Where are your hands when you do a

[koreantiger81]

back leg roundhouse or turning kick?

 

Picture this first.

 

1. Left hand sparring stance.(left hand and leg is in front.)

 

2. Back leg roundhouse/turning kick..therefore, your right leg is doing the kick..

 

Now where do you put your hands? In the above sparring position, Muay Thai stylists extend their right arm past their leg and position their left hand on the right side of their cheek, to protect their face. I believe extending the right arm past your leg serves as a good counter-balance and generates lots of power, but it'll take more time to follow up with that right hand with a punch, since it's extended far past your leg....

 

Other upright stylists, just keep their hands up right in front of them so it's easy to follow up the hands and protect your face.

 

Which is more effective? Where should your hands be to generate the most power? Where should your hands be for speed and protection? How do you do it?

[LeaF]

we keep our hands in tight, not to sure why though..... perhaps it has something to do will the increased speed of the spin, I would figure that you would have better balance if your right arm was out... perhaps someone more knowledgable in this can explain it further

[KickChick]

Personally (in a sparring situation) I keep my hands in a guarding position always when executing kicks. Hands/arms shift simultaneously fron a guarding pos. left to right as you move in with your kick. True, extending the right hand with the kick ensures more balance but I find you require that leverage when performing the kick in a slower fashion. Extending the arms past a certain point I find (for me) decreases the "power" of my kick but may aid in the "speed" of executing the kick. (I use my arms to spin when delivering my back leg roundhouse to do speed breaks)

 

Keeping elbows tucked into the rib cage as you shift from left to right protects your middle and aids in faster delivery of any hand technique to the opponent.

[monkeygirl]

I really suggest not throwing back leg kicks at all. It squares your body with your target and takes much longer to throw than a front leg kick. However, it does deliver more power, and if you must, you must. If I were throwing a back leg roundhouse, I would keep my guard in tight, like a boxer's (one hand by each ear), and then shift to accomodate my new front leg.

 

Different guards work for different people. It all depends on whether they're a kicker or a puncher, and how they throw these techniques.

 

Try out several different methods, with an experienced fighter. You'll learn soon enough which method is best for you

[ZeRo]

i always have my hands in the gaurd when throwing kicks.

[Bon]

I don't throw too many roundhouses, unless I can get a shot that is completely open and I drop my right hand to an extent when executing the kick for more torque. I am a fan of the thigh kicks though and don't really drop my hands, as I just turn my body in and ley my leg go.

[karatekid1975]

I started off (in TSD) when doing roundhouse kick, I used my right hand (with right leg/back leg roundhouse) to "balance" myself. I kept my left hand in "guard" protecting my left side.

 

Now I am working on keeping my guard up always, no matter what. I still have a problem with "dropping" my guard when I kick, so it's something I need to work on.

[ZeRo]

remember karatekid1975 to keep thoughs elbows in too! ive seen people keep there hands super glued to there cheeks but there elbows go mad and fly about. just thought you might like a tip.

[karatekid1975]

LOL Thanks X. I'm working on that.

[shotochem]

I tend to keep my hands in a high guard position. The lead arm to protect the left side and the rear arm protecting the kicking side elbows 6" away from body facing downward to cover the ol baby back ribs. (beware of kicking the elbows )

 

Monkeygirl, you are cheating yourself out of an exellent tech. Rear leg kicks are an excellent followup to the lead leg kicks or punching combos

 

as well as a good stopping kick. Im sure you are alot faster than an old guy like me. Give it a try I use the rear leg quite effectivly though I tend to use the front kick more than the roundhouse.(old hips )