Round Kick Drill for Pivot Power

Want to add more power to your round kick? Then work on your pivot!

Here’s a simple drill to get you started. If the video doesn’t play, you’ll find a summary below. Happy kicking!

Round Kick Drill for Pivot Power

There are many, many ways to throw a round kick or turning kick. You can throw it…

• Standing where you are or stepping out on an angle.
• Chambering with the knee or leading with the hip.
• Making contact with the instep, shin, or ball of the foot.
• Hitting up, across, or cutting down.
• Hands up, hand out, or dropping a hand back.
• Snapping, sticking or spinning.

So, which is the best? What is the right way to throw a round kick?

All of them!

Each kick is a different tool for a different job. But there is one thing that all round kicks and turning kicks have in common—at least good ones… the pivot! So, no matter how you throw the round kick, let’s get to work putting more power into your pivot.

Here’s the drill…

PIVOT AND DROP

Start off by taking your stance. Now, slowly pivot on the ball of your foot… and drop back into your stance.

That’s it! Pivot… drop. Pivot… drop. Why not throw the kick, you ask?

Because when you throw the kick, it’s easy to focus on your kicking foot, and I don’t want you to focus on your kicking foot. I want you to focus on how you set up the kicking foot.

That means paying attention to how you initiate your round kick and how you use your core to power it.

ADD A POP

Once you feel good at slow speed, add some pop. You can either chamber the knee or throw the hip. Either way, focus on the pivot, not the kick.

The goal is to pivot a full 180 degrees on each rep. So, just keep turning around, over and over.

NOTE: This drill will also improve your side kick. For more about side kicks, click here.

DON’T FORGET…
Always pivot on the ball of the foot, not the heel or a flat foot… unless you want to jack up your knee and walk funny for the rest of your life.

TRY A HOP

Kick this drill up a notch by turning the pivot into an explosive hop. That’s right—turn around in the air.

Start with toes facing forward, then BAM! Your toes are facing backward. The trick is to stay as close to the ground as possible, so you won’t alert your opponent or sacrifice your balance. The best turning kick is a surprise turning kick!

LEG UP AND STOP

Even harder, try keeping your kicking leg up in the air the whole time.

Pivot… stop. Pivot… stop. This will seriously challenge your balance.

LEG UP NO STOP

Now try pivoting without stopping. This is a killer!

The only downside is looking like a one-legged meth head trying to see the back of his own head, but this challenge is worth it!

SQUAT AND JUMP

I saved the best for last. This time, lower your stance into a squat.

Squatting down will force you to drive off the back leg and hip. By developing a connection or “feel” between your back foot and the ground, you’ll be better able to explode off the line and add more power to your round kick.

I should point out that some people like to rise up when they throw a round kick and some don’t. Either way, I believe you should at least be capable of raising your heel and pivoting without raising your stance.

So, as an exercise, practice the pivot low and slow, trying to use as little momentum as possible. If you can pivot low and slow, then you can add speed, power, raise up, jump… whatever you want!

Okay, that’s the drill! Pivot and Drop. Add a Pop. Try a Hop. Leg Up and Stop. Leg Up No Stop. And for a real burn, Squat and Jump. Sorry that last one didn’t rhyme. 🙂

Oh—and don’t forget to practice your round kick with your other leg, too! Give it a try!