From they ways I've been taught there are varying ways of what you do with your supporting foot when you kick. For this question I'm refering to kicking when you turn your supporting foot: for example Side Kick or Turning/round kick from the back leg. There seems to be mostly 2 ways of doing this, 1 you place your foot in position before excuting the kick. 2 you turn your foot as you are doing the kick. with posibly the exception of 3 you don't turn your foot, which I have seen people able to do when doing turning kicks, but you don't get the hip turning over as well, also you need to be supple in the hips - which unlike me, some of you may be. What is your preference? What do you see as advantages/dissadvantages for either? :Angel:
Both 1 and 2, it depends what your doing and where you're at Sometimes you even do 1 AND 2 during the same kick. If you're seeking an outside angle to increase the power in your kick, you will have to step off the line with your opponent (unless you've done some fancy footwork and have him walking into to kicking line) and most likely you will have to pivot as you kick. However, I've recently been schooled in some Krabi Krabong kicking in which they step off at the angle and have the foot already pointed in the position that it normally would end up in (if you pivoted) and then fire the kick. So no pivot. You only get away with this because you are: a) covering a TON of distance to position your foot (normally switching leads as you do it) and/or b) you have a weapon 3 is just bad form.
I'll agree with Freeform re: placing your foot before you kick, pivoting during the kick, or some combination of the two. As well as distance and positioning I think there's another very important factor to be considered - the floor surface and your footwear. Imagine wearing boots in long grass, pivoting would be a recipe for disaster (a dislocated ankle is not a pretty sight). So sometimes you can pivot and sometimes you can't. Option 3 (not turning at all) I think does sometimes have uses. If doing a short, sharp toe-tip jab to the inner thigh or groin you're unlikely to need to pivot - its a snap kick rather than a thrust or swing. As such it can be very quick, you've no need to move the supporting foot and no need to displace the torso. But it only has use in particular circumstances (ie. when the target's right there in the right place for you to hit it). Mike
i normally use one of the first two options, last time i saw anyone do the 3rd one his kneecap dislocated n i nearly threw up
The kick has to be quick and powerful. Obviously, every attack has to. The supporting foot should be in place at the moment of impact, as well as the rest of the body, actually. This assumes a static position for the foot. So the quicker the better, but it has to stay in place as you land your kick. Before that, stop it whenever you feel comfortable with it or whenever it's the most efficient.
As has largely been said it differs from kick to kick. With certain kicks such as kicking to the knee or shin it would be detrimental to your balance to turn into the kick. My preference is to twist into the kicks, purely because by leaving my base foot pointed forward in doing a mawasgegeri I managed to fracture my foot on someones elbow due to kicking up at an angle. For the style I practice and my personal preference it is easier to twist into the kick to open up my hips.
Well fair point. I suppose what I meant was that it is a particular situation but one in which I do find myself reasonably often. I tend to have a different approach to kicking than most people though - I don't do it much but when I do I'm usually already in contact with the person, so its going to be close range. Mike
I find if you really want to get any power from a turning/round kick/ you have to pivot on the supporting foot as you kick to help put the full motion of the hips into it. Also the thai style kick where you sort of skip/bounce as you kick adds power and speed, and your supporting foot should, at the same time as pivoting actually raise of the ground slightly like a little jump.
I don't think when you turn your supporting foot over is as important as giving the other guy something to think about while you're doing it. Like if you're throwing a jab, cross, round kick combo, the jab and cross are likely to mask the setup your foot is doing for the round kick. Stuart
Good point as always ap the setup will help mask what you're doing with the foot. I have previously always prefered turning the foot as moving into the kick as I feel I can get more power, but have realised the risk recently of potentially twisting your ankle/knee, or in some cases making blisters on your foot if you practised barefoot I can see how the skip into it would work will if this was the case. For those that turn the foot before the kick, do you find recovery easier? When I turn on my foot as kicking I find it harder to recover and pull the foot back behind unless I have made contact with a bag/person, so I will instead skip back so the other leg is now in front. This sounds similar to what I have used in the past at times, usually stepping/hop off to the side and turning or shin kick to the lower abdomen, placing the foot in position first, this is great if timed well as they are moving in.
Totally agree that this utilizes the hip fully. The foot pivot, the upper body torque and the flipping of the leg over are all a result of the hip movement. Do you actually need all of that? Depends on the situation.
