Basic kick - back hook

The back hook is a kick usually seen as a counter-attacking kick but of course there are exceptions depending on how fast and skilful the player is. I have once saw a former sea games champion did a back hook as a attacking kick and it was so fast that it got the opponent's face.

The higher level of back hook is the jumping back hook or step back hook or it could even be 540 degrees back hook which is performed usually in demostration. A nicely executed back hook is a beautiful kick and it can also be a strong knock-out kick.
In the heavy weight Athens olympics game, Korean player Moon Dae Sung executed a jumping back hook and knock out the much taller and bigger Greece player in the second round and won the olympics gold medal.

One have to generate power at the waist while spinning and quickly extend the leg for the strike.

Scoring is a different matter

Kicking hard does not guarantee a score though however it does create an impression that you are not to beckon with. But ultimately, whoever can scores wins the game. It just takes one to give a clear shot and secured the point and no matter how hard you kick unless you can produced a clear shot, you will still lose. To produced a clear shot, one's kick have to be accurate to get the correct contact point to generate a loud sharp sound.


That is a point. A hard kick however that does not produced the sound will not be a point. Sometimes perhaps points might be given for great impact that caused the opponent to stagger but referees on other locations of the court might not see it clearly and therefore no points given.

A sharp sound can be heard instead from all places.

Basic kick - back thrust

The back thrust is sometimes quite commonly used and can be a good attacking and counter-attacking kick. Its power that can be generated from this kick is rather great as mentioned in side kick technique as well.

Basic kick - side kick

Side kick is a kick that can generate great power like the back thrust as you can use your body weight to achieve this power. If you were to see bruce lee in action like in his movie without special effects, his side kick can make a person leap off from the ground.

By the way, it was said that bruce lee's kicks were kind of adapted from Taekwondo as he onced exchange techniques with a Taekwondo master and was impressed by the effectiveness of the Taekwondo style of kickings.

The side kick can also be used a check kick to stop the motion or kick of an opponent.

Basic kick - Turning kick

Turning kick, the kick that is most commonly used in sparring is also known as the most versatile kick as it can be used as a attacking technique as well as a counter-attacking technique.

It is also interesting to know there are different variations of this kick as some prefer to twist their hip more so to generate more power or flow. But the basic principle is still the same. There is also a 45 degrees turning kick where you only twist 45 degrees to execute it. In some places, it is referred as front kick as mentioned before, the basic front kick is not commonly used.

Advantage of a 45 degrees turning kick would be faster to execute but less power compared to the 90 degrees turning kick or rather commonly known as the turning kick where you really utilizes the hip to generate maximum power from this kick. 90 degrees would mean that your leg got to be lock at 90 degrees perpendicular to the ground before executing the snapping motion of the kick. Some people can win the tournament just by using turning kick without using other kicks. But of course other kicks are important too because they can be extremely effective.