# My first spinning hook kick



## KangTsai (May 22, 2016)

As a beginner in MMA I'm really happy to learn myself the spinning hook kick and perform about two perfect looking reps to count (although without power as my house is real small and I'm afraid of hitting a wall or a couch). My MMA gym doesn't emphasise on kick variants other than the standard roundhouse kick due to new students constantly joining in the same beginner's schedule (the beginner's class is also used as training for pros), so I resorted to learning this technique myself through YouTube taekwondo demonstrations, and practice.

At first when I tried it, of course, I was tripping and falling left and right. Then I figured out torquing of the body and foot position, buy my balance was still off diring kicks, and I felt that all the demonstrations I've watched was missing out on something. Turns out it was a muay thai back kick demonstration that saved me; when turning my body, I was supposed to have my body arching toward the target, butt in. This way I could actually swing my leg up for impact while the balance could stay on the grounded foot.

Now I can perform one!

Moral: practice and take multiple sources. 
Thanks.


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## Tez3 (May 22, 2016)

KangTsai said:


> Moral: practice and take multiple sources.



Actually it's have an instructor teach you properly then practice.


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## Gnarlie (May 22, 2016)

Tez3 said:


> Actually it's have an instructor teach you properly then practice.


Agree. I know people who've trained for years with an instructor and still have big problems with this kick. The chances of learning it effectively from video are negligible. It needs direct personal feedback.


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## Buka (May 22, 2016)

Rock on KangTsai, keep working it, bro.


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## JP3 (May 22, 2016)

1. Get out of the house so you can actually move properly.

2.  While out of the house, find someone with some rank in one of the kicking arts (specifically for the spinning-hook I'd really recommend a black belt instructor in TKD, but there's other folks who can do it of course).
3.  If you are not getting any power, when you try to put power "in" your balance is going to be really off again, so you may have actually learned some bad habits.... in fact, I'm almost certain by your description that you have.

4.  Still, good on you for at least trying to learn something that's not being taught. I'd really suggest finding a different place to train to get that stuff, or approach the uppers and ask them for some training.


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## drop bear (May 23, 2016)

. Spinning heel kicks are designed to cripple people.  If you try it and are then mysteriously eating upper cuts for the rest of the round you will know why. 

So be careful with them in sparring.


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## Gwai Lo Dan (May 25, 2016)

KangTsai said:


> Moral: practice and take multiple sources.
> Thanks.


Contrary to others, I agree.  Practice is the best teacher IMO.

Personally, I learnt my spinning hook kick mostly from watching kwonkicker, GNTm and Steve Vick videos and practising in front of a mirror and on a BOB. I did get feedback from a couple very skilled Korean TKD masters at my school, but I actually wasn't ready for their guidance.  (Specifically, one advised a more direct kick, as opposed to a wider arc.  I was still working on my balance the the general coordination.  The other advised sinking down further then exploding up to add power.  I wasn't reeady to work on up /down when I was still working on the turn).

The practice and the seeing of different possibilities in style were critical to me.


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## Midnight-shadow (Jun 3, 2016)

It's one thing to do a spinning kick in the middle of the room, and another one entirely to use it in a fight. One of the biggest issues I have with my spinning and back kicks is learning my range. You need to be close enough to deliver an effective strike, but far enough away to not get knocked out by a punch before you complete the move. This is something you can only learn against an actual opponent.


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