Taekwondo continues to be a hugely popular martial art that is practiced and enjoyed by millions of people all over the world.
There are lots of different techniques and moves involved in Taekwondo that you’ll learn as you progress through the ranks which involve a great deal of discipline and patience to learn.
One of these moves is the Roundhouse Kick… but what exactly is it and how do you perform it?
In this article, we’ll be going over everything you need to know about this famous Taekwondo kick and how you can perform it yourself!
What Is A Roundhouse Kick?
A Roundhouse Kick is a move in Taekwondo that involves you raising the knee of your kicking leg, followed by turning your body slightly towards the target and finishing off by straightening your leg to kick the target.
It is a very popular kick that you’ve probably seen in many action films.
Both Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris are famous for their Roundhouse Kicks, so if you want a visual aid to see how this move is done, you can search for a clip featuring them!
It might look easy, but the Roundhouse Kick requires a lot of practice, determination, and technique to execute, so be prepared to devote a lot of time to practice it.
How To Perform A Roundhouse Kick
Now that you know what a Roundhouse Kick is, let’s get into how you can perform one.
There are a few steps you need to follow, but if you take your time and drill the repetition in, you’ll be able to execute a good Roundhouse Kick in no time!
Step 1: Get In Your Guard
First and foremost, you need to get in your guard.
A “guard” is the basic fighting stance that you stand in when you aren’t performing any moves or blocking.
Guards make it easy for you to attack and strike your opponents quickly and allow you to react quickly too.
Step 2: Keep Your Arms Raised, Get Ready To Attack, And Block
When you’re practicing this move, it’s important that you take your time and practice each step for as long as you need to.
In an actual fight, you will need to do all these steps rather quickly, but you can work up to that level of skill after you’ve learned how to do it.
So even though you’ll be practicing this move alone, it’s important to get into the habit of keeping yourself blocked by keeping your hands and arms raised.
It might seem pointless to do this now, but when you actually start using the Roundhouse Kick in real fights, the blocking will be second nature.
Step 3: Bring Your Leg Up And To The Side
Now you’ve got the guard and blocking down, you can move on to the kick itself.
First, you’ll want to raise your rear leg and bend it back on itself.
You then need to bring the bent leg up and make sure your knee is pointing out to the side.
Lean on your upper body for balance, making sure it’s in the opposite direction to your bent leg.
Step 4: Snap Your Leg Forward And Pivot On Your Other Foot
Now that the kick is ready to go, you’ll want to pivot on your other foot and turn your body so the kicking leg is moving towards the target.
As you’re performing this motion, you want to “snap” your leg forward.
When the leg is fully extended you should make contact with your target. If it doesn’t, you need to work on it a bit more.
Step 5: Retract Your Leg
For the final step, you’ll want to retract your leg.
Once your leg and kick have delivered their full power onto the target, retract it quickly back into the folded position.
Finally, you’ll either get your leg ready for another kick or return it to the ground.
All of these steps will be lightning fast by the time you’ve perfected this kick, so although it may be slow while you’re initially practicing, you’ll eventually be moving really quickly whenever you perform the kick!
Tips For Perfecting Your Roundhouse Kick
Work On Your Breathing
Breath control is very important when it comes to performing a good Roundhouse Kick.
You’ll want to work on your breathing and practice getting it in sync with your kick. It gives you more control and makes the kick more powerful.
Have A Look At Variations Of The Kick
There are quite a few variants of the Roundhouse Kick that you can look into if the standard version doesn’t click.
It’s important to remember that in order to perfect the variants, you will have to learn the standard way of performing the kick regardless.
Once you do know how to do the standard Roundhouse Kick though, you can adapt it into one of its variants and see which one you flow with best.
Work On Your Balance
Because of the way your body moves when performing the Roundhouse Kick, you will need to work on and master your balance.
Half of the basis of this kick is to balance on one foot while you deliver a very powerful and fast kick, so if your balance is a bit bad, it will affect the overall performance of the Roundhouse Kick.
Aside from your breathing, practicing yoga and other balance-related exercises are great ways for you to perfect your balance.
Conclusion
The Roundhouse Kick is an incredibly popular move that is famous not just in Taekwondo communities, but also in movie communities too.
It’s one of the go-to moves that are used in these movies and that’s one of the reasons it’s so popular.
If you follow the steps provided here and you’re patient and disciplined, you’ll be able to master the Roundhouse Kick in no time!
This isn’t a beginner’s move though, so if you’re new to Taekwondo or you’re not sure if you have the skill to attempt it, talk to your teacher and take their advice on the matter first!
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