When students first start learning taekwondo, kicks often give them fits. The basic kicks that are presented early in training help students become familiarized with certain fundamental dynamics in the body that are used again and again with progress from belt to belt. Though these fundamental movements are simple to explain, they can take months of dedicated practice to master. However, once students have paid their dues and learned the fundamentals of front kicks, side kicks, and round kicks, the other more spectacular taekwondo kicks will be much easier to master.
Front kicks are easy enough to understand. The kicker chambers by bending the knee and raising it, kicks, rechambers, and then sets the kicking foot down. But students often struggle to master the correct positioning of the foot for this kick. To obtain the correct position for a taekwondo front kick, point the foot and the toes. Then, leave the foot pointed and pull just the toes back toward the core of the body. Pull the toes back as far as they'll go to expose the ball of the foot, which is the striking surface for this kick. Students would be wise to practice the foot positioning for a front kick whenever possible like when they're sitting at home watching TV. Practicing the foot positioning will help students gain proficiency more quickly with the front kick.
Though many people can execute a side kick clumsily, to do the movement gracefully, with balance and power takes a lot of practice. First of all, the chambering position for a side kick is awkward. The foot is pulled back toward the buttocks, the knee is bent and dangling out in front of the body. The kicking foot has to be angled downward at 45 degrees. It takes time to perfect this position and execute it comfortably. But after students have mastered the chamber for a side kick, the floor foot must be pivoted at a precise moment such that the heel points toward the target. The floor foot is lifted onto the ball and then pivoted just as the kicking foot reaches the target. Practicing just this floor foot pivot by itself is often enough to give students the edge they need to perfect the side kicking movement once and for all.
Finally, round kicks get students prepared for more complicated rotational kicking movements they'll encounter later on. The round kick is really a wave-like motion that's initiated in the shoulders and moves down to a pivoting motion in the floor foot (identical to the pivoting movement of the floor foot in a side kick). The shape of the foot in a round kick is simple enough: the foot and toes are simply pointed and held tightly in position. The striking surface is the top of the foot or the bottom, front part of the calf. But students often struggle to get the wave-like dynamic of a round kick going at first. It takes practice, but once the fundamentals of a taekwondo round kick are mastered, the student is ready to move on to kicks with more €Wow Factor€.
Front kicks are easy enough to understand. The kicker chambers by bending the knee and raising it, kicks, rechambers, and then sets the kicking foot down. But students often struggle to master the correct positioning of the foot for this kick. To obtain the correct position for a taekwondo front kick, point the foot and the toes. Then, leave the foot pointed and pull just the toes back toward the core of the body. Pull the toes back as far as they'll go to expose the ball of the foot, which is the striking surface for this kick. Students would be wise to practice the foot positioning for a front kick whenever possible like when they're sitting at home watching TV. Practicing the foot positioning will help students gain proficiency more quickly with the front kick.
Though many people can execute a side kick clumsily, to do the movement gracefully, with balance and power takes a lot of practice. First of all, the chambering position for a side kick is awkward. The foot is pulled back toward the buttocks, the knee is bent and dangling out in front of the body. The kicking foot has to be angled downward at 45 degrees. It takes time to perfect this position and execute it comfortably. But after students have mastered the chamber for a side kick, the floor foot must be pivoted at a precise moment such that the heel points toward the target. The floor foot is lifted onto the ball and then pivoted just as the kicking foot reaches the target. Practicing just this floor foot pivot by itself is often enough to give students the edge they need to perfect the side kicking movement once and for all.
Finally, round kicks get students prepared for more complicated rotational kicking movements they'll encounter later on. The round kick is really a wave-like motion that's initiated in the shoulders and moves down to a pivoting motion in the floor foot (identical to the pivoting movement of the floor foot in a side kick). The shape of the foot in a round kick is simple enough: the foot and toes are simply pointed and held tightly in position. The striking surface is the top of the foot or the bottom, front part of the calf. But students often struggle to get the wave-like dynamic of a round kick going at first. It takes practice, but once the fundamentals of a taekwondo round kick are mastered, the student is ready to move on to kicks with more €Wow Factor€.