Roundhouse kick technique

[hulkout]

Is it necessary to pivot your supporting foot or is it better to just step in and plant your foot, then kick. I know everyone always says to pivot but I've seen probably hundreds of kicks done with no pivot at all. They just step in and plant their feet and then power it through. It seems safer for stability since I don't like the idea of the only contact with the ground being on the ball of my foot. It seems very easy to fall over, one little push and you're done. And also, when you spin around like in Muay Thai, you turn your back to your opponent. This seems very risky.

[Mr Punch]

Ask your teacher!

I'm not just being facetious, but different styles do different things. Some of them have a logic behind them, some of them don't. Personally I go with pivots, but my roundhouse kicks are crap!

BTW, since Muay Thai is one of the tried and tested badass MA do you not think it might actually not be that risky kicking the way they do if taught properly...?!

[MasterKiller]

Is it necessary to pivot your supporting foot or is it better to just step in and plant your foot, then kick. I know everyone always says to pivot but I've seen probably hundreds of kicks done with no pivot at all. They just step in and plant their feet and then power it through. It seems safer for stability since I don't like the idea of the only contact with the ground being on the ball of my foot. It seems very easy to fall over, one little push and you're done. And also, when you spin around like in Muay Thai, you turn your back to your opponent. This seems very risky.

I like to pivot.

Bas Rutten says it's not necessary.

[Fox]

I pivot myself, it allows my kick to go alonger distance.

[Judge Pen]

I pivot as well especially with a front-leg round house kick. With rear leg round-house kicks you can step into them instead of pivoting. It puts your hips in roughly the same position at the end of the kick.

[kwaichang]

There are basically 3 types of round house kicks and 3 different chambers.
1. Japanese which strikes with the ball of the foot has a lateral chamber and the toes point toward the opponent, if the opponent is in front of you, as you progress through the kick and the culmination of the kick progresses the leg is extended perpindicular to the target. prior to contact for last amount of power the foot is pivoted so it is at a ninety degree angle to the attack much like the bottom of the letter L if it were with the left leg. After contact the upper body is reverse rotated adding snap and re-chamber.

2. Korean much as above except with the Americanization of Korean arts the chamber was changed from a lateral to as in a front kick and then it rotates over and focuses past the target with full rotation of the hips and pivot foot so the toes have rotated past the point mentioned in the Japanese arts butcontinues and is pointing away from the opponent. This technique has more penetrating power but slower recovery after the attack if you miss or it is blocked. This technique has a longer lever arm but does leave you at a disadvantage if you miss.

3. Mu Thai much as above but with a looser chamber and longer lever arm and more follow through very powerful but again to recover you must spin or try to reverse the motion which is very hard to do.

Biomechnically the japanese type leaves you ready to counter with a knock out punch as opposed to primary kicking styles like Mu Thai and Korean arts. The philosophy is also different thus the kicking technique is different.

Hope I wasnt too wordy BTW in all styles at the moment of impact the whole foot shoul be making contact with the ground/floor. KC

[Becca]

I was taught a roundhouse very similar to the "#2" kwaichang discribed.

I pivot when being graded as my style teaches it that way. I step into it when actually using the kick. I find it easier to drop my center of gravity if it's blocked. Dropping the center of gravity is the key to recovering from this style of round-house.

[SevenStar]

I pivot myself, it allows my kick to go alonger distance.

but the further the distance, the less power... that applies whether you pivot or not.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I like to pivot.

Bas Rutten says it's not necessary.

That's cause Bas turns his foot "out" before he throws the kick, and he's a freak.

[mkriii]

I like to pivot.

Bas Rutten says it's not necessary.

Well we all know Bas Rutten is the authority so we shouldn't go against him.

[MasterKiller]

Well we all know Bas Rutten is the authority so we shouldn't go against him.

We can't all get our training techniques from old Kung Fu movies, now can we?

[monji112000]

I like to pivot.

Bas Rutten says it's not necessary.

Bas has massive power in his kicks. I honestly think its a matter of preference. My round kicks suck so don't listen to me.

[Drake]

Bas has massive power in his kicks. I honestly think its a matter of preference. My round kicks suck so don't listen to me.

Where do you have trouble? Mine is maintaining control after execution of the kick. Leg just doesn't want to stop after the target.

[mkriii]

If you don't pivot the foot when doing that kick it appears to me that you would be putting undue stress on the leg because your twisting your leg from the ankle up to get that rotation needed to throw that round kick to compensate for not pivoting the foot. It looks like that it would hurt your knee in the long run. You have to have that rotation in order to get the correct angle for your foot for it to be a roundhouse kick. Am I explaining myself clearly.....lol???

[SevenStar]

If you don't pivot the foot when doing that kick it appears to me that you would be putting undue stress on the leg because your twisting your leg from the ankle up to get that rotation needed to throw that round kick to compensate for not pivoting the foot. It looks like that it would hurt your knee in the long run. You have to have that rotation in order to get the correct angle for your foot for it to be a roundhouse kick. Am I explaining myself clearly.....lol???

When you step without the pivot (I think I mentioned this in an earlier post) you step outward at an angle. your foot will already be in the position it would be if you used a pivot.