Tornado Kick

by Christian Gutierrez
(Medford, Oregon, USA)

The tornado kick is my favorite kick.

In sparring it's the kick I get most points with.

Deb's Reply

For anyone who wants help to learn their 360' roundhouse kick I've added a video we took in Korea.

You'll see that it's made up of a 180' step behind turn, followed by a jumping roundhouse kick.

We had a great training session 2 nights ago on this kick. I learned that the mistake I was making was not enough committing to the first step.

To do a good 360' you have to get at full 180' turn in first and make sure your back hip has gone past the center line before you start to bring your kicking leg into play.

To get a really powerful kick (for breaking or demonstrations) you need to open your hips and lead the kick from your hip not your knee. That way you kick at full extension and get maximum power.

Of course in sparring you might lead with your knee to increase the speed of your 360' kick.

Thanks for getting in touch Christian.

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