Breakdown of the techniques for each kick thread

terryl965

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Lets start with the simple kick first the rear leg roundhouse.

For maxium power do you use the ball of the foot or the instep?

Do you rotate the hips a complete 180 degreee's or do you only go 90?

Do you turn on the ball of the foot or on your heels?

The point of impact of the kick to the target is it done with the hip rotation at the exact time or right before impact.

Lets try and keep these an open minded decussion, we all have our best way of doing it.
 

Kacey

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For maxium power do you use the ball of the foot or the instep?

It depends on the target - for (relatively speaking) round targets, use a flat tool (instep) - e.g., temple; for (relatively speaking) flat targets, use a round tool (ball of foot) - e.g. abdomen.

Do you rotate the hips a complete 180 degreee's or do you only go 90?

180

Do you turn on the ball of the foot or on your heels?

Balls of feet - I find I have much better balance on the balls of my feet than on my heels.

The point of impact of the kick to the target is it done with the hip rotation at the exact time or right before impact.

Same time. Maximum power occurs when everything stops at the instant of impact - hands, feet, eyes, breath, hips.
 

foot2face

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Lets start with the simple kick first the rear leg roundhouse.

For maxium power do you use the ball of the foot or the instep?
I prefer the ball of the foot. It feels more powerful and I find it to be much more damaging, I also like how you can reach around obstacles, like arms and shoulders, with it. I do use the instep but not often, mostly when barefoot and only about 20% of the time. If the angle of impact is questionable (might hit with the toes instead of the ball) then I'll use the instep, but if I'm wearing shoes, especially my boots, I kick almost exclusively with the ball of the foot position.

Do you rotate the hips a complete 180 degreee's or do you only go 90?
That depends, if it's a fast, snappy kick thrown for speed and precision there will probably be minimal hip rotation but if its a power blow than complete hip rotation.

Do you turn on the ball of the foot or on your heels?
I always pivot on the ball of the foot.

The point of impact of the kick to the target is it done with the hip rotation at the exact time or right before impact.
Hip rotation is before impact. My goal is maximum acceleration of the foot. The kick starts at my core and unwinds to my foot, kind of like flicking a chain whip. The links that are closest to the hand move first, building speed, allowing the last link (the foot) to impact with great velocity.
 

Laurentkd

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It depends on the target - for (relatively speaking) round targets, use a flat tool (instep) - e.g., temple; for (relatively speaking) flat targets, use a round tool (ball of foot) - e.g. abdomen.


180


Balls of feet - I find I have much better balance on the balls of my feet than on my heels.


Same time. Maximum power occurs when everything stops at the instant of impact - hands, feet, eyes, breath, hips.

Yup, yup, and yup!
 

cflick

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I'd say about 90% of the time I use my instep as for some reason my feet like to cock upward.

I always rotate the hip 180 degrees.

I use the ball of the foot to rotate as their is less skin in contact to the floor causing an easier rotation wich inturn helps with balance.
When I rotate the heel the ball of the foot is also in conact with the ground

See I start with the knee coming straight up just as if I were to do a front snap.
But once the knee clears the belt I begin the tilt the chambered leg, aim, and extend the lower leg and rotate the hip at the same time creating the power in the "snap" of the 2.

Same time. Maximum power occurs when everything stops at the instant of impact - hands, feet, eyes, breath, hips.

I thought that you were supposed to look, aim, and (in a sense) strike past the target, not stop when you first hit the target.
Unless ofcourse your sparring
 

YoungMan

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Lets start with the simple kick first the rear leg roundhouse.

For maxium power do you use the ball of the foot or the instep?
Instep, unless I really want to hurt someone. Ball of the foot is more powerful, but you lose speed and range.

Do you rotate the hips a complete 180 degreee's or do you only go 90?
180-degrees. Longer and more powerful kick that way. Also, 90-degrees puts too much stress on the knees.

Do you turn on the ball of the foot or on your heels?
Ball of the foot. Heel should just barely lift off the ground. Any higher would destabilize the foot and decrease balance.

The point of impact of the kick to the target: is it done with the hip rotation at the exact time or right before impact?
Ideally everything happens at once. The kick only has power as long as the hip is rotating. If the hip contacts first, you get kind of a rebound effect. The hip and the kick should contact together.

Lets try and keep these an open minded decussion, we all have our best way of doing it.
 

zDom

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I pretty much agree with everything Kacey said, except that if I am just going for full out power

(say on a heavy bag or a body shield)

I use the instep.

I guess if I was going for full out blast on a person, I would probably also use the instep just because I would have to be less careful about impact.

However, if I was just going for a hard strike, it would go back to what Kacey said: depends on the target. I might just sink the ball of my foot into their solar plexus, groin, side of the knee joint, or even rock their jawbone.

(shrug)
 

cflick

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To add to my earlier post. I pivot on the ball of my foot. For 2 reasons.
~I find it easier to keep balance this way, because less friction as already stated.
~And you actually have a long "reach" when you pivot on the ball of the foot.
When you are bringing the heel forward during the pivot giving approx an added 4-6inches of reach.
When pivoting on the heel you swing the ball off your foot behind and this can actually take away from your kicking distance.
 

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