Roundhouse kick

[TKDHermit]

Is there some way to generate more force behind the tkd roundhouse kick? I mean mine is, well sort of fast, but that's against air. But when against the heavybag its like generating less power than it should.

I lift it up straight like a front kick, then twist in and snap at the same time. while turning my hips n body too. My supporting leg is not straight, but not bent a lot either. It's like my whole body is not being put into the kick, coz i only turn it into a roundhouse at the last moment from the chamber.

Initially I was doing the roundhouse like, my chamber is not as tight as the traditional 1, a bit of distance from my supporting leg, it's like not going straight up, more like a curved movement, and the trail of the whole kick is like, it covers a longer distance and telegraphs more[basically anyone who sees the initial movement knows a roundhouse is coming instead of like if i chamber it straight up] because there's a lot of body movement during the kick compared to the trad 1. It's like not compact. Surely it generates more power, but I think it's kind of slow. And i twist my supporting leg first, then it's like my hips n body turn in during the whole kick, like a chain effect if you get what I mean, instead of like chamber then rotate. Never tried it against a live opponent to test the speed yet.

I don't know I just find myself stuck. I know my post is kind of confusing -.- but... any suggestions? Lol

 

[exile]

TKDH—are you going for height, or is the arc of your striking foot parallel to the floor up to the moment of impact, so that the whole force you deliver is at right angles to the surface of the bag?

 

[dancingalone]

If power is your utmost concern, regardless of style differences, you should adopt the Muay Thai kick. It's been proven to be more powerful....

By the way, you are losing potential kinetic energy by clearly twisting your supporting leg first. I would look into that as a first step for improvement.

 

[terryl965]

Power comes from the hips so if they are not inline with your body and not inline with the kicking leg then this could be your problem.''


As far as Muay tai being the stronger kick I will only say this I believe it is strickly up to each individual not a practicular kick, enough said.

 

[exile]

...you are losing potential kinetic energy by clearly twisting your supporting leg first. I would look into that as a first step for improvement.

Power comes from the hips so if they are not inline with your body and not inline with the kicking leg then this could be your problem.''

Good points, both!

 

[dancingalone]

As far as Muay tai being the stronger kick I will only say this I believe it is strickly up to each individual not a practicular kick, enough said.

Terry, I don't believe in style superiority myself, but I do think you can scientifically analyse individual movements for quantifiable criteria like force per square inch. There was a study done somewhere (wish I could remember where I heard or read it), and the muay thai kick came out on top. It's not surprising to me considering the muay thai kick produces a huge amount of acceleration and they do use the (conditioned) shin bone as the striking surface so there is a bit less give than with the heel or definitely the foot blade.

It's not a knock on tae kwon do. Sometimes something can be superior. Muay thai as taught generally has much less strikes and kicks than TKD does. Accordingly, they have really refined what they do and became good at it.

 

[TKDHermit]

exile - right angle, parallel to the ground. so it's like, i lift up like a front kick would, but right at the moment of impact i twist into a roundhouse, for the traditional. for the second kick that i mentioned that i used to do before i started trying the traditional, even at 30-45 deg its delivering more power than the 90deg traditional 1 . =/

dancingalone - im looking for speed + sufficient power to score[in wtf sparring], as much as possible actually. i dont want to just tap. the "twist foot first" kick i mentioned was more effective than the traditional one when i did because the whole movement is like linked and is more circular than the traditional 1 im trying now, centrifugal force? i duno. oh and i twist my foot first coz the mats are frictioned. I've not tried sparring on the mats, but I've done poomsae on the mats, and its damn difficult to start the twsting movement of the foot - to me.

everyone - supposedly the traditional deals great power, but i cant seem to summon that power. its like. a whip vs a baseball bat if u get what i mean. when i do the traditional roundhouse its like theres more "forward motion" than "circular motion turning into the target". its like, u fire something forward, then change its direction at the last moment, compared to like u fire something in that direction right from the start. - thats how the kicks feel to me respectively.

which is more effective in wtf sparring when striking the body anyway? 90 or 45? for the ability to score.

 

[dancingalone]

everyone - supposedly the traditional deals great power, but i cant seem to summon that power. its like. a whip vs a baseball bat if u get what i mean. when i do the traditional roundhouse its like theres more "forward motion" than "circular motion turning into the target".

That's funny. The more forward chamber and kicking path is less traditional in my book. It's essentially a way of sacrificing power for speed for sport sparring.

 

[TKDHermit]

i'uno that's how it's said by gm kang shin chul in revolution of kicking. i don't go to the library. he says that the "front chamber, turn, knee will be pointing to the target, snap, down" is the "formal kick". i don't really care about which is traditional or modern, i'm looking for efficiency. every kick is supposed to deliver a "desvastating force" towards the target. i don't want to sacrifice power for speed or vice versa. Besides i thought greater speed should give rise to greater power. =\ *confused*

 

[dancingalone]

But that's my point, by kicking with that method you are making an intentional sacrifice of power for speed, if you know other alternatives.

I understand your goals and forgive me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are relatively inexperienced. Rather than having all of us give you advice and confusing you, why not just take a quick private lesson with your coach? If you spar in the WTF fashion, that's certainly not my expertise, so I'll bow out.

Good luck!

 

[TKDHermit]

my coach is more of a demo person [demo chairman in the singapore tkd federation]. never heard of him spar before. like probably apart from gradings [singapore grading sparring don't use full gear, although it's WTF style, which means not full power]. It's weird that the top club for 7 years [sparring nationals] in Singapore, our colour belt classes do 99% poomsae during class[colour belt classes are coached by qualified coaches, but not the main coach[the demo guy], like senior students]. Students only start getting training in sparring after they reach 2nd or 1st Geup, or even only after 1st Dan, unless they're in the demo team, which I can't join because of my unstable schedule [my diploma modules assignments and internship coming soon = irregular hours]. I'm a 5th going for 4th geup in about a couple weeks. Not that there's a problem with my kicking or anything, just that I'm looking to effective-alize and sharpen my roundhouse kicks, or rather, looking for a method of roundhouse kicking which is the most efficient in WTF sparring, but not needing to sacrifice power for speed.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Lotsd of practice on the heavy bag. try to go through it each time you kick

 

[zDom]

There was a study done somewhere (wish I could remember where I heard or read it), and the muay thai kick came out on top.

I'll come out and say it: the study is BS because it was too small of a sampling.

I'd like to arrange a "study" of my own and I bet I could prove TKD roundhouse is significantly more powerful.

 

[zDom]

Is there some way to generate more force behind the tkd roundhouse kick?

Yes.

Instead of chambering like a front-kick, chamber with the ankle as high as the knee, the ankle pulled all the way back to your buttocks, and the knee pulled back putting a slight stretch on your hip flexors.

Pivot and unfold everything in a whip-chain sort of movement:

pivot + knee travels forward from hip flexors, then finish the kick with the quadriceps.

Aim INSIDE the bag (or opponent) for penetration and commit your weight into the kick.

This kick use everything the muay thai kick PLUS adds in one of the largest muscle groups in the body: the quads.

 

[TKDHermit]

Yes.

Instead of chambering like a front-kick, chamber with the ankle as high as the knee, the ankle pulled all the way back to your buttocks, and the knee pulled back putting a slight stretch on your hip flexors.

Pivot and unfold everything in a whip-chain sort of movement:

pivot + knee travels forward from hip flexors, then finish the kick with the quadriceps.

Aim INSIDE the bag (or opponent) for penetration and commit your weight into the kick.

This kick use everything the muay thai kick PLUS adds in one of the largest muscle groups in the body: the quads.

Isn't that like some soccer kick? Doesn't quite work for me.

 

[Kacey]

exile - right angle, parallel to the ground. so it's like, i lift up like a front kick would, but right at the moment of impact i twist into a roundhouse, for the traditional. for the second kick that i mentioned that i used to do before i started trying the traditional, even at 30-45 deg its delivering more power than the 90deg traditional 1 . =/

Yes.

Instead of chambering like a front-kick, chamber with the ankle as high as the knee, the ankle pulled all the way back to your buttocks, and the knee pulled back putting a slight stretch on your hip flexors.

Pivot and unfold everything in a whip-chain sort of movement:

pivot + knee travels forward from hip flexors, then finish the kick with the quadriceps.

Aim INSIDE the bag (or opponent) for penetration and commit your weight into the kick.

This kick use everything the muay thai kick PLUS adds in one of the largest muscle groups in the body: the quads.

I'm with zDom on this one - although the heel doesn't have to be all the way back to your butt; the way I do it, my knee is pointed at my target from the beginning rather than being quite that far back - but you need to have your attacking tool travel in a straight line from start to target, and it's not; it's traveling upward at an angle, which is what is preventing you from developing your power.

 

[Marginal]

I'll come out and say it: the study is BS because it was too small of a sampling.

I'd like to arrange a "study" of my own and I bet I could prove TKD roundhouse is significantly more powerful.

This raises an interesting question in my mind.

Is which kick is most powerful all that important? If you catch someone with any technique and it hits hard enough to knock them unconscious, why would ever it matter if you were generating X more PSI with a different technique?

 

[bluekey88]

I don't think ranking kicks fomr most to elast pwoerful is all that useful. A super powerful kick is totally useless if it can't find a target. The best and most effective kick is the one that can connect at any given moment. The nature of that kick will change from moment to moment though.

Peace,
Erik

 

[dancingalone]

This raises an interesting question in my mind.

Is which kick is most powerful all that important? If you catch someone with any technique and it hits hard enough to knock them unconscious, why would ever it matter if you were generating X more PSI with a different technique?

You're right in a sense. A KO is a KO regardless whether it comes from the Muay Thai version of a kick or not. That said, if you're trying to become the most efficient fighter possible, it bears investigating different technique to see what works best for you.

Many MMA fighters have chosen to adopt the Muay Thai version of the roundhouse kick since it is powerful and quick yet leaves you less open to a counter than other versions of the same kick. It is what it is. Sure wish I had the study to source for everyone to read...

 

[TKDHermit]

I'm looking at kicking to the body though. I'm short for my weight category [heavyweight, 169cm].