The Back, or "Mule" Kick of TKD

[exile]

And they can come in low under the radar, SLAM into the front of the knee or groin, even if the guy is pretty close up behind you. Probably he won't even see it coming.

Make sure your hips stay squared and that kick rises up to chamber and fires straight back, striking with the bottom of the heel, toes pointed down and pulled back to keep the heel extended. Then retract the foot to the chamber position and plant it down next to the other foot, right where it started. Make the plant with a bit of authority, to make sure you stabilize yourself and you aren't tottering off balance or something. That is a good basic way to practice the technique.

If you turn your body too far to look, then you rotate your hips and it becomes closer to a side kick. I also love a side kick, but in this case, the back kick is more powerful and the position of the hips is more stable. Literally, you should only peek over your shoulder and just see him in your peripheral vision. If you look to see him fully, you are turning your body too much and it becomes a side kick.

Good advice, Michael. Part of my problem may be the tendency to turn my upper body too far in advance of the kick to seek out the target; in doing that, you wind up misaligning yourself for the straight-back motion that the kick is supposed to consist of. It's one of those damnable little wrinkles that can take a long time to work out.

I really appreciate all this shrewd input from you more-experienced back-kickers!

 

[matt.m]

For training and conditioning purposes the back kick is awesome. Also, get on all fours and do the side kick. If you don't get strong and powerful legs from this you never will.

I used this technique for the ladies at the gym as a personal trainer.

 

[Shaderon]

I was given some good advice from an Olympic TKD guy on how to speed up the back kick and improve accuracy. He drilled us on getting a fast pivot (without trying to lift the leg to the side and make it a weak hook kick). From there he told us to make sure that our knees brushed each other as we threw the kick. By doing this, you improve the alignment of the kick and eliminate unnecessary motion. That was the single best tip I ever learned and it improved my back kick tremendously...make sure the knees brush.

Peace,
Erik

Make sure your hips stay squared and that kick rises up to chamber and fires straight back, striking with the bottom of the heel, toes pointed down and pulled back to keep the heel extended. Then retract the foot to the chamber position and plant it down next to the other foot, right where it started. Make the plant with a bit of authority, to make sure you stabilize yourself and you aren't tottering off balance or something. That is a good basic way to practice the technique.

If you turn your body too far to look, then you rotate your hips and it becomes closer to a side kick. I also love a side kick, but in this case, the back kick is more powerful and the position of the hips is more stable. Literally, you should only peek over your shoulder and just see him in your peripheral vision. If you look to see him fully, you are turning your body too much and it becomes a side kick.

Thanks guys, I'm going to remember all this and make sure I practice it next time I do back kicks.

 

[jim777]

I looked up when this kick is taught at my school, and it is at the high orange level, which I test for at the end of April. Just one more thing to look forward to! Nice to have such insight into a technique to begin with certainly

 

[jdinca]

Our system calls it either a rear kick, where it snaps back and is designed to be a fast strike to a small target, or a rear thrust where it sticks for a split second and is designed for power. Good stuff.

 

[TKDmel]

Now we are talking! This is "my" bread and butter kick. I'm called the back kick king at school. As someone stated, you should only be using your peripheral vision. It does require a lot of practice on the bag though. I stand with my back to the bag and throw one kick after another, alternating legs, as fast as I can. Eventually a person will be able to throw the kick accurately, powerfully, and as high or low as they want. I have thrown the kick to faces as well as the waist level and I am not really that flexible. I'm a big proponant of muscle memory, and after drilling on that one kick for hours upon hours, I now can throw it both offensively and defensively.

 

[exile]

Now we are talking! This is "my" bread and butter kick. I'm called the back kick king at school. As someone stated, you should only be using your peripheral vision. It does require a lot of practice on the bag though. I stand with my back to the bag and throw one kick after another, alternating legs, as fast as I can. Eventually a person will be able to throw the kick accurately, powerfully, and as high or low as they want. I have thrown the kick to faces as well as the waist level and I am not really that flexible. I'm a big proponant of muscle memory, and after drilling on that one kick for hours upon hours, I now can throw it both offensively and defensively.

This has the ring of truth all right... practice, practice, practice... and then go out and practice!

 

[jdinca]

Now we are talking! This is "my" bread and butter kick. I'm called the back kick king at school. As someone stated, you should only be using your peripheral vision. It does require a lot of practice on the bag though. I stand with my back to the bag and throw one kick after another, alternating legs, as fast as I can. Eventually a person will be able to throw the kick accurately, powerfully, and as high or low as they want. I have thrown the kick to faces as well as the waist level and I am not really that flexible. I'm a big proponant of muscle memory, and after drilling on that one kick for hours upon hours, I now can throw it both offensively and defensively.

We teach using peripheral vision at the beginning, just to make sure the body is properly aligned and so we can focus on the leg. As the student becomes more advanced, we have them start turning more at the waist to get the body in even better alignment and to give better sighting of the target. At the advanced level, you should almost be able to look straight at the target.

 

[Flying Crane]

We teach using peripheral vision at the beginning, just to make sure the body is properly aligned and so we can focus on the leg. As the student becomes more advanced, we have them start turning more at the waist to get the body in even better alignment and to give better sighting of the target. At the advanced level, you should almost be able to look straight at the target.

ah, but the more you look to turn, the more your hips begin to turn, and the more the back kick transitions into a side kick, even if aimed at a target behind you, and it is no longer the same thing.

A side kick is a great kick too, just different.

 

[exile]

ah, but the more you look to turn, the more your hips begin to turn, and the more the back kick transitions into a side kick, even if aimed at a target behind you, and it is no longer the same thing.

A side kick is a great kick too, just different.

The trick seems to be, just enough upper-body movement to allow a reasonably accurate shot at some general portion of the attacker's body, and not one second of arc more—otherwise, the get the problem FC is talking about here to one degree or another. Thing about a back kick is, it's fast, as well as hard, so you want it available as a weapon...

 

[Flying Crane]

The trick seems to be, just enough upper-body movement to allow a reasonably accurate shot at some general portion of the attacker's body, and not one second of arc more—otherwise, the get the problem FC is talking about here to one degree or another. Thing about a back kick is, it's fast, as well as hard, so you want it available as a weapon...

Yes, exactly. and in my opinion, as a self defense kick, it is best kept low, groin or lower. You CAN kick it higher, but it begins to slow down and comes onto the bad guy's radar more easily.

When throwing the back kick, you can also lean slightly forward to compensate and keep you balance when throwing the kick. The higher you kick, the more you need to lean forward.

The kick should be like a torpedo, fires straight out and hits hard below the waterline where he can't see it...