Those flanboyant kicks

[Manny]

What do you think of those flamboyante kicks TKD has, you know the fancy ones like the tornado kick for example or the jumping/spining kicks.

The teens in the dojang are crazy to do them and they are very frantic about doing them every time, I think they are flashy when do them right but I can't do them so I just shake my head every time I see the kids going top the floor atempting doing those kicks.

I don't see any pourpose but SHOW for those kicks, for real things like kick the air out a BG they are useless.

Manny

 

[Xue Sheng]

All I have to say is you better be damn sure of your target before you throw one... meaning it is standing, stationary and virtually incapacitated

 

[dancingalone]

I used to be quite at good kicking in my younger days. I didn't do the XMA type kicks, but just about any other jumping and spinning kick was part of my arsenal. They were fun to practice and I enjoyed the attention. I probably attracted a bunch of new students for my old teacher being part of the demo team.

But, it's a young person's game. It's awfully tough to practice those same kicks as you age without suffering from a variety of back and knee ailments. (Some can... the 40-something Korean master in my town can still do some amazing stuff.) Given the relative low amount of self-defense utility these kicks have, I have chosen to abandon them for the most part. I do still teach a few flying and spinning kicks against a heavy bag when I want to liven up my class a bit. It's understood that we're just having fun and blowing off some steam.

The tornado kick is one of the easier 'cool' kicks IMO. I dust that one off more frequently.

 

[Aikicomp]

What do you think of those flamboyante kicks TKD has, you know the fancy ones like the tornado kick for example or the jumping/spining kicks.

The teens in the dojang are crazy to do them and they are very frantic about doing them every time, I think they are flashy when do them right but I can't do them so I just shake my head every time I see the kids going top the floor atempting doing those kicks.

I don't see any pourpose but SHOW for those kicks, for real things like kick the air out a BG they are useless.

Manny

Amen, bro.

All I have to say is you better be damn sure of your target before you throw one... meaning it is standing, stationary and virtually incapacitated

Double Amen!! That would be the only reason (and time) to throw one of those. In our style of Ju-Jitsu we incorporate Savate kicks ,as well as, Karate kicks into our syllabus. Mostly we use them to "finish" our opponent. :erg:

I used to be quite at good kicking in my younger days. I didn't do the XMA type kicks, but just about any other jumping and spinning kick was part of my arsenal. They were fun to practice and I enjoyed the attention. I probably attracted a bunch of new students for my old teacher being part of the demo team.

But, it's a young person's game. It's awfully tough to practice those same kicks as you age without suffering from a variety of back and knee ailments. (Some can... the 40-something Korean master in my town can still do some amazing stuff.) Given the relative low amount of self-defense utility these kicks have, I have chosen to abandon them for the most part. I do still teach a few flying and spinning kicks against a heavy bag when I want to liven up my class a bit. It's understood that we're just having fun and blowing off some steam.

The tornado kick is one of the easier 'cool' kicks IMO. I dust that one off more frequently.

Yup, flashy kicks can have a wow factor to both experienced and in-experienced martial artists. However, like you said...for self defense.... to only use them at the most oppurtune time and place. Otherwise you could find yourself in a very bad and vulnerable position.

Michael

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I think there is a time and place for the flashy kicks , but the key is to be honest with yourself and know which one/ones work best for you and in which situation. We have a young guy at our club who regularly kicks people in the head with tornado kicks in sparring and despite knowing he will do it he is just so fast and can disguise it in such a way that it works well for him. I know another guy who is the same but with jump spinning hook kicks. They certainly have a place but they are not for everyone and should only be used if you are really good at them and can set an appropriate 'trap' so that they can be disguised a bit.

 

[StudentCarl]

What makes TKD great is that it has techniques to fit different needs-exercise, sport, and self-defense.

The value of the flamboyant kicks is to challenge your coordination, focus, and balance when you train. These kicks are for skill development and for fun beyond the regular challenges of technique, speed, balance and power. Some of the 'art' can also be expressing your enthusiasm. These kicks are good challenges for the youngsters and the dedicated student to master.

When I first started sparring I down-blocked a round kick and broke my arm. Each technique has a time and place when it's not the right answer. Learning TKD is also about learning what techniques to use when.

Carl

 

[seasoned]

These days Martial Arts are for everyone. You have kids all the way up to seniors seeking out schools. Everything has it's place, and I have seen many a rib broken with a variety of spinning kicks. I was never taught "Those flamboyant kicks" but surely respected them in my tournament days. From day one I was taught kicks from their waist down, which can become a bit boring, but it all comes down to mind set.

 

[wushuguy]

those kicks other than being crowd pleasers are also ego boosters. especially to those who can execute them well during sparring. it isn't common but still possible to use in as sparring match, and when people see it land, it's a real crowd pleaser.

if one can do it in self-defense, then that's great. if not, then no sweat.

 

[Stac3y]

I really, really wish I could do them.

 

[cmassman]

I agree the younger kids like to do them. It helps keep them interested which is a good thing. In our school when our instrustor teaches the kids self defense he points out the down side of trying to do fancy kicks. When dealing in self defense basics are always best.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

If you can do them, they make great stuff for demos. As for practice, I am all about the practical. I do feel that a degree of arty techniques should be retained, so I am glad that there are people who can do them. I see little to no real world value in them and dismiss out of hand guys doing flying sidekicks as an attack against a mounted armed and armored soldier.

Daniel

 

[dortiz]

They work best right after doing three backwars summersaults up to your opponent and then cart wheeling away.


Apparently this works for dodging bullets as well.

: )

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

The bullet dodging and horse disabling only works after morphing. As of yet, no TKD school that I know of teaches a good henshin.

Daniel

 

[cmassman]

they work best right after doing three backwars summersaults up to your opponent and then cart wheeling away.


Apparently this works for dodging bullets as well.

: )

lol

 

[Manny]

All I have to say is you better be damn sure of your target before you throw one... meaning it is standing, stationary and virtually incapacitated

Good one.

Manny

 

[FearlessFreep]

As Carl said, the thing about flamboyant kicks is not that you would ever use one; it's simply a way of developing balance, control, coordination and strength. Many of them are not practical at all as far as n effective technique, but throwing them into your practice routine can be beneficial. Now if you get enamored of them to the point where you are not practicing your bread & butter kicks with penetrating impact or stopping power, that's bad, but as a part of training, they are not completely to be dismissed.

Right now I'm practicing a lot of kicks against multiple attackers. I may never need them and they do make assumptions about relative distances, but they are useful because they make me concentrate on my own balance and foot positioning in transitioning from one kick to another so they are valuable in that respect

 

[Touch Of Death]

Flamboyant kicks make you boyant.
sean

 

[blindsage]

I used to do Kyokushin Karate years ago and there weren't any really flashy kicks taught, but I got it into my head that I wanted to do jump back spinning (crescent) kicks. My teachers were like, fine if you want to, but we're going to make you learn to use them for real. I had to do medium contact sparring drills where the only attack I was allowed to used was that kick. I got pretty good with it. But I didn't use it all the time in regular sparring, and when I did it didn't always work, but I made it work often enough that I learned a lot of respect for that kind of kick in the hands (or feet :ultracool) of a trained individual. I don't train that way any more and the style I do now doesn't even remotely train for high flying kicks, but that training increased my awareness, respect, and ability to deal with that kind of technique. People can talk a lot of smack, but nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a TKD jumping back kick, or at least they don't want to twice .