Roundhouse - toes or instep?

[tsdmgk1336]

I teach both Instep and Ball of foot. Now on theis-step we mostly use it hitting padded targets. kicking someone in the side of the head gear or ribs and outside and the inside of the thigh. with the ball of foot we teach to break boards and if we want to kick someone to inflict maxiuim damage. and with the Peet Cha Gi we use the ball of the foot as well. we never use the shin and hears why. if you hit someone hard of enough you can believe it or not break your shin real easy. I've seen it happen...

 

[astrobiologist]

I teach both Instep and Ball of foot. Now on theis-step we mostly use it hitting padded targets. kicking someone in the side of the head gear or ribs and outside and the inside of the thigh. with the ball of foot we teach to break boards and if we want to kick someone to inflict maxiuim damage. and with the Peet Cha Gi we use the ball of the foot as well. we never use the shin and hears why. if you hit someone hard of enough you can believe it or not break your shin real easy. I've seen it happen...

Ya, I've seen those videos, too. There are two good ones. In both of them, it's an MMA match where one fighter tries to kick the other fighter in the side of the lower leg with the shin... Take two baseball bats and smack them together really hard and you may actually break one of them (generally the weaker one).

But if you are intelligent and thoughtful you won't try to use your shin to smack another shin. A shin-striking roundhouse kick to the side of the body can be destructive (much more so than the instep or ball of the foot). There are certain types of tools that work well for certain types of jobs. I wouldn't use a screwdriver to loosen a hex bolt just like I wouldn't use a spear hand to strike someone in the sternum (broken fingers hurt more than a bruised chest).

 

[bluemtn]

At my old class, which is tae kwon do, we were taught to kick with the ball of the foot, and told to kick with the instep if we have shoes on. Now at the tang soo do class, we're told to do bag drills with the instep and to break the board with the ball of the foot.

 

[zohran]

Both

Each has it's uses.

We start off our lower belts using the instep first, then move up to the ball of the foot later.

 

[Kwanjang]

I was taught, and I teach instep for sparring and ball of foot for military application. So, we practice it both ways.

 

[IMP]

I've always learned both, but never broken with a roundhouse. I unserstand the advantages of using the ball of your foot for breaking, but it's also a good way to hit a hard target. I use it normally for shin or head shots only.

The top of the foot, which my teacher teaches until 7th-6th gup, can be a very, very, fast use to hit a weak, soft spot. Almost anything in the torso area is vulnerable to this kind of a strike, plus the back of the legs.

I believe that using the top of the foot is an easier, more useful way to roundhouse kick somebody, but if you're in class breaking, use the ball of your foot.

 

[JT_the_Ninja]

So I guess that makes me the only one here who toughens his instep to break with it

Oh well...

 

[Master Jay S. Penfil]

JT,
You are not alone in this practice...

There are many ways to deliver any kick. The roundhouse is a great kick to use, as it has soooooooooooo many ways of being applied in different situations.

Top of the foot is good for facial impact and for body shots when the opponents guard is is absent.

If the opponent has a good guard in place using the toe of ball of the foot is great for hooking around the guard to make contact and allows greated penetration, as the contact surface is much smaller.

The shin is great for Close-Quarters-Combat because of the proximity that it is applied in. I qualify it as CQC because in reality, this is not a sport kick. If you make contact in this fashion you are going to inflict damage and this is not sporting. It is warfare.

All of these ways to apply the roundhouse kick are good. It is important to know them all so you can apply the most effective technique at the time of need...



All the best,


Sensei Jay S. Penfil

P.S. We are in the process of setting a date for a seminar to be held at Red Lion Karate in Red Lion, PA. It will probably be in December of January.

I hope that you will come and participate with us in some great training. There will be many MT contributors at this seminar...

 

[JT_the_Ninja]

That's a bit far to travel...especially when you don't have a car. Hope you have a good experience, though.

Tang Soo!

 

[Master Jay S. Penfil]

JT,
If we have people from your area that can car pool, maybe that can work for you...

We have had several seminars like this and I can tell you that training with the people that you interact with all the time on the discussion boards opens up all kinds of inroads to good knowledge.

Last year when we had the February seminar weekend at my dojang we had 46 practitioners from all over the country.

Check out the photos on my myspace page...


All the best,


Sensei Jay S. Penfil

 

[Muwubu16858]

Where approx. is Red Lion, PA?

 

[Master Jay S. Penfil]

Red Lion, PA is an hour north of Baltimore

Gene and Amy Lau are the school owneds and they are an awesome couple. Gene's cell number is: 717-887-4598

Give him a call to start building a friendship with him and Amy. Gene's son Graham is here on MT as well. They are all a great group to know and train with.

 

[Gi1]

We work always taught that the ball and heel of the foot are the hardest parts of the foot and so use them to strike with. The ball of the foot is harder to kick with at first but once you perfect it you are less likely to hurt your foot and can deliver devistating kicks - try breaking blocks etc with the top of your foot.

 

[Traditionalist]

We teach both. most of the time lower belts use the instep because they haven't learned to pull thier toes back. also instep is used in tournaments since you have boots. But ball is used once you learn how and keep your toes back on all kicks.