

[bushido_man96]

The only time I use the angle approach is when I am board breaking, that way I contact with the ball of my foot cleanly, and not the toes. Otherwise, I can get equal power doing the round kick straight on, with the instep.

[wingedMonkey]

A good way to get higher kicks is to lift your knees higher when rechambering, never forget this because it is a vital part of kicking.