Intensive Purposes

The Famous Muay Thai Round Kick

I stumbled across a post I made to an internet forum about four years ago, describing the mechanics of the round kick. I thought I'd dust it off and update it a little. Now it's posted here, for posterity's sake.

We're going to assume a left lead stance and you will be kicking with the rear (right) leg. First off, take a step (or hop) about 45 degrees to the left from straight ahead, to your opponents right. Now, your support (left) foot will pivot outward, ideally ending with the heel pointing at your target. You should be up on the ball of your supporting foot. As you pivot, turn your hips, kind of like you are turning around to look behind you, but don't actually go that far. While your hips are rotating, your kicking (right) leg will lift off of the ground. Let it swing, like a baseball bat, at the desired level (thigh level is good). Don't tense your thigh muscle, just relax and let the kick make contact. You should be hitting with your shin, not the foot.

About halfway through the kick (experiment for the right timing), drop your right hand back behind you, this adds counter balance to the movement so you don't spin like a top (unless you want to). Be sure to keep your shoulder up to protect the chin though, otherwise a counter punch has your name on it.

On contact the knee should be bent, and the force of the blow should contact the target at about a 45 degree angle inward (not straight in from their left side - 90 deg. - and not straight in from the front - 0 deg). Again, don't tense up on impact, just let it swing like a baseball bat or axe, right on through the target.

To sum up, the major points - hips completely turn over (the biggest problem with newbies), the hand is dropped to provide torque, but the shoulder is kept up for defense, and don't chamber the kick, just let it go.

posted by Sir Phobos on 17 Feb 2006 at 09:24

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