Round House Kick

[GranFire]

Never thought of it, honestly.

We are taught to use the ball of the foot, the instep for the one and only kick to the thigh...in reality, sparring I probably use the instep more. With foodpads...The ball of the foot does back some impackt: I had a silver dollar sized black lump on the side of my leg for two weeks once...I am sure that kick would have cracked a rib!

I collided with a kid's knee in sparring once, my shin was a yucky shade of green for a week...I don't think that would be my prefered method of kicking...besides...if I get that close, I am im punching distance, and I am trying hard to avoid that!

[Piston]

Pulling you front hand down does help with power, if your kicking off the back foot, just like a punch. I try to stop this habit during drills and sparring cuz it means lowering my guard - never good.

[kwai chang pain]

Random thoughts on the roundhouse...

I've mainly trained in TKD for kicking and was taught to strike with the instep. However, I see the point about using your shin and have been putting off buying some muay thai dvd's to learn it that way.

I will say that a high roundhouse kick (to the side of the headgear) is a great sparring technique if you have the flexibility. Does anybody else ever pull with your hands for more power when doing a roundhouse??

I read somewhere that the roundhouse is a very natural body motion and is used the most in sparring. Dunno if I agree w/ it, but there it is.

[Tom Yum]

Apples and Oranges

The three main roundhouse kicks:

1) The instep - Taught at 99% of Dojos/Dojangs.

2) The ball of the foot - Taught at fewer schools. Getting kicked with the ball of the foot hurts alot more. Smaller/harder contact area = greater pressure.

Both kicks are thrown the same way. Knee chambers up and at the last second, you pivot from the planted leg, turn your hip over and snap the kick.

The kick can be delivered really quick, has good accuracy and is best aimed at soft targets (unless you hit with the instep). A good role model for this kind of kick is Bill Superfoot Wallace, He Ill Cho or Bruce Lee. Whom are karate, tkd and kung-fu practitioners, respectively. All men could throw the kick lightning fast and if it landed upstairs, lights out!

3) The shin - Its like a baseball bat and is delivered completely different than 1 & 2. The kick is a little slower, but packs way more power.

There are tons of great fights where a thai kick made the fight: Mo Smith vs. Conan Silveira, Mo Smith vs. that wrestler guy (forgot his name), Mo Smith vs. Tank, Pedro Rizzo vs. Dan Severn, Koakkalai vs. Mighty Mo...just to name a few.

[Tant01]

Let me think....

Being old and broken ain't bad enough I have to try to remember things too!

The fighting theory of jujutsu is maximum efficiency so kicking is just another trick to set up the THING you really want to do. If that means taking his back to choke him out or chopping off his head depends only on your intent.

"Chopping" being figurative for that dynamite fist or not.

[Hardball]

I used to find it hard to land now I can land it as a suprise. I normally aim for the ribs or the torso since I am not able to kick to the head. My roundhouse is from TKD and I use the instep 90% of the time and the shin the other 10% of the time. I'm not the best kicker in the world but I compensate because I have dynamite in my fist.

[Tant01]

Your Roundhouse...???

Since this thread is hot and getting a lot of views--let me ask this? How do you use your roundhouse kick best? Do you use it as a suprise weapon? A finish off move? Or other? Please explain. I am a JJJ man with a keen interest in kicking even though I am not a particulary great kicker.

Mawashi geri ? The front roundhouse or ushiro mawashi geri rear leg round (house) kick?


If you're a Jujutsu man then you know it's used to set up another technique, used to draw or stun or check. To take advantage of another open line of attack, to gauge distance for an attachment or maybe you just use it to break baseball bats.....

[foofies]

Since this thread is hot and getting a lot of views--let me ask this? How do you use your roundhouse kick best? Do you use it as a suprise weapon? A finish off move? Or other? Please explain. I am a JJJ man with a keen interest in kicking even though I am not a particulary great kicker.

It depend. Sparring in a dojang, or on the street.

When sparring double round house kick could be used to suprise weapon. Or as defensive kick.

on the street, I use it as finshing move--knock out--- . After throwing some punches and my FV kick SIDE KICK.

[muaythaiguy15]

Spin kick? If youre talking about the spinning back kick its totally different. Ask some TKD or karate guys around you to teach you because telling you over the net could lead to some mishaps with a kind of technical kick.

As far as roundhouses go, there are a few kinds. Front low, middle, high and rear low, middle, high.

Rear kicks have more power while the front roundhouse can be delivered quickly. Low kicks are effective and dropping or weakening opponents, not for finishing. Mid kicks are used to drop, wind, break rips, etc. High kicks are usually delivered to the head but can also be used on the shoulder or neck, used for knockout.

I like to use the low roundhouse to really take the fight out of someone, weaken them up, decrease the power in thier kicks and shoots. Mid kicks are easy to catch so I usually dont throw them unless I fake someone out by throwing a few lows first so they dont expect it.

http://www.combateffective.com/Improve_your_roundhouse_kicks.htm

http://stickgrappler.tripod.com/mt/kk1.html

[Hardball]

Also, how difficult is it to learn the spin kick and how are the mechanics different or similar to the roundhouse?

[Hardball]

Since this thread is hot and getting a lot of views--let me ask this? How do you use your roundhouse kick best? Do you use it as a suprise weapon? A finish off move? Or other? Please explain. I am a JJJ man with a keen interest in kicking even though I am not a particulary great kicker.

[Sagacious Lu]

I voted for shins, because that's what I prefer, but I'm also comfortable using my instep so in the end I think it depends on the situation.

[muaythaiguy15]

Technically, yes. But there are smaller bones in the foot which are easier to break. Thai roundhouses always use the shin, its just what im used to. I know many guys, pro and amateur who get problems from kicks with the instep. However, it is usually due to distance problems when the kick is thrown. Good point Kuk.

[kuk sool won]

the IF can also apply to the instep aswell...no?

[muaythaiguy15]

Shins defintily. Ive found that in sparring its okay to use the instep, however, in a real or sport situation where youre not using instep guards, its quite easy to break something. IF you properly condition your shins, its a lot safer and a harder surface for the roundhouse.