Roundhouse kicks.

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”

-Bruce Lee

 

“Preoccupied with a single leaf you won't see the tree.”

-Unknown

Today I'll be covering the various roundhouse-type kicks I have come across in my training in martial arts. It is also known as a 'power-angle kick', and 'swinging' kick.

Many martial artists have this kind of kick; a kick which comes at an angle other than straight horizontally, and utilizes the top of the foot, the shin, or the ball of the foot. Many distinguish the angled-kicks between roundhouse style and round-kick style, but I do not. The reason for this is that they operate on similar mechanics, and ultimately achieve the same result. The greatest difference between a roundhouse and a round-kick is that the former utilizes crushing and transference type energy distribution into the target; whereas round-kick's primarily utilize penetrating energy.

In WTF Tae Kwon Do the roundhouse kick is a staple of the art. It is called dollyŏ chagi. There are two ways to initiate it. Both kicks come from an extended 'chambering' of the leg; raising the knee vertically to about waist level or above. They do this so the opponent cannot discern what kick is going to be utilized. The kick is then executed at a primarily 45 degree angle utilizing the lower shin and instep of the heel to make impact. It is an extremely fast kick, and should be returned to either its chambering position or back to the ground as fast as it was initiated.

 

 

In Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan and many other Japanese martial art's styles, this kick is first initiated by chambering the leg (like before the knee is raised to waist level and above) and once in position the supporting leg's foot is pivoted, and knee turned to a horizontal position. The kick is then launched and at a 90 degree angle impacts the target. The part of the foot utilized is the ball of the foot, but during practice for safety concerns of partners and the foot itself many use the instep of the foot. In Japanese this kick is often called Mawashi-geri.

In Muai Thai, this kick is often not referred to as a round house kick, but rather as an 'angle-kick'. In Muai Thai this kick is called 'Te-Tat'. The kick utilizes the shin for impact, and the low kicks target the opponent's knees and thighs. The medium level of the kick targets above the hip bone, targeting the ribs and organs. The high kicks impact the neck and head.

The kick's mechanics do differ from other traditional forms of the roundhouse. The hips are pivoted, turning into the kick to deliver more inertia and momentum. One raises onto the ball of the foot to enable more rotation of the foot. It is a kick which the entire body commits to, and because of this the kick does not allow one to snap it back to a returning position in most cases.

Each of these kicks allow for one to utilize different strategies in combating opponents. A TKD roundhouse is very useful against someone who keeps the midsection vulnerable, but if they are able to block the kick easily, then the Muai Thai roundhouse would be more applicable as it can easily go through their block with enough training. The penetrating style of roundhouse kick is very good against opponents who are more durable, allowing one to impact their inner organs moreso than the other variants of the kicks.

I do not think any one of these types of kicks are more superior to the others; only that in certain situations one may be more suitable for use than the others. Only a few of these pictures I've edited to make a little more clear than they were, and they were all yanked off of google.



Namaste.

"Practice 1,000 techniques 10,000 times each."