Trying to do a 540 spinning hook kick, help?

zijin_cheng

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Hi, I practiced Taekwondo in Singapore and hit brown belt when I was 11 then failed the Junior Black exam. I then immigrated to Canada so I did something else.

I did 2 years of Wushu, and am now doing Wing Chun, but WC leaves a lot to be desired in terms of cardio/exercise (I hate running lol), so I am doing TKD/CMA kicks to exercise.

I've been trying to do the 540 spinning hook kick:


but can't seem to get it. I can do the entire kick, except I have difficulty chambering the hook and lashing it out at the end of the spin.

In the above video, he posts 2 versions, the TKD version and the vertical jump version.

Here's my feeble attempt to explain my failed kick. I tried the vertical jump version (I can't really describe it so watching it would be a lot easier to explain), and the instructor in the video throws out the hook kick with ease, when I attempt that, my kick is belt level and bent.
When I attempt the TKD version, I do a pseudo kick when a 360 would normally be attempted and kick over my own leg, but other leg that would normally do the hook almost seems like it is frozen in place and I can't move it to chamber/unchamber for fear of losing my balance.

I can do 360 roundhouses, 360 spin hooks, butterfly kicks, and 540 roundhouses, so I don't know why its so hard :(.

I'll post a video of myself attempting this kick in a few days when its not raining/I have a camera, but in the meantime, just from my description, do you think you can pinpoint the problem?
 
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Earl Weiss

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OK, maybe it's just me being overly picky, but I have an issue by calling any supposed jumping kick by deggree of rotation which involves any part of the rotation while one foot is on the ground either before or after the point where both feet oare on the ground.
In the video where he shows a left leg kick the support foot does not leave the ground until after the kicking leg is initialy pointing toward the target, and the support foot lands shorlty after thre has been a 360 degree spin and the target is struck with the remainder of the spin having one foot on the floor. So it is realy a 360 degree spin in the area.
Other wise why not make 2 full turns standing one one leg and then jump counting the initial 2 rotations as 720 degrees and a half turn in the air as a 180 for a total of 900?
 
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zijin_cheng

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OK, maybe it's just me being overly picky, but I have an issue by calling any supposed jumping kick by deggree of rotation which involves any part of the rotation while one foot is on the ground either before or after the point where both feet oare on the ground.
In the video where he shows a left leg kick the support foot does not leave the ground until after the kicking leg is initialy pointing toward the target, and the support foot lands shorlty after thre has been a 360 degree spin and the target is struck with the remainder of the spin having one foot on the floor. So it is realy a 360 degree spin in the area.
Other wise why not make 2 full turns standing one one leg and then jump counting the initial 2 rotations as 720 degrees and a half turn in the air as a 180 for a total of 900?

There is a limit to how much you can twist your body with one leg in the air before having to lift off to prevent yourself from spinning like a ballerina, so seeing how there is a physical limit there, I don't see the issue of adding an extra 180 to kicks, because 180 is the maximum you can twist before having to jump, so people couldn't just do what you suggested.
 

chrispillertkd

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I think that may be part of Master Weiss' point.

I personally think it's a bit odd to add the extra degrees when one isn't in the air. It's basically padding numbers.

Pax,

Chris
 
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zijin_cheng

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I think that may be part of Master Weiss' point.

I personally think it's a bit odd to add the extra degrees when one isn't in the air. It's basically padding numbers.

Pax,

Chris

Oh I thought he was trying to say that you could add any number to a spin and make it a 720, but yes, I see his point, basically every single spin kick adds 180 degrees.

I've edited and posted the link of me failing the 540, I usually land much better than that but I just finished 40 minutes of intense kicking practice.

EDIT: Seems like I can't edit the original post, so here it is:

[video]http://www.flickr.com/photos/95924749@N07/9297003796/[/video]
 

scottC

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When I learned how to do my 540 I realized that while I was twisting I would lose track o where my body was in space. It sounds crazy, but I fixed it by closing my eyes. When I tried to do it with my eyes closed it forced me to figure out exactly hiw much i needed to turn. When I opened my eyes again it became much easier. Another tip is to try and practice your spinning. For example do a 180, then a 360, then 540, spin, then a 720 spin. When you get comfortable with these =try doing them consecutively.
Good luck to you!
 

MikeBielat

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I couldn't get past 360 because of:
1.) My arms didn't wind up enough
2.) My arms didn't tuck in right after
3.) I never turned my knee / chamber out to unlock the hips

Fixing those three did the trick for me. I am currently working on perfecting the 540 kicks so nothing too fancy just yet ;)
 
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zijin_cheng

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When I learned how to do my 540 I realized that while I was twisting I would lose track o where my body was in space. It sounds crazy, but I fixed it by closing my eyes. When I tried to do it with my eyes closed it forced me to figure out exactly hiw much i needed to turn. When I opened my eyes again it became much easier. Another tip is to try and practice your spinning. For example do a 180, then a 360, then 540, spin, then a 720 spin. When you get comfortable with these =try doing them consecutively.
Good luck to you!

Thanks. When you say practice doing 180s, 360, 720s, is that just a simple "jump off the ground and spin"?

I couldn't get past 360 because of:
1.) My arms didn't wind up enough
2.) My arms didn't tuck in right after
3.) I never turned my knee / chamber out to unlock the hips

Fixing those three did the trick for me. I am currently working on perfecting the 540 kicks so nothing too fancy just yet ;)

Hmm, looks like I am not doing 2) either.
And I guess my question would be, how do I chamber out to unlock the hips?


Thanks guys! I'll definitely work on those.

On a side note, I realized I have the 360 version of this kick down pat when my right leg is the kicking leg, but when I attempt the 540, I always attempt using the left leg!
 

MikeBielat

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Thanks. When you say practice doing 180s, 360, 720s, is that just a simple "jump off the ground and spin"?

Start by spinning. Then jumping, then jumping and chambering, then jumping chambering and kicking...

Hmm, looks like I am not doing 2) either.
And I guess my question would be, how do I chamber out to unlock the hips?

Pretty sure the guy in the video covered it in one of his other videos. It was one of the more basic ones like the other 540. (Thanks for posting that video by the way. The guy in it is awesome!)

Anyways, think about how you do a back-leg or plain roundhouse kick. You need to chamber differently for that kick (knee more horizontal) as opposed to a front kick (leg vertical). That is how your hips can turn out and essentially open up more. I'm trying to master this kick:
which really requires the chamber to be out more... It's like while in mid air, trying to get into a seated meditation-like pose with just that one foot (to a lesser degree).


On a side note, I realized I have the 360 version of this kick down pat when my right leg is the kicking leg, but when I attempt the 540, I always attempt using the left leg!

Step through or use another kick to lead into it maybe?
It sounds like you are stuck trying to do that 360 even when attempting the 540. You aren't spinning enough if you think the left leg is the one to use. You need to pivot and twist more, use your arms to torque and raise to help you lift off. The base foot has to bend and jump up with all that motion as well.

There is a site called club540.com that I just joined. It has tons of tricks. Keep YouTubing the 540 hook kick and someone may have that ONE tip that gives you that AHA! moment. Best of luck.
 
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scottC

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Yeah, just jump and spin, this helps you figure out how to turn faster. Then start going for kicks.
 

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