Which Martial Arts Roundhouse Kick is Best?

Here we share experiences and perspectives on the technical differences between the 3 round kicks, having personally transitioned from Taekwondo, to Muay Thai, and then to Kyokushin.

There is no one all around superior kick, there are advantages and disadvantages to them all, and much depends on the context!

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00:00 Intro
00:30 Distance
00:49 Force & Technique Breakdown
02:01 Combination Striking
03:04 Summary

[SaikouKarate]

Disclaimer:

I don't claim to be an expert in all these different styles, having crosstrained for a few years in them though I feel gives enough perspective to comment on some of the differences I noticed.
Even within a single martial art people can throw a kick very differently so there are some broad generalizations made here!
If this is not how the kick looks like at your gym, it would be interesting to know the difference!

Please share!👊

Thank you for watching!

[mortalkomment]

I always love those Kyokushin head kicks from a close distance. That's an art in itself.

[geogbabms]

Young man
You explained it perfectly. I practiced all 3 arts. Being doing martial arts over 40 years. The truth is all of these round kicks are good. It is not about the kick it is about the proper application. I have used all three round kicks. The sparring rules will determine the application and dynamics of each kick. A square stance is very inefficient in tkd fighting just as tkd bladed stance is extremely inefficient when fighting under rules permitting low kicks.

[JackHanma]

Even in your muay Thai kick your kick in a Japanese way.
In muay Thai the engagement and the pivot are even more amplified. When you hit your opponent the leg is bent and you're about 45° angle.
Each of these kicks has its own utility and are integrated in its own system.
But I still think that it is better to learn how to master all of these.
Karate roundhouse is more versatile Muay Thai is more powerful and Tkd is quicker.
I would add that tkd kick could be effective for combos but more as starter from further away.

[prvtthd]

Maybe a good note that there are many more variations like the "sitting" round house that comes up and where you don't turn your hips over as much. Joseph Valtellini uses this one alot through combinations as well as Jin Kazama from Tekken. Different kicks for different situations.

[wingoreviewsboxingandmma]

I like the Kyokushin style out of these 3 the best, but it's good to have all 3 in your arsenal regardless because you'll run into situations where any of these options may be the best at that point in time

[v.rucciinkmusic]

As far as I can remember you have three variations of Taekwondo roundhouse in terms of contact areas for kicks, you can use the instep, the ball of the foot or the shin. The area you use depends on your target and the range you're starting from. You can learn about the variations in the docs, but the one with the instep is obviously the best known.

[adoublelastname]

For taekwondo, because it is long range in sport fighting, the combinations are kicking combinations, not kicking and punching combinations. So, a TKD stylist would drop or rechamber the kicking leg and do another kick with the same leg or spin and do a spinning whip kick or tornado kick. Other than that point, this is a good comparison.

[alvaroprietotorres]

Kyokushin is so powerful and balanced. In this demostration looks like the best. The 3 styles are probably in top 5 of the best styles. I practice Taekwondo Itf for 1 year and one of my best friends became 3 dan of Karate Kyokushin one week ago. I see very useful that his kicks are good and powerful in all ranks

[Docinaplane]

Nice comparison. For me, the movement of the opponent makes all the difference, to which kick I hopefully, would use.

[ellefsensbarmyarmy]

Interessant video.
I dont necessarily agree that the MT kick is the most telegraphed. It’s easy to think that due to the step, but a step don’t mean that there’s a roundhouse kick coming next. The same step comes before a low kick, a knee, an elbow strike etc. Also the kick often comes at the end of a combination.
Even though the step is a big part of the MT kick, it’s not always used. The kick can be used at close range, or different angles, without the step, and quite often you can see a combo of a step-in lead jap/hook directly followed by a kick without an extra step. Sort of the same thing is also executed with a cross before the kick.
I agree that that a kick where you commit like in MT is higher risk than a snap kick. There’s obviously a trade off between power and effect on one side, and risk on the other. That being said, one of the most impressive feature of a elite level MT fighters is their balance and composure when they either miss their kick or it gets caught.
On a final note I would like to add that if you changed your gi for a MT shorts you would instantly kick harder and look way more sexy.

[joedasilva]

Excellent video! Would love one featuring a front kick comparison of these same styles.

[brekdakbanchamek]

This Has Got to be The Most Underrated Kicks Comparison with legimate comparison to each other.
Btw The Reason For Leaning back while kicking in Taekwondo is to Avoid Head Kick Counterattacks in Taekwondo Tournaments
Muay Thai Literally has the Most Devastating Roundhouse Kick out there the only thing is that It's Very Risky once it Misses it's Target
Kyokushin Mawashi Geris are quite solid and practical for Having shin as a weapon although it's Have a Very retraining posture Out there sadly
Every Kicks Has It's Own Pros and Cons People Hope you Understand That!!!😊🌄😇💖💯

[YousifSaif]

Allow me to share my opinion, the Muay Thai kick is not actually a Muay Thai kick in this video it's done in a different way. I believe all the kicks are performed in a Kyokushin way while I believe the Kyokushin close-range high kick is the best among all styles while the MT middle kick is the most powerful if it's implemented in the right way. but overall it's great if you can have the skills of the Kyokushin in close range and the Muay Thai in the medium range with the speed of Taekwondo. Osu!!

[josephwilson]

Keep up the good content!!
I learned a lot from this video and those were some beautiful kicks!!
OSU!!!

[김갈리]

It looks you are pretty skillful that you can perform another style's kick too. Keep it up!

[alexpfeifle]

I’m a Taekwondo master and I say this analysis checks out. My roundhouse kick personally often comes out like Muay Thai through trial and error when I am kicking hard and Taekwondo when I am kicking fast or further away. Olympic rules for Taekwondo have made it a game of kicking hence why the kicks don’t combo well with punching.

[alexh]

Kyokushin kicks without the instep can catch so many opponents off guard. Especially if the fight is close together. Deadly.

[moisesmiranda]

I'm practitioner of Taekwondo (WT) and Kyokushin, i gotta taekwondo and Kyokushin are 70 -80 % the same. Even old school taekwondo one, the powerful era of WT kicks are even more similar and this is due to the only way to knockout someone by striking its head is using a kick in both styles.

[CarlyDayDay]

I don't know if I agree, but I probably don't have a roundhouse kick that fits neatly into any particular style, so I guess I can't really say. I developed a habit of turning all the way though my kicks from muay thai that was frowned upon when I went back to doing taekwondo. That was the biggest difference for me, but I'm unorthodox either way.