Roundhouse Kicks

[Quick Sand]

Just a quick question about roundhouse kicks. I was just wondering if most people kick with your instep or if you pull your toes back and kick more with the ball of the feet? Or do you change depending on the situation?

I've always been afraid of breaking toes or something if you don't get them back far enough to kick with the ball of the foot but one of my friends really hurt her foot last week by kicking with the instep and having her foot hyperextend.

I only got my green belt on Tuesday so I'm wondering what those of you with more experience say on the subject.

Thanks

 

[Damian Mavis]

You can injure yourself doing almost any technique but I don't see many instep injuries in TKD. I have kicked with the instep thousands of times and very few injuries over the past 12 years. You have to kick properly for both ways, ball of the foot or instep, if you want to prevent injury. Honestly I rarely kick using the ball of the foot while sparring.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[fissure]

I never kick with the ball of the foot, allways the instep.Watch out for those elbows though, I have broken my foot on them before!

 

[jfarnsworth]

This is a good question and probably spark a lot of different answers. My personal preference is that I use the instep toward the head and body. I use the ball of the foot for the groin depending on how the opponent is turned. Last but not least the shin to kick the side of the quad muscles. Once again that's just my personal rule of thumb.

 

[fissure]

I admit that part of the reason I don't kick with the ball is because after several broken toes on my right foot, the little guys just don't go very far back when I "pull" them.:EG:

 

[Elfan]

In general I kick with the ball of the foot unless the target dictates otherwise (back of the knee for example).

 

[celtic bhoy]

When performing a turning kick (Dollyo chagi) for breaking purposes, I was taught to do it from bending stance "A" and hit the board with the ball of the foot (Ap kumchi).

I broke two toes on my first attempt!

 

[Klondike93]

I used to use the ball of my foot all the time, I just got used to curling the toes back all the time. Then I started doing more open tournament stuff and began using my instep all the time so now I don't do the ball much at all.

Question Damian - How's the foot and how did you do it?



:asian:

 

[tshadowchaser]

I've manage to break toes doing the kick both ways.
When I used to kick with the top of my foot all the time I developed a huge callous on top of it . Shoes became harder to find because of the growth.
Kicking with the ball of my foot has never resulted in the same large mass. I imagin that it wares off with all the walking and slideing of my foot across the floor.
I have managed to cheatch my toe in gi's no matter how I kicked.

Shadow

 

[Elfan]

Originally posted by Klondike93

I used to use the ball of my foot all the time, I just got used to curling the toes back all the time. Then I started doing more open tournament stuff and began using my instep all the time so now I don't do the ball much at all.

Do you find that you have greater range when using the instep or that it give you some other advantage?

 

[karatekid1975]

I kick both ways. I learned the roundhouse with the ball of the foot in TSD. Now I do TKD and use the instep more, but I still practice both.

 

[Klondike93]

Originally posted by Elfan

Do you find that you have greater range when using the instep or that it give you some other advantage?

Never thought about it that way, it's seems to be a little faster to kick with the instep cause you don't need to worry about pulling the toes back. I have seen some ITF black belts break 4 boards with an instep turning (round) kick (ouch).


:asian:

 

[Damian Mavis]

My colleague breaks somewere around 8 boards with the ball of the foot.

"Question Damian - How's the foot and how did you do it?"

My foot is bugging me but only because I want it to heal fast for my trip heh. It got the hariline fracture (assuming that is what you are referring to) by doing a sidekick in Muay Thai and having my opponent use an elbow destruction on it.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Klondike93]

My colleague breaks somewere around 8 boards with the ball of the foot.

"Boards don't hit back" - now we know why

doing a sidekick in Muay Thai and having my opponent use an elbow destruction on it.

Don't quite know what an elbow destruction is but it seems to work.


:asian:

 

[Damian Mavis]

Elbow destruction is from Filipino Martial arts and is used as a counter to the sidekick where you pop your lower torso and hips back to avoid getting hit while slamming the point of your elbow down into your opponents foot with your lead arm.

It sucks.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Elfan]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis

Elbow destruction is from Filipino Martial arts and is used as a counter to the sidekick where you pop your lower torso and hips back to avoid getting hit while slamming the point of your elbow down into your opponents foot with your lead arm.

It sucks.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

Hey thats prety cool, I think I'll have to start doing that.

 

[Damian Mavis]

Doesn't work as well if they are wearing thick foot coverings or sparring gear. When I got my hairline fracture I wasn't wearing any kind of foot protection.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[KennethKu]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis

Elbow destruction is from Filipino Martial arts and is used as a counter to the sidekick where you pop your lower torso and hips back to avoid getting hit while slamming the point of your elbow down into your opponents foot with your lead arm.

It sucks.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

Is that legal in MT comps ?

 

[Elfan]

Originally posted by Damian Mavis

Doesn't work as well if they are wearing thick foot coverings or sparring gear. When I got my hairline fracture I wasn't wearing any kind of foot protection.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

So a few hours after my last post I'm sparring with a friend and he does that to me. There is this nice black and blue bump forming. :-D

Is that legal in MT comps?

I think you could get away with it if you claim it was a block (which in a sense it is) and didn't hurt him too bad. Then again since droping the elbow like that is such a subtle motion you could do it hard and then be like "I duno what happned to him sir! Must have kicked me with the wroung part of his foot" ;-)

 

[Klondike93]

That's kind of what I was thinking it was.

Hope it gets better in time for your trip.


:asian: