Most Effective Kicks in Tae Kwon-Do

Some kicks are more useful than others, so I'll be walking you through the most powerful/effective kicks that are In Ate Swoon-Do. Let's go through the attributes of a kick, we'll start off with the base leg, the leg that stays on the ground during the kick. This leg Is just as Important (If anything more important) than you're kicking leg, due to the fact that this leg has to grant you the flexibility to initiate the kick and also has to maintain balance throughout the kick.Whenever you begin a kick, you should allow the heel of the foot of your base leg to e raised slightly upward (Thus resting on the ball of your foot) to maintain maximum mobility while the kick is in motion, allowing you to turn in the correct position for the kick. If you need to shift your position as your Initiating the kick. You can also slide/ skip on the ball of your foot toward the desired direction.The knee of your base leg should be slightly bent whenever you perform a kicking technique, this adds to the over-all balance of your body; you will be able to adjust your position easily, by adding more or less bend to your knee, to compensate for the height and velocity of our kick. Now onto the striking leg, first off you never really want to fully extend your leg when kicking. The knee of the striking leg should remain slightly bent. This is accomplished by maintaining muscle control over the lower part of your leg, and not allowing the momentum of the kick to force your leg to hyper extend.Because the knee joint is one of the most sensitive joints of the human body be sure to keep both knees slightly bent, to prevent them hypertension or bending backward unnaturally. Side Snap The basic side snap, is performed by initially shifting the majority of your body eight to your base leg as your striking leg (Be it your front or rear leg) rises up with a bent knee to waist level. As your striking leg rises, you pivot on the ball of your base foot so your heel is facing your target. Your body leans sideways toward the ground as your striking leg is extended toward your target.The impact is made with the heel or outside ridge of your foot. You can substantially Increase the range of the side snap by allowing the momentum of its launch to drive you forward. To do so, enter into a fighting stance and begin by launching the side snap with the front or rear leg. Round. By performing the side snap in this fashion, you allow your base leg to slide slightly forward across the floor, propelled by the momentum developed when your striking leg is launched toward its target. Not only does this add to the range of the kick, but also increases its power as well, due to the fact that the force of your entire body is behind it.One of the main problems with delivering the sliding side snap is that many people will release the kicks power before they are in range of their target. When performing the side snap in this style, it is imperative to remember not to unleash your striking legs p ower from your hip, until your target is close and you are sure of making contact with it. If this kick is done to far from your target, the most you can hope to accomplish is that your extended leg will make touching contact with your opponent. You will not, however, have any debilitating impact. Therefore, keep your side snap retracted until target impact is ensured.Turn-around Side Snap Structurally similar to the side snap, the turn-around side snap is a spinning variation of the basic side snap. This kick is executed by first turning your head round, keeping an eye on your target. You turn your head simultaneously pivoting your body on the ball of the foot of you lead base leg so that the heel of your base leg is facing your opponent. Your kicking technique is then launched from rear-leg position, in side kick fashion The turn-around side snap is a muscle-driven technique. Impact with this kick is made with the heel or the outside ridge of your foot.The ideal targets for the tu rn-around side snap are your opponent's knee, midsection or head The turn-around side snap can be used both offensively and offensively; it can be used as a single offensive movement or as a rapid combination of kicks alternating from one foot to the next. It can also be used defensively as a counter attack when your opponent is throwing a punch or a kick that leaves him open. All-Around Swing Kick The all-around swing kick is one of the most powerful techniques in a Ate Swoon- Do practitioner's kicking arsenal. The momentum this kick can have has a devastating effect upon any object it strikes.The all-around swing kick is executed by turning your head around behind you, to make sure your target hasn't moved, as you multitudinously pivot 1800 on the ball of your base foot. Your rear leg lifts off the ground and proceeds toward its target in a circular fashion. This kick strikes its target with the back of your heel. The all-around swing kick is most effective when delivered to the h ead or mid-section of your opponent. It is important to drive your kick to go â€Å"through† your target, in other words, you don't want to stop Just as you hit your target, you want the kick to follow through.Doing this well result in greater power and making it harder to defend against. Like most kicks, the all-around swing kick can be used defensively or offensively Front Snap The front snap, is one of the first kicks that all Ate Swoon-Do students learn. Most devastatingly effective offensive/defensive techniques in your kicking arsenal when performed correctly. The basic front snap is performed by entering into a traditional fighting stance. You then launch your striking leg forward by quickly raising the knee of your striking leg up to the desired height (It all depends on where you planning to attack, be it the head, mid-section or legs).The lower section of your tricking leg is then immediately snapped outward in the direction of your target. The front snaps power is developed by a combination of upper-leg muscle strength and lower-leg snapping momentum. The impact of the kick can be made with either the instep of your foot of the ball of your foot. To strike with the ball of your foot, you need to pull back your toes, exposing the ball of your foot. Performing the front snap with the ball of your foot is more advanced and takes additional practice.Through continued practice, however, the ability to instantly pull back your toes will become tie natural. The reason it is so important to pull back your toes (Even if you are wearing shoes), is that if you leave them in their naturally extended position, they can easily be broken when target impact is made. The basic front snap is an ideal close- contact fighting weapon. As us commonly understood, a front snap to the groin of any individual is universally debilitating. Other close-contact targets for this kick include; the solar plexus, the stomach, or the bottom of your opponent's Jaw.Axe Kick The axe kick, is a close-contact offensive and defensive weapon. The axe kick is performed by quickly raising your striking leg (Depending if your kicking with your front or rear leg), in a linear fashion, and then forcefully bringing your heel/ball of your foot, down onto the shoulder/chest/face of your opponent. The basic axe kick is only effective in close-contact infighting situations, but it is quite easy to extend the range of this kick. Enter into a fighting stance and prepare to launch an axe kick from your preferred leg front of rear (although it's mainly used with the rear leg).Now instead of performing it with your leg locked into position, visualize a target several feet in front of you. Quickly lift your striking leg. As you target. There are two ways to execute an axe kick; the traditional axe kick is brought inward, across your body, and then down-ward onto its target. The out-to-in axe kick is swung outward and is then brought down onto you opponents shoulder. The out-to -in axe kick is also a close- contact infighting weapon. It can most effectively be dispatched when your attacker has been taken hold of your clothing, or you have hold on his.Then, like before, the kick is quickly brought up and delivered to your opponents shoulder region Conclusion As we can see, kicks play a huge part in Ate Swoon-Do, we only went through 4 different kicks, there are many other (Such as hook kick, turning kick, swing kick, crescent kick, all-around hook kick, all-around swing kick†¦ Etc,). Kicks don't need to be complicated or hard to perform in order to be effective, like we went through at the start, for a kick to be effective in combat, it needs to be fast, difficult to block and able to get through you're opponents guard and hit its target.