What's in a name: the rear leg roundhouse/turning kick

[StudentCarl]

A discovery for me (as I'm working with more junior students and teammates):

I see a number of colored belts with poor turnover on the rear leg roundhouse kick, resulting in the '45 kick' or nearly a front kick sometimes when a more horizontal kick is called for. Focusing on turning the trunk and hips, I found it helped to explain that this is also called the "turning kick" because turning is the root of the kick. I see the same issue with athletes who have trouble scoring on electronic hogus--the kick is mostly leg because the hip stops. Re-framing the idea of the kick as 'turning' is helping a couple of them to get both foot sensors on target.

Does that make sense to you and/or match with your experience?

Thanks,
Carl

 

[Manny]

I hope to understand you, forgive my poor english. I have two roundhouse (rear leg) kicks, one is the pit chagi, in this kick the suporting leg just turn no more than 90º degrees, this kick is quick and the instep makes contact the torso with certaing angle, the other kick is the dolyo chagi (full roundhouse kick) here the suporting leg pivots almost 180º enable me to kick almost horizontaly gaining reach and making the kick stronger.

In the dolyo chagi I turn the body complety helping me to deliver a more powerfull kick to the midsection or to the head.

This is what you are talking about?

Manny

 

[StudentCarl]

Yes Manny, fixing bad dollyo chagi is what I'm working on. The body turn controls the power and the foot angle, and I've been trying to find ways to help students grasp that. Talking about dollyo chagi as 'turning kick' helps with some get the idea better.

 

[puunui]

I found it helped to explain that this is also called the "turning kick" because turning is the root of the kick.

I realize that turning kick is more descriptive, but for some reason I prefer the term roundhouse kick over turning kick.

 

[dancingalone]

I suspect the name doesn't matter much if at all. We'll all still be correcting beginners on proper technique whether we call it a turning kick or roundhouse kick or round kick or dollyo chagi or mawashi geri.

 

[StudentCarl]

I realize that turning kick is more descriptive, but for some reason I prefer the term roundhouse kick over turning kick.

Me too. I haven't seen any instructors use the term, but it does help reframe the technique for those who think they're doing it right as long as the back foot comes "round" from back to front.

 

[StudentCarl]

I suspect the name doesn't matter much if at all. We'll all still be correcting beginners on proper technique whether we call it a turning kick or roundhouse kick or round kick or dollyo chagi or mawashi geri.

I think you're right. Coordinated whole body movement to focus energy seems to be more learned than natural in any activity I can think of. Hitting a baseball and driving a football(soccer) ball come to mind.