How To Do A Roundhouse Kick
The roundhouse kick is one of the most commonly used kicking techniques in martial arts due to its ease of use, range speed, as well as decent power.
It is a rotational kick whose mechanics and motions are similar to a soccer kick. It involves a combination of flexibility, balance, coordinating and timing.
The roundhouse kick is also known as the swinging kick or power angle kick. It is used in many different martial arts styles like kickboxing, karate, Muay Thai, and Taekwondo.
In this blog post, we check out how to do the roundhouse kick in 5 simple steps.
Standard fight stance
Start with a standard fight stance; your feet should be two shoulder widths apart. Your kicking leg should be at the back, and parallel, pointing slightly to the side. Make sure your guard is kept up throughout.
Twist the hip and bring your leg to aim
Twist your hips, raise your knee and drive your rear leg forward.
Make sure your body is kept upright with your weight on the standing foot for balance.
Rotate leg position for the kick
Then bring the kicking leg through and let your standing foot rotate at 180 degrees to the outside, which will bring your heel facing the target. You’d want to turn your bottom foot all the way to allow it go through full rotation to generate maximum kicking power. This move will make your shoulder, hips, and body flip across.
Snap kick
To take the kick, straighten your leg by extending your knee and hips. For increased reach and power, throw your hips forward to allow for a whole body movement.
The instep of your feet should be the point of contact with your target. The kick can be targeted at the ribs or at the head depending on your flexibility.
Back to the standard fight form
After getting your kick in, snap your leg back immediately to avoid being vulnerable to counter attacks. The quicker and swifter you act, the less time your opponent has to attack since his defense will be down. This swiftness will also prevent overswinging. Then set your kicking feet down in front of you as you complete the kick.
