Round House Kicks

[Jhapa]

which part of foot do you guys use for roundhouse kicks?

[IronFist]

The shin

Are you talking about if you should kick with the instep or pull the foot back and kick with the toes? I would pick instep, even tho it's possible to break because it's a lot of small bones, because I'd be afraid of jamming my toes or something. I think it would be difficult to kick someone hard with a roundhouse kick using the ball of your foot, especially in the middle of combat.

[Jhapa]

i like to use the top of my foot/shin, but my school i am told to use ball of my foot. with my left foot, i have no problem but with my right foot, i have had foot and ankle injuries and unable to use ball of my foot, always jamming my toe. if i recall correctly from my tkd days(that was long time ago), we use to use the top of our foot.

[Mo Lung]

Originally posted by IronFist
I think it would be difficult to kick someone hard with a roundhouse kick using the ball of your foot, especially in the middle of combat.

Not at all. Same as anything - train it on the bags and then start to apply it in sparring. However, if you have injuries that affect aspects of your trianing, then you need to take that into account.

[Sim Koning]

I use the shin most of the time. Getting hit with a thai style kick feels like getting hit with a baseball bat. I use the instep when kicking to the head and neck and I use more of a snapping motion when kicking that high for the sake of speed.

[Strangler]

what is you guys's opinion on the cresent kick? WHy doesn't anyone use it in mma?

[Water Dragon]

Dig in with the shin.

[Judge Pen]

Instep to shin area. Gives you more striking surface and room for error in range.

[SevenStar]

Originally posted by Strangler
what is you guys's opinion on the cresent kick? WHy doesn't anyone use it in mma?

because you would get taken down. years or testing has shown that in MMA competitions, low line kicks work best. The kicks with the most success are the teep and roundhouse. If you are thai boxing, and the leg goes high, you are setting yourself up for a cut kick. that said, high kicks are still performed, but are generally used with caution.

Also, from a power perspective, the crescent kick is inferior to the above mentioned kicks.

[David Jamieson]

Instep and shin.

[MasterKiller]

Originally posted by SevenStar
because you would get taken down. years or testing has shown that in MMA competitions, low line kicks work best. The kicks with the most success are the teep and roundhouse. If you are thai boxing, and the leg goes high, you are setting yourself up for a cut kick. that said, high kicks are still performed, but are generally used with caution.

Also, from a power perspective, the crescent kick is inferior to the above mentioned kicks.

This just in...

Crecent kicks can be aimed at the knees and ribs. They don't have to be high. My hip flexibility is horrible. I get much more power with a crescent than a roundhouse.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress...

[SevenStar]

yohu're right, they can be - no need to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for that. A crescent to the ribs will still likely result in a takedown, due to the chambering of the leg. If you are able to step in on it prior to its extension.

as for your hip, you can't turn your hip over for a roundhouse? or are you opening your hips before the kick?

[norther practitioner]

I don't know how you'd chamber a cresent kick?

[SevenStar]

do you not chamber the same way you would chamber a front snapping kick? most people I have trained with throw them that way.

[Reggie1]

Originally posted by SevenStar
do you not chamber the same way you would chamber a front snapping kick? most people I have trained with throw them that way.

We don't. We keep the leg straight and swing in an arc.

But we're also taught to use them only in very specific situations.