# Difference between side and turning kicks?



## Tryak (May 29, 2008)

I am having trouble finding material that distinguishes between the two..I do have a private lesson on saturday to work on my kicks but I want to practice the best I can at home in between..

Anyway what Ive read side kicks you kick with the heel or edge more like a smashing attack and turning kicks you kick more with the ball part of the foot? 

We did side kicks today with the front foot and we pivoted on the back foot 90 degrees to do it..which sounds a lot like turning to me. Then I read that turning kicks are just side kicks done with the back foot? But we are supposed to do both kicks with the front AND back foot in class so that can't be the only difference. This is in ITF style..I think WTF calls turning kicks roundhouse kicks.


----------



## FieldDiscipline (May 29, 2008)

Hi Tryak.  Am in a rush so cant give you much help.

Watch this video 

Its not TKD, but that is the direction of attack you need for a turning kick.  Side kicks go into the target in a straight line, turning kicks turn into the target.  

I'd suggest waiting and discussing this with the instructor, as you will pick up bad form otherwise.  Practice your side kicks though.

More later...


----------



## terryl965 (May 29, 2008)

Good call, A sidekick stay on the same path, within a fighting stance and down the same line. A turning kick has your body turning either both was with your back pointing at your target. They really are two very different kicks and it takes alot of practice to become efficent with either one.


----------



## Deaf Smith (May 29, 2008)

The guy in the video,  when using his left leg to kick he telegraphs....., but that's another story..

If what you are talking about as a 'turn kick' is the TSD style kick were you  bring the kicking knee strait up as if you are going to do a front kick, then rotate it 90 degrees into a front roundhouse kick, then that's the turn kick.

If basicly you are refering to a roundhouse kick, then the video gives a fair idea of one.

Of course the side kick does not come in from an angle, but thrust outside ways much like a stomp as you lean backwards.

Deaf



FieldDiscipline said:


> Hi Tryak. Am in a rush so cant give you much help.
> 
> Watch this video
> 
> ...


----------



## Artemis_Neetcudt (May 29, 2008)

with us(we do side kick), you bend your back leg up to your chest. then you pivot your foot 90 degrees while snapping out your foot sideways so that when your in mid kick, your legs form a 90 degree angle and your facing sideways (but of course you look where your leg is going)


----------



## Kacey (May 29, 2008)

In the ITF, side kick and turning (roundhouse) kick are two completely different kicks.  Side kicks are performed with the footsword (the outer edge of the heel), while turning kicks are performed with the ball of the foot (or, in certain circumstances, with the instep).  The motion of a side kick is a straight line, footsword directly to the target.  The motion of a turning kick is in an arc, starting with the knee pointed at the target with the foot pulled back (leg parallel to the floor) and then moving the foot in an arc toward the target.

In this pattern (Hwa-Rang, for those who are interested) the first kick is a side kick; the second and third kick are turning kicks.

[yt]kbIcpCJWiYI[/yt]

And this is a different performance of the same tul:

[yt]D333kZ-mYnc[/yt]

Notice the trajectory on each kick.  There are stylistic differences between these two tuls and the way I learned and performed them (especially the first; we don't exaggerate the down/up/down motion anywhere close to that much) but the kicks are clear and easy to see.


----------



## newGuy12 (May 29, 2008)

Those are good videos.  I wish I could go to the upcoming forms seminar, but I fear that I can't.  I have to pay for car repairs!


Tryak, you can practice the side kick (the *yup chagi*) piece by piece.  You can first lift the leg as you pivot.  At this time the foot is sideways.  As you then kick out, the foot pivots ALL THE WAY -- it now faces away from the target.  Your teacher can show you.

Of course, since we are showing videos, I want to link to one.  After you learn the side kick enough to get comfortable and somewhat practiced, you can then do the jumping spinning side kick.  

Click on this video and you will see Good Power from a TKD GM!





This is Grand Master Cho, He Il!  Here is another video where he shows a little self defense scenario.  You will notice that it ends with the jumping spinning side kick.  This is a very powerful motion.  I myself have been kicked into walls with this kick.  I can tell you that if it lands it WILL displace the opponent nicely, or can give some injury to some ribs.

If someone gives a home invasion and you cannot reach your firearm, you can always have this kick at your disposal!






I would not put down the roundhouse kick (or the turning kick -- *toyo chagi*), but, the side kick, for my money, it is so powerful!  You will see and feel this power soon!


----------



## exile (May 30, 2008)

newGuy12 said:


> TYou will notice that it ends with the jumping spinning side kick.  This is a very powerful motion.  I myself have been kicked into walls with this kick.  I can tell you that if it lands it WILL displace the opponent nicely, or can give some injury to some ribs.



Like a runaway freight train compressed to the size of... someone's foot, eh?!


----------



## Tryak (May 30, 2008)

Thanks for the replies you guys have been very helpful. I'm going to be testing for my first stripe on white belt next week. I had class today doing kicks and managed both a stationary and shuffle side kick with what the instructor said was perfect form and excellent power so now it's just the turning kick hassling me.  I have a private lesson on saturday to work on that though.


----------



## igillman (May 30, 2008)

The trick with the turning kick is to turn your hip so that your thigh is parallel with the ground and your leg cocked, then whip the leg round like you are kicking a football (soccer ball). You can use the momentum of turning your hip to help accelerate your leg but keep the leg cocked until the thigh is parallel with the ground and then whip the leg round like a baseball bat. With a bit of practice your dojang will see airborne kicking paddles.


----------



## Dusty (May 30, 2008)

i like to compare them to arm motions. think of a sidekick like a jab and a turning or roundhouse like a back fist.


----------



## newGuy12 (May 30, 2008)

Right.

Also, you can think of the roundhouse kicking motion (or turning kick if you prefer -- let's call it Doyo-Chaghi) -- as a "front kick", but it goes in the horizontal plane.  That is, the front kick goes from low to high, up a straight line.  The round house kick -- it goes from side to side -- along a horizontal path.

NOTE:  This is an over simplification -- there are MANY variations on this "round house kick" -- many!  But this way of thinking may help.

Now, if you wish, here is what I think is a very good video on the side kick:






Please notice that you must turn the base foot (the one that stays on the ground) -- ALL THE WAY.  This is most important, for good power, as well as to avoid injury to your knee.  The method described in this video is just as we practice in the school I go to.  

Now, here is a second video, one with the other kick:






BUT -- again, this may vary from your school's way -- there are MANY ways to do this second kick!


----------



## newGuy12 (May 30, 2008)

Tryak said:


> Thanks for the replies you guys have been very helpful. I'm going to be testing for my first stripe on white belt next week. I had class today doing kicks and managed both a stationary and shuffle side kick with what the instructor said was perfect form and excellent power so now it's just the turning kick hassling me.  I have a private lesson on saturday to work on that though.



When I first *REALLY* understood this side kick, it was during a sort of private instruction -- now, mind you, in our school, there was no such thing as a private lesson.  However, the Sabum took me and my brother (we were the only ones there that particular day, which was odd), and we drilled JUST this one kick.  We just kept doing it, and he gave feedback, wonderful feedback.  Every since that day, my side kick has felt comfortable to me.  But it was very challenging, to do as he said to do.

Also, as user igillman said above, with practice, you can "get a peice of" the target with the turning kick.   You  can  kick it out of the hands of the holder --  FAST MOTION!


----------



## FearlessFreep (May 30, 2008)

FieldDiscipline said:


> Hi Tryak.  Am in a rush so cant give you much help.
> 
> Watch this video
> 
> Its not TKD, but that is the direction of attack you need for a turning kick.  Side kicks go into the target in a straight line, turning kicks turn into the target.



That's actually more like a Muy Thai style roundhouse, which is a good kick but has some subtle mechanical difference from a more traditional Taekwondo roundhouse.

Which sorta illustrates a point on my mind in reading these replies.  I don't disagree with any of the points made, but it amuses me that there is enough nuanced variation between the two kicks, and they way they are taught, that while they are separate kicks, they sometimes cross over in interesting ways...


----------



## jim777 (May 30, 2008)

Be careful not to put full power into a kick that is just going to air; save the full power kicks for actually kicking something like a shield or a bag. Knees don't last forever unfortunately 
And don't put getting power ahead of technique, get the technique first


----------

