Right now I'm into the back kick. It's interesting how infrequently I see it used, much less used well, in sparring in practices and tournaments. When I study rear-leg round kick, I'm noticing the amount of hip turn involved and how that power transfers...and the role of posture in preserving that power by keeping the body on an axis.
With back kick the amount of hip turn is similar, maybe even less. My round kick is so much faster than my back kick that I'm working on a tight, quick hip-centered motion with good posture. As that's coming together, my back kick is starting to get quicker and more precise. Ultimately I want to be able to mix it interchangeably when sparring, like I do better right now with my fast kick and round kick. I want to transfer the power and speed from hip to heel.
As much as everything for sparring is coming back to posture, balance and footwork, I'm starting to focus in on what I'm doing with my hips and how. When it's right, it's fast and powerful...feels really good. And the look when you tag someone with a good back kick: PRICELESS. (That's the "OH $%&%, don't do that again" look.)
I'm doing the back kick in combos with other kicks and playing a little with double and triple back kicks. I'd love to get good enough to get some good points with it in tournaments. Having a dangerous back kick would make me more unpredictable, opening more windows for other kicks.
Carl