Mawashi Geri Jodan

[Ueshirokarate]

What do you mean? How can it be harmful?

If you overstretch in such a way that you increase your flexibility more than your muscular strength can resist to maintain a safe range of motion you are more likely to have joint dislocations.

The way that I was able to build up to high side kicks and roundhouse kicks was actually by working a LOT out of a low horse stance--it's a combination stretch and strengthening exercise.

That and you can also injure tendons and ligaments. He should just take it bit by bit, this is a marathon and not a sprint. He'll get there unless he has some physiological issue that he is unaware of. I would suggest that if he does experience anything unusual that he should go see a physiatrist. However, if his issue is just lack of flexibility, all he needs is to work on it and give it time.

[Adil]

What do you mean? How can it be harmful?

If you overstretch in such a way that you increase your flexibility more than your muscular strength can resist to maintain a safe range of motion you are more likely to have joint dislocations.

The way that I was able to build up to high side kicks and roundhouse kicks was actually by working a LOT out of a low horse stance--it's a combination stretch and strengthening exercise.

That and you can also injure tendons and ligaments. He should just take it bit by bit, this is a marathon and not a sprint. He'll get there unless he has some physiological issue that he is unaware of. I would suggest that if he does experience anything unusual that he should go see a physiatrist. However, if his issue is just lack of flexibility, all he needs is to work on it and give it time.

Thanks for the advice. I will try to come up with a comprehensive way to gradually increase my flexibility while building lower body strength.

Have any of you guys used the elastic steel dvd and book? I have read some pretty good reviews about it on the internet.

[Newdesign]

You've been practicing couple of moths, nobody expects you to do it perfectly, right? Maegeri jodan is is a very easy kick, with some flexibility. Then again yoko geri and mawashigeri jodan are very difficult, they take flexibility, muscle strength, control and knowledge of the right way of executing the technique. Mawashigeri is done differently in different styles, so advices on the exact technique should probably be gotten from your instructor. What is it exactly that you are missing? Is it that you don't know how exactly it's done, or that you don't know what's wrong with it? That you can't kick high enough? No control?

I dont think it is the technique that I am missing. I always focus on the execution of the move. I can lift my knee high enough but I cant complete the kick. I dont know if this means that I am lacking flexibility or muscular strength. I am working on my flexibility and you're right it has only been two months. I am fairly tall a little over 6ft1 so I dont need that much more flexibility to execute a mawashigeri jodan on someone with an average height.

One way to test how high you should be able to kick a proper mawashigeri (by the means of flexibility), is to put your other leg on your training partner's shoulder, then first stand on that position (your training partner should at this point keep your leg as low as needed) have your waist turned straight towards the other guy. If you can keep a good posture here, turn your hips to side on a yoko geri position. If you can still maintain a good balanced position, you should be able to kick on "this height" a proper mawashigeri. If you do this always lifting your leg a little higher you'll find how high you can kick mawashigeri.

But note that this is about a very well executed technique.. Many people can kick some sort of "mawashigeri" towards the opponents head, but if you mainly throw your leg there, it will be no real use.

And if you have no idea what I was just trying to explain, I'm sorry, and feel free to ask

[shimizu]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post in this forum so here is a little bit of background. I used to practice Karate as a child for a few years and I have started practising again a couple of months ago.

I am struggling with my mawashi geri jodan. I have been stretching everyday to try to improve my flexibility but I still cannot execute the kick properly. I have no problems with mae geri jodan. I cant execute the yoko geri jodan either. This is really starting to bother me and I could not find a clear answer on the internet as to how I should train to reach my goal.

Thank you

if you've only just started a couple a months ago then (please don't take any offence by this but) you may need to continue practicing for another couple of months maybe until you are able to do it - maybe start at mawashi geri chudan and slowly heighten your kicks

[GeterDone]

As others have said, you've been practicing for only a couple of months, so it's expected you're not going to have all the techniques down solid. I've been practicing for several years and I can only pull off a mawashi geri jodan using my right leg (regardless if it's in front or at the back). I can sort of do a yoko geri jodan with both legs but my right leg is still better because of a series of injuries I've had to my left leg. I can stretch it out but when I try mawashi geri jodan, I get a shooting pain up my leg and it loses power. Interestingly, ura mawashi geri jodan with my left leg is better and hurts less to do, although isn't as fast as I'd like. It looks good enough if I had to do it for kihons, idos or any katas that may need it but difficult for kumite.

Try other techniques or simply try mawashi geri chudan and yoko geri chudan. I've come to terms with the fact there's no way I can pull off a good mawashi geri or yoko geri jodan with my left leg, so I go for chudan, as it doesn't hurt and I lose no power or speed with it.

The point of my rambling is, even if you can pull off a brilliant mawashi geri jodan and yoko geri jodan, it doesn't mean you'll succeed in kumite. For me, I practiced and become more proficient in blocks, leg grabs, foot sweeps and throws/take-downs. In kumite, most of my kicks from either leg are chudan or gedan but I'll toss in a few jodan kicks from time to time from my right leg only.

[Harkon72]

I wouldn't worry about kicking to the head, the higher the kick goes the more you lose power. I would rather smash my round kick into a thigh or rib cage than to the more mobile target that the head is. You are less vulnerable to counter attack with a lower kick and more able to follow with a hand technique.

[pers]

When I was young I thought jodan mawashigeri was the ultimate technique and to be honest it was probabley one of the main reasons I took up karate . I was never that comfortable with it ,although I manged to score with it a few times but it was never my strong technique ,as years went by I realized that there is a lot more to karate than jodan mawashi .

these days my mawashigeris are not higher than chest hight but the beauty of karate is that it caters for every body type and any age group ,you just have to learn to adopt the best technique for your own body type .

Edited September 3, 2012 by pers

[DoctorQui]

Adil, I've been practising Karate on and off for almost 30 years, solidly for the last 8 years and even I have problems with Mawashi geri generally, let alone to Jodan. Its a combination of many things, age and reduced flexibility and injury. I don't know your age but if you're starting back in your 30s or 40s then you may be expecting too much from yourself!

The most important thing is technique and ensuring that that technique is both accurate and focused. I can do a near perfect mawashi geri to Chudan (and when you train with a lot of children Chudan is adequate! lol), up to shoulder height and a strained, painful and just about accurate mawashi to Jodan. That is all I am able to do and all that any club I have trained with has asked of me.

This is also why, when you start Karate, the first 2-3 grades only want you to kick to Gedan only and work your way up. Soooo many beginners seem to always try and kick to Jodan in their first few sessions because they believe that is how their ability is measured.

Bottom line, don't worry about height, put more effort into accuracy of technique and the rest will (probably) follow.

Enjoy your training and don't put undue pressure on yourself that will take that enjoyment away!

Welcome back to the Art!

OSU

[Dobbersky]

best answer Cutting Kick the the legs then Round kick the Head when its at a lower level

If you look into the history of Japanese arts, High Kicks are a relatively new creation in line with TKD and the likes.

Looking at the Okinawan Kata etc you will find that there were no kicks higher than the waist

If you can't kick to the head bring the head lower!

[blacknebula]

I have issues with both my mawashi geri and yoko geri as well. I used to think it was a flexibility issue (I have an old hip injury) but have now realized that it is far more related to muscle strength. For example, when doing yoko geri kikomi I can 'walk' my foot up a wall to a way higher level than I can reach when just holding it out. So I bought some ankle weights and am practicing holding out my leg with the weights on (for kikomi) or in the chamber position (for mawashi) in order to build up those muscles. Seeing some improvement since I started that.