high front kick vs roundhouse

[blooming lotus]

Just considreing some local action I've seen lately , and while I seriousl;y love andwork my rounds as a personal fave, how practical aretey in real freestyle fighting???I've seen high fronts here in Henan being pulled off in combos without drama, ( pubus also very popular)..... but the round seems to A.take more time to execute, and B. leav you with less time for follow up............also watchhed several kickboxing tournies etc and it seems any round above waistish, is not used so often......is this really a practicle strike????

[Fu-Pow]

Can be great to the area directly above the knee.

And they can be a knockout kick to the head if your opponent is very tired.

Other than that they are too slow and way too easy to catch.

My personal favorite kick is the front "nail" kick with the ball of the foot. A lot of power and very deceptive.

[omarthefish]

Depends on how concerned you are about being taken down.

It almost seems like a weird question. For most full contact fighters they are the bread and butter techniques. But I and reluctant to throw them too much just because most every takedown I know works best of a round kick.

[SevenStar]

high front kick? trash it. I can see a front to the midsection or below, but not high.

roundhouse definitely has it's advantages, one of which is choice of targets. Another is accuracy. power is a third.

It does have it's disadvantages, and omar pointed out the main one. given a choice though, I'd use the roundhouse.

[Toby]

BL, heard of Mirko "Cro cop" Filipovic? How about the PNG fighter who fights in Australian kickboxing and K-1 called "Headhunter"? Roundhouse is their signature move. Works extremely well for both of them.

[Judge Pen]

I hardly ever see someone use a high front kick effectively in a fight. It's too hard to get past one's guard when you throw a front kick head level. The front thrust or "nail" kick that Fu pow mentioned works well cause it has a lot of power and is easier to land on the target since it actually takes advantage of someone who keeps their gurad up and it's very difficult to check with your own leg.

As for the roundhouse, timing is the key. If you keep throwing it over and over, they will eventually time it and throw you or counter-strike. But if you pick you opportunities it can be golden.

[X_plosion]

In full-contact tournaments I've seen, the Roundhouse to the head was usually set up by a feint or was a follow up move.

It produces knock-outs lots of times.

The one exception to the "feint first" principle that I remember was that one fellow was so fixated on looking good in his stance after bowing. He never saw his opponent's picture perfect roundhouse kick to the temple. Fight over by T.K.O in less than 15 seconds.

[red5angel]

The higher the kick the harder it is to pull off. I prefer mid range front kicks. Round kicks tend to need to be setup or chambered and so advertise more.

[SevenStar]

a roundhouse doesn't need to be chambered.

what you said after that is somewhat backwards... setting them up is what prevents them from advertising. if I just kick, sure you'll see it. when I set it up, you may not.

Also, as I stated before, the roundhouse has accuracy, target choice and power in its favor.

[blooming lotus]

I guess there are different styles of roundhouse, one chambers and one telegraphs..I still can't see a great functional use in a skill on skill match unless you have a big speed advantage.....

I agree with wath everyone is saying about the highs and if I didn't see them in action here, I would no doubt still be sceptical about their use in action.....

In alot of ringed matches, rounds are not often pulled off with height, and how many do they seriously get away in not only a round, but during the total fight???

I think fronts are good at mid to chestish..and easily executed...ater that it's serious skill and strategy....well functional if you can swing it

[SevenStar]

Actually, it's the one that chambers that is more telegraphic, IMO, as you can see the chamber. some people like to chamber all kicks to the front, that way you don't know if the kick will be round, front, hook, etc. but you will still know that some kick is coming.


How can you not see a functional use for the roundhouse? you can't be that blind...

[blooming lotus]

no, no..I loved my round too and used it alot pre-this-time -round -to -china, but when you see the two back to back forfuctionality using these comboed styles and apps, it seems almost redundant.

ps..FYI....did you know most stylists here use several styles and form exerps within one set of movements

[SevenStar]

sure they do, at a basic level. That's natural.

[Starchaser107]

some people have very powerful and snappy roundhouse with lead leg.
back leg round can be very good especially lower.
high front kick..i can't see a good reason to throw that but thats just me , maybe if i were taller and had more range , but i'm not so it would seem awkward for me in terms of practicality.

[blooming lotus]

I don't think tall has much to do with it....most asian stylists adept in high fronts are samish height as me....

have to agree with the back round though...good point......

7...sure they do???

I'm not talking so much begginner, as quality mulit-styled playing....I think, like I've always said, once you understand the general flow of a couple of styles, others are very easy to pick up with good instruction....argue if you must, but this is my observation and experience