offline taekwondo

Front kick

Tips for the perfect front kick.

Be it for Poomsae or Kyrugi, these tips will are what I see most students tend to make mistakes at.

  1. Keep your back straight. Keeping one's back straight will help make the kick look more smooth during Poomsae and also will allow one to keep one's eyes on the opponent. Keeping one's back straight will also provide more power when kicking as it allows one to snap faster. People who have problems with this usually are not flexible enough and the best way to correct this problem would be to try and gain more flexibility.
  2. There are 2 chambering position not one. The front kick consists of 3 parts, the knee-raise, the kick, and back to knee-raise. Most students tend to omit the second knee raise and this causes many problems. However this problem is easy to correct by just making sure there is a second snap while kicking. Easy!
  3. Turn on the balls of your foot. Many student tend to turn on their heels as it is less painful and easier to turn but that is incorrect. turning on your heels makes it easier for your to lose balance and will also slow your kick down thsi problem can be adjusted by simply making use one is using the ball of the foot while turning.

Turning kick

Tips for the perfect turning kick.

  1. Twist your hips. The most important thing that differentiates the turning kick from the front is the turn. By twisting your hip, it allows the kick to go sideways into the side of the body instead of the chest. Twisting hips will also help reduce the chances of injury when kicking as your whole bottom half of your body turn instead of only one leg
  2. Upon executing the kick, make sure your shoulder aligns with your toes. This is position can only be accomplished if you can twist your hips well. This tip helps you make sure that your kick is being executed at its fullest potential while helping you aim as well
  3. Turn on the balls of your foot. Same as the front kick, many students turn with their heels and that is a big mistake. Many students have already made this into a habit and often when under pressure (During grading, sparring), they will lose their balance at the most crucial momments. Correcting this habit is not too difficult but it just require constant practice

Back-thrust kick

Tips for the perfect back thrust.

  1. Turn on the balls of your foot. Its the same as the front kick, many students turn with their heels and that is a big mistake. Many students have already made this into a habit and often when under pressure (During grading, sparring), they will lose their balance at the most crucial momments. Correcting this habit is not too difficult but it just require constant practice
  2. Kick with your heel. THe point of a back thrust is usually to counter a charging opponent as you thrust your feet into them. thrusting with your heels is the most effective way to execute this kick as your heel is bonier and is at a easier angle to thrust out. However, some students use the balls of their foot to thrust and this is a rather bad habit. thsi is caused when students do not know the reach of their kick and they try to extend their reach by stretching out their feet. This can habit can be corrected by using targets when kicking so as to know how to guage one's reach.
  3. Turn your head, not your shoulder.In the video we see that the kicker only turns his head not his shoulders while doing a back thrust. This is to prevent your body from turning 180* and kicking a side kick causing alot of the power gained from the momentum while turning to be lost. Hence reducing the power of the kick. The best way to correct this method is to use the corner of your eye to see, hence reducing the need to turn your head.