ROUNDHOUSE KICK

A roundhouse kick (also known as a round kick or turning kick) is a kick in which the attacker swings his leg around in a semicircular motion, striking with the front of the leg or foot.^[1] This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions. The kick has many variations based on stance, leg movement, striking surface, and the height of the kick.

The taekwondo roundhouse kick, is performed by first drawing the knee straight up in a "chamber" position. This chamber, identical to the chamber of many taekwondo kicks (front kick, side kick, etc.) is utilized so that the opponent cannot guess which kick will be thrown. This differentiates it from Muay Thai and other roundhouse kicks, which tend to incorporate rotation before or during the rising of the knee. The knee is then rotated so that it is nearly parallel to the ground (counterclockwise for the right leg roundhouse) and the kicking hip is simultaneously rotated towards the opponent. The rotation of the hip, combined with the snapping of the leg forward, gives the kick its power. The striking surface is the instep or the ball of the foot. In this way taekwondo differs from Shou Shu, where the striking surface is the shin. This is also called an "off the line" or "rear leg" roundhouse kick.

A similar kick is the front leg roundhouse, or "fast kick." To begin the front leg roundhouse kick, the leading leg is drawn up vertically, then rotated and snapped towards the opponent in the manner described above. The fast kick version is done by skipping forward with the rear leg, moving the kicker towards the opponent while simultaneously chambering and snapping the front leg roundhouse. This method was used by early American full-contact karateka Bill Wallace, a student of taekwondo as well as karate, to extremely great effect. The front leg kick is generally weaker than the rear leg roundhouse because the hip does not rotate as far; however, it is also generally faster because the leg travels a shorter distance before striking the opponent. The "pop" kick is done without skipping.