Roundhouse/side kick diffrence

[chrisw08]

Im a bit confused on what the diffrence is when it comes to roundhouse kick and side kick. Is the roundhouse kick just a front leg side kick or? Most people strike with the top of the foot but I want to do it on the edge. Do you just spin straighten your legs out to push the blade of your foot into the target or? A video tutorial of the diffrence would be cool. Im doing shotokan

[GaryMo]

Mawashi Geri (roundhouse) -

Yoko Geri Kekomi (side thrust)-

[sensei8]

The differences between a side kick and a roundhouse kick depends on the methodology of that style. Having said that, a roundhouse kick, for the most, travels in an arc path to its target. Whereas, a side kick travels in a straight line to it's target.

Foot orientation differs from style to another. For the contact area of the foot for the roundhouse kick is either the ball of the foot and/or the top of the foot. For a side kick, the contact area is usually the heel, whereas the blade of the foot isn't used as often as the former. Either way, the attitude of the foot gives the heel the dominance over the blade.

In Shindokan, we use the four count [up, out, back, down] in our kicks, which are no higher than the waist. In the up, our hips are inactive. In the out, our hips are active, but not until the very last second. In the back, our hips begin to become inactive, but not as of yet. In the down, our hips are inactive. To active the hips early would destroy the power curve, thus all one has left is a push and not a penetrating drive, also, it would tend to telegraph a meant intent.

In the roundhouse kick, our supporting foot turns away from the target 180 degrees by, and while, we're executing our out portion of our four count, and while we're keeping our supporting leg's knee ever-so-slightly bent for its shock-absorbing effect.

In the side kick, both of our snap or thrust, our supporting foot will act in the same manner and the like as in our roundhouse kick.

[DWx]

People often get confused between the two and even when they think they know the difference they still do the actions wrong!

Simple exercise I use to teach beginners the difference:

Stand with your feet a shoulder width apart and lift one leg up to the front so the top part of your leg is parallel to the floor (like you were going to climb some really steep stairs). From that position, stomping straight down so the heel or side of the foot makes contact with the ground is the side kick. Extending the leg so the ball of the foot or instep (as in a front kick) goes forward and up is the roundhouse action. Obviously this is a massive oversimplification but it does illustrate that the side kick is a straight out kick whereas the roundhouse travels more in an arc.

People often confuse the two actions and do the roundhouse action but intend it to be a side kick and I think that maybe this is where you're confused?. All you're going to do then is to skim past the target. Just remember its the same action as you just did but now your leg starts in a different chambered position. Stand with your feet a shoulder width apart again and lift your leg so that the inside is now parallel to the floor. Kinda like the back leg of a hurdler would look like but round a bit more so the knee is more to the front. Keep your heel tight into your butt.

The same stomping or front kicking actions will give you a basic side and roundhouse kick. So imagine there's a line from your backside to your heel, stomping out so that your heel continues to travel along that line is a side kick. For the roundhouse there's a line travelling down your quad/hamstring and out into thin air, you're kicking the bottom half of your leg so that the ball connects with that line. Hope I haven't confused you here Another way to think about it is if you stand back to a wall in the chamber position so that your backside and heel are both touching the wall, extending your leg so the heel travels along the wall is a side kick. Kicking the bottom half of your leg forwards away from the wall in that front kick action is a roundhouse.

Then you progress by adding a bit more to the action like how you get your leg into that chambered position so that the whole movement, from foot on the floor to the end of the kick, contributes to the power. For the side kick, you drive your knee up into your chest (like a front kick chamber), rotate your hips over into the hurdler position, then stomp out. For the roundhouse, you're going to go straight into the hurdler position almost as if you were mid hurdle. Whilst keeping that bent knee position, bring the leg round to the front (knee leading) then the lower half of your leg goes and you connect with the target with your instep, ball of the foot or shin.

Things to remember:

- pivot on the standing foot at the same time to open up your hips and prevent yourself from twisting your knee. Depending on the style, you turn the back foot somewhere between 135-180°.

- foot position depends on the kick and what you want to kick with but in general, the outer edge of the foot should be parallel to the ground or maybe heel slightly higher. Try not to kick with the toes at the highest point. If you're struggling, you need to rotate your hips over a bit further.

- hands up. As tempting as it might be to wave your arms around for balance, keep them tight and keep your core tight.

From your previous posts I gather you're self training? If so just be careful. Kicks aren't natural movements and even experienced kickers can end up hurting themselves pretty badly. Do these kicks at half speed, holding onto a chair if necessary, and work on form before even trying to put and speed or power in. You'll end up with much better kicks in the long run and you'll be less likely to injure yourself. Don't be kicking too high either, better to have good form at hip level than atrocious kicks at head height

[sensei8]

Self teaching can be a big problem because those here at KF are of differing methodologies, and that can be quite confusing for any beginner who's self taught.

Please seek out a qualified instructor, if financially able to, before any bad habits set in.

Good luck and please keep us informed as to your progress.

[MasterPain]

If you can't get into a class, find someone willing to spend a couple hours with you a month, then you could practice just that material until the next month.

Even a mid-kyu who wants a weekend sparring partner in their garage could be helpful.

[chrisw08]

Thanks you guys. And i am practicing the shotokan style so i go by those standards and there is no one in my area that does it so im stuck training alone

[MasterPain]

Thanks you guys. And i am practicing the shotokan style so i go by those standards and there is no one in my area that does it so im stuck training alone

So, why Shotokan?

[JusticeZero]

Thanks you guys. And i am practicing the shotokan style so i go by those standards and there is no one in my area that does it so im stuck training alone

I would advise that you would be better off by working in a different line of Karate for which training is available than you can achieve by training alone. Within karate specifically, the differences are not so huge from ryu to ryu that you cannot later adjust and retune them back to Shotokan standards should you later find a teacher in that form, if you are determined to be a Shotokan stylist.

[chrisw08]

I love the simplicity and i am doing power lifts which makes my strikes powerful and shotokan is a very straightforward powerful martial art anc the closest dojos arent available they are an hour away