Hi Everyone
I've been studying Tae Kwon Do for three years and feel i've made big improvements but i am disappointed with my progress in the turning kick. If i kick above waist height i tend to lose form and balance. Can any one suggest a stretch or exercise which they have found has made a particular difference to this kick?

Regards

Darren

splits should generally help, box or either leg it doesnt matter anyhting that loosens up the groin area, rising kicks should help as well

A good tip I had was to practice with an object (On a table or kitchen unit) and try - from standing position to touch that object with the turning kick in a slow motion.


Sounds weird but if you give it a go you will see its quite effective.

another one we do in class is to put a chair in front of the kicking leg so we have to raise the leg before we kick like going over a hurdle

well, it seems to me that if you have a problem with your turning kick, but not other kicks, then it is a problem with the turning action itsel. you are doing something wrong there. otherwise this balance issue would cause you problems on the roundhouse, side, and hook kicks done above the waist as well.

when exactly is it you lose your balance? is it in the turn itself, when you extend the kick out, or when you rechamber it?

Thanks for all your replies.
I tend to lose balance when i'm extending the leg.
I believe this is due to me leaning my body over trying to gain extra height. I feel it's a flexibillity issue, but accept what you say with regard to other kicks which i do not have a similar problem.

it could be that, but it also could be how you turn is affecting your balance as you extend. in the time i've trained, i've seen two major ways to perform this kind of turn:

the first, and most common, is to pivot very tightly on the ball of the foot, the twist the torso, then chamber and kick. the problem with doing it this way is the average student has issues with trying to kick at the same time they are planting their heel of their support leg back on the ground. This usually leads to the weight transferring to the heel instead of the ball, and the student loses balance because too much of their weight moves into the kick.

The second way to do it is to actually pivot on BOTH feet at the same time without dramatically raising the heel of the support foot. Everything else goes according to a normal turning kick, but you don't have the wobble factor you get from the first because you never have the shifting of weight.

Hope this helps out.

As you will know this kick is designed for kicking over an immovable object. As others say kick over a chair or similar. Do the kick slow(maybe whilst resting against a wall). Also concentrate on rechambering and landing the leg back where it belongs. By concentrating on the next part of the technique you won't worry about the bits you are struggling with and to hone the kick, it is an excelent breaking technique so break with it.

I would say just keep persevering at it.

It sounds stupid to say "just do it until you get it right," however if you say that you can do it fine before waist height then it starts to go wrong, then do it at the height you can manage, then add another inch or two, practice until you can do it right, then rinse and repeat.

Just keep at it.

Ganbatte

I hope you are feeling more comfortable with the kick. He are some of my thoughts.

As people have said above, if you are okay at doing it low then this may be a flexibility issue. What I would suggest (as someone who isn't that flexible) is concentrate on flexibility of your upper legs rather than how far apart you can get your feet. You can do this a variety of ways.

Stand on one leg in a typical TKD turning kick chamber and hold on with one to a wall, mantel piece, radiator, etc. With the other hand pull your knee up to stretch. Try and keep your torso upright while doing this as it will help with balance and it good practice for when you want to follow the kick up with punches.

You could also try leg extensions from the position described above. So straighten your leg to the final kick position. You can vary the speed and hold the extended kick to help build up your strength.

I don't usually teach the TKD turning kick straight away to beginners these days. I normally work on a Thai style roundhouse as it seems a more natural movement and I think it's a stronger kick. If you can get on a bike then you can do this kick. I later refine the kick for my TKD students so that more emphasis is put on the chamber position itself.

Take care
Steve

Just to update you all i feel i have made considerable progress with this kick, so thank you for your suggestions.
I have found that with a combination of dynamic stretching and practice of patterns Hwa Rang and Choong Moo (both include high section turning kicks for non tkd ma)i've made steady improvement.

I really value the use of patterns in improving my Tae Kwon Do skills, something i didn't appreciate in the first couple of years of training.

Once again thank you for your help and it is fantastic to have a resource such as this, though my instructors are excellent, i can't dominate all their time and i like to hear different views and perspectives.

Practice the kick in slow motion, and try to do multiple kicks slowly without putting the leg down.