Hi, Been training about 3.5 years and have never had a problem with the round house until recently. It has become apparent that my round house is not "round" enough and is kicking in a more upward motion than usual. The left one is fine, but the right one seems to struggle. My fellow students have even noticed it and it's quite embarrassing having to go through the technique again when I have always been able to do it for so long. Just to provide some clarity....there is absolutely no problem when kicking the bag. I get sufficient pivot and angle on my left planted foot to generate the rotation for whipping the right leg round. It only seems to be on the pads that I encounter the upward kicking motion. It almost feels like my kick is "stuck" and not turning over. The result is a powerful, but stiff looking kick. When I do try and get the rotation, I end up over extending and pivoting too much, the result is an over extended "flicking" kick that has little power. It is embarrassing talking to the coach as even when we go through it in slow mo, I just can't seem to reach the range of motion he is going through and nobody can seem to understand why. I know my own body and my hip feels stuck. Have I maybe developed a hip problem due to training or is there a simple fix to this? even watching all the thai guys roundhouses online hasnt helped as it only seems to be when doing a right roundhouse on pads only. Bags are perfect.... Would appreciate some insight
I assume, you tell the pad holder to work/keep an eye on your technique? "Hey man, keep an eye on my right round kick? Kinda sucks" "OK" Then they can say what's up, or what's missing etc. You say, it was fine and then suddenly it's suffering. It could be a variety of reasons (over training, change of stance, etc). Or its simply "one of those things". There was a double leg dump, for some reason for ages, I just couldn't do properly for a while. Even though, I've used it a lot during comps, to gain points. Maybe try breaking it down and go from there? Back to basics kinda practice for it. Also don't be embarassed about asking your Coach again...it's pretty much what they're there for.
My thought is what your supporting foot is doing, are you correctly pivoting through when kicking as this will block your hip turning into the kick correctly? As Mushroom said get some feedback from your pad holder. Also maybe setup a camera so you can film it and review it back. Filmed a recent session I had over the weekend and it has proved invaluable for improving technique and tactics.
What they said plus a few random ideas. Relax harder - both physically (trying too hard can introduce extra tension) and mentally over thinking can lead you to trying too hard. Whatch the arm on the same side as the kick. keep it forward in guard, do not let it counter rotate. Counter-rotaing the arm gets the top of the spine to twist one way while the bottom of the spine is twisting the other due to the kick. The opposing twists meet somewhere down the spine. This makes it harder to control the hip and can affect leg angle.
You could be lacking hip internal rotation in the kicking leg. Check your feet next time you're walking - do your toes point outwards? It's quite common in people who sit in cars or at desks for long periods of time. Stretches for the outside of the hips and thighs should help.
Why is an upward angle not OK? What is a roundhouse kick anyways? What is it that makes it wrong if it is angled, maybe not completely parallel to the ground if we are kicking higher, etc...what makes a roundhouse kick roundhouse?
That is not kicking with an upward angle, that is someone not knowing how to kick trying to kick...what is wrong with an angled round house kick? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARcslTlD9eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buxpk1Cw9KU
Anderson Silva did the same thing and he certainly does know how to kick It is mechanically vulnerable essentially which is why Muay Thai doesn't do it as a rule
If his trajectory was flatter his leg wouldn't have broken. We are talking about Muay Thai round kicks, not Mawashi Geri. Even then, the first guy kicks fairly flat, not angled. The second guy shocked me actually, that is not how I've seen/learned the kick from Kyokushin players, and that kick is seriously structurally flawed. As I said, if you hit at an upwards angle it is weak and easy to catch.