just out of interest, what one kick do you think you have improved on the most since you began training?
for me I would say hook kicks- when I started I just couldnt get my body to turn properly and I had no force in it. now, I can whip it out as fast as a roundhouse, with power, and its easier to recover if I dont connect. same with spinning hooks (although I dont really go for spinning anythings)
MT has given me an awesome roundhouse kick, both rear and front leg. My tornado kick and hook kick have improved also, but since I don’t do tornado kicks anymore, I probably suck at them again.
Yeah, I’d have to say my roundhouse kick (I was always good at hook kicks). It just has so many variations and lots of physics.
this might sound wierd, but since we are talking about kicking. anyone have a problem kicking at air. It seems when i have a target, even if its someones hand held out for me to kick, my kicks are better. If i am just throwing in the blank air, they tend not be as good. not with front kicks too much, only with side/round/hook
i dont throw round or hooks that much anyway(actually these really suck without targets and my sidekick is ok, but i think better with a target)
most improved: definetly Side, i can now throw it up there with that XMA hieght…
err…wait i minute…should i be proud of that, hahaha 
Peace 
I will never reveal the wutang secrets.
ok, roundhouse is pretty decent but if we are talkingf about most improvement , i would have to say that recently i’ve developed a pretty decent spinning back kick.
theres always room for improvement but its light years ahead of where i was once.
I have to admit that I could never generate the power I felt that I should have in the hook kick. I can do it, and it looks nice. But I never really use it.
My side kick and roundhouse are strong. I think that the flexability in my hips allows me to chamber higher and that it is easier to kick . I can get decent power from those.
Does anyone remember the guy who died from a broken neck back in the '80s from a spinning hook at a tournament? Now that is the power I want:eek:
Funny that this topic came up as I have been practicing the hook on the heavy bag. Practice, practice,practice. Gee, wish that there was some secret :mad:
Originally posted by ZhouJiaQuan
this might sound wierd, but since we are talking about kicking. anyone have a problem kicking at air. It seems when i have a target, even if its someones hand held out for me to kick, my kicks are better. If i am just throwing in the blank air, they tend not be as good. not with front kicks too much, only with side/round/hook
How hard are you kicking? it’s possible that you are kicking to hard, which is a bad thing to do when you’re kicking air. Also, it’s possible that your balance is off when you are kicking the air. Check those two things. Dunno if either is the case though - it’s only a guess.
I’d say my back thrust kick (dang chang geuk) has improved most, as I’ve learned the proper mechanics behind it.
i would say my tan tio and my roundhouse and sidekick. i wasnt any good at any of them. i would never raise my knee up on tan toi i would let it dangle.. and my roundhouse i could never balance. and the sidekick was probably the best of the 3 but no power in it.
My roundhouse sucks because my hips aren’t very flexible. I only use it as a setup because I can’t generate a lot of power with it.
My best kicks are spinning back and spinning crescent, both of which I can use with a fair amount of success.
My side kicks have improved the most. They are not high, but my mechanics in chambering the kick are better and I can generate a good amount of force at the solar plexues level and down.
I have poor hip flexibility alos, but I’ve learned to cheat my hips on hooks and round house kicks. I have pretty good power on my round and my set-up and timimg is descent enough to overcome my poor hip flexibility. My hook kick still needs a lot of work.
My best kicks are my front thrust kick, spinning back kick, and my crescent kicks.
I’m gonna say Donkey Kick (jump spinning back kick)…
but it’s still nowhere near my Donkey Punch…
Shin kick.
Hmm… I’m going to have to say round kick. For the same reasons that Ben Gash and Sevenstar mentioned. There are lots of variations that I’ve learned over the years. And the muay thai round kick is a thing of beauty.
Now if you were to ask me my favorite kick, it’d be a tie between that one and the sipa (oblique kick, cross kick, whatever).
kicks that got better from 1990-2001:
roundhouse
front kick/roundhouse combo
butterfly
hook/slap kick
kicks that have gotten worse since 2001:
all
Originally posted by MasterKiller
[B]My roundhouse sucks because my hips aren’t very flexible. I only use it as a setup because I can’t generate a lot of power with it.
My best kicks are spinning back and spinning crescent, both of which I can use with a fair amount of success. [/B]
Turn your hip over and cut the roundhouse inward and/or downward. turn your base foot as far outward as you can. Use the ground to drive your kicking foot off of. you won’t really need amazing hip flexibility using this method, and you get a ton of power out of it.
Originally posted by apoweyn
[B]Hmm… I’m going to have to say round kick. For the same reasons that Ben Gash and Sevenstar mentioned. There are lots of variations that I’ve learned over the years. And the muay thai round kick is a thing of beauty.
Now if you were to ask me my favorite kick, it’d be a tie between that one and the sipa (oblique kick, cross kick, whatever). [/B]
sipa is a good one.
Originally posted by SevenStar
[B]
Turn your hip over and cut the roundhouse inward and/or downward. turn your base foot as far outward as you can. Use the ground to drive your kicking foot off of. you won’t really need amazing hip flexibility using this method, and you get a ton of power out of it. [/B]
Word. The downward angle thing runs contrary to a lot of round kicks I’ve seen over the years. But that downward driving force makes it much harder hitting.
Originally posted by SevenStar
[B]
sipa is a good one. [/B]
Yeah. It was a real eye opener after 6 years of jumping, spinning, skipping kicks just how versatile a simple kick like the sipa can be. Love it.
Originally posted by SevenStar
[B]
Turn your hip over and cut the roundhouse inward and/or downward. turn your base foot as far outward as you can. Use the ground to drive your kicking foot off of. you won’t really need amazing hip flexibility using this method, and you get a ton of power out of it. [/B]
That’s what I mean by “cheating” my hip. It seems to work well for me, but the “extra” step in turning your base foot and hip needs a bit of a set-up for the timing to work, ime.