Stretch Yourself

Common Errors in Basic Kicks: Hook Kick and Back Kick

by Thomas Kurz, author of Stretching Scientifically, Secrets of Stretching, Science of Sports Training, and co-author of Basic Instincts of Self-Defense.

This is the fifty-sixth installment of my column on training.

To read the previous installment click here.

In this column you will learn how to fix errors in two kicks that are often done with a spin—the hook kick and the back kick.

Hook Kick (without the spin)—Correct Form

— Stand with the kicking side closer to the target, and look at the target.

— Transfer your weight to your supporting leg, its knee bent, the supporting foot firmly planted on the ground, toes pointing away from the target.

— Raise the kicking leg up, so its knee is above your waist and the outside surface of its thigh is directed toward the target. This looks similar to the chamber for the roundhouse kick, except you are not aiming at the target with your knee but rather with your hip, while the knee is closer to your center line. The kicking leg is less folded than in the roundhouse kick.

— Relax your hips. Throw your hip toward the target as you simultaneously lower your trunk. Snap the kicking leg at the target, as if to hook it with your heel and bring it to your buttock. Your kicking leg should travel along a horizontal line to generate power and to bypass the guard.

Hook Kick Errors

1. Kicking too low or too slow.

Cause: Poor flexibility or poor balance or both. Practice the hook kick at first very slowly—holding on to a chair, for example—paying attention to the correct path of the kick and sufficient range of motion while staying as relaxed as possible. Gradually increase the speed of the snap and the whole movement. Practice leg raises to the side as taught in my 6th column and on the DVD Clinic on Stretching and Kicking.

2. Jamming the kick on the opponent's guard.

Cause: Horizontal part of the kick is too short.

Remedy: Raise the leg higher before snapping. Practice kicking above partner's extended arms—as your partner spreads arms apart, you learn to extend the horizontal part of the kick.

Spinning Hook Kick—Correct Form

— Stand with the kicking side farther from the target, so in a front stance, for example, you will kick with your rear leg.

— Spot your target. That means look at it before the turn, so when you complete the turn you see the same spot again.

— Plant your leading foot, and turn your body without turning your head.

— Then pivot on the toes of the leading foot as you twist tightly by first spinning your head, then shoulders, then hips, and at last the kicking leg. A quick turn of the head is essential to guarantee a fast and powerful spin of your whole body. Remember: Before turning your head, pick a spot at your eye level in front of you and turn fast. Set your eyes on this spot again. Turn fast to minimize the time you do not see this spot.

— Put the spin and the snapping and hooking action together. That means spin and let your kicking leg fly out—after a few tries you will know when to let the leg snap out so it raises high enough and travels along the horizontal line long enough. Begin with kicks at about your waist level, or even lower if that is too difficult. As your skill at spinning and snapping the leg grows, kick higher.

— Pull your kicking leg behind you after the impact. Do this by pulling with your hip in the direction of the kick and then adding a twist of your upper body to pull the leg down.

Spinning Hook Kick Errors

1. Impact at less than 180° of the turn, and the kick lands short of a full turn. This forces the kicker to get closer to the target than with the correct kick and to aim off to the side.

Cause: Poor flexibility or being too tense. Not dropping the trunk deep enough or raising it too soon so it forces the hip down. Not enough practice of spinning with correct “spotting” of the target.

Remedy: Practice leg raises to the side, hook kicks in slow motion with deep lean of the trunk, spinning with spotting but without kicking, and spinning with hook kicks, initially low and then gradually higher. Throw your hip toward the target and then pull it back. Pull your kicking leg behind you after the impact.

2. Impact at more than 180° of the turn—past the target.

Cause: Kicking leg raised too late during the spin.

Remedy: Spin and kick over a chair or above a table. The obstacle will force you to raise your knee early and high and to extend your hip and leg toward the target.

Back Kick—Correct Form

The back kick in sparring and in competition is done with a turn, although in self-defense it may be used without the turn. When learning the kick, one has to first master it without turning.

—Stand in a natural parallel stance.

—Simultaneously hunch forward, bend the supporting leg, and lift the kicking leg so its knee is near your chest and its heel is near your buttock. The knee of your supporting leg is bent lightly. You have a choice of where to look—either look straight ahead (not at the target) or look down and back, under the same-side arm as the kicking leg, at where the feet of the opponent would be.

— Throw your heel and your hips back, toward the target. Your trunk simultaneously leans down.

— Upon contact (actual or imaginary), spring the kicking leg back so its heel returns to your buttock, and then return to the natural stance.
When in this simple form you are able to kick straight and fast, fully committing your body into the kick, you may begin working on adding the turn (actually a half turn).

— Stand in a fighting stance.

— Look at your target before you turn.

— Put your leading foot across your center line, and make a half turn so that now the back of your head is toward the target—if you had an eye in the back of your head, it would look straight at the target.

— Your kicking leg is now in front of your pivot leg (supporting leg).

— Kick back as in the no-turn form.

— Return the kicking leg to the ground when your back is still toward the target. As the kicking leg lands in front of the supporting leg, you turn to face the target again (this half turn is done in the opposite direction to the first one).

Practice until all this is one movement—half turn, snap, half turnÅtoo fast for the leg to be caught.

Back Kick Errors

1. Missing the target.

Causes: Looking over either shoulder—slows down the kick, makes you miss, and in the case of a hard contact, can damage your spine.

Remedy: Look either ahead (away from target) or under your arm. If you look at your spine from above, it should form as straight a line as possible.
Practice kicking a small ball suspended on a string. Don't look at the ball at the instance of the kick—adjust your initial position and the height of the kick until you hit that ball every time. Practice initially without the turn and then with the turn.

If you miss the target during sparring, then practice kicking a shield held by a partner who moves as your opponent would. Then practice light sparring limited to only the back kick, so you and your partner throw back kicks in turns, with light contact.

2. Hitting the target with the ball of the foot instead of the heel.

Causes: Sloppy practice—not working on hitting the suspended ball or kicking/punching bag with the heel. Weak dorsiflexors of the foot (shin muscles) or short plantar flexors of the foot (calf muscles).

Remedy: Practice mindfully; slow down the kick until you hit the target with your heel every time. Stretch the calves and strengthen the shin muscles.

There are many more kicks, but if you master the basic ones I wrote about in the last four columns, you will have a good foundation for learning all the others. Incidentally, the basic kicks are those that deliver the most victories—points or knockouts.

If you have any questions on training you can post them at Stadion's Sports and Martial Arts Training Discussion Forum at http://www.stadion.com/phpBB3.

To read the next installment of this column click here.

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