Tornado Kick

Table of Contents

The Tornado Kick is a very fast kick that can also be very powerful because of the spin and momentum applied to it. Keep in mind you need to have good stretching, if you are not flexible then you need to warm up and stretch your hips, lower back, and legs. You can kick the middle section or go for the head.

It is very important to have your toes together when kicking to avoid injuries because we are talking about small tendons, muscles, and ligaments that can get hurt very easily.

You need to have basic stretching abilities but if you want to kick higher then you need to develop better stretching. For this kick, you are required to stretch your hips, lower back, and legs because this is not a stationary kick, you move your entire body.

Benefits of this kick

In sparring can be a very versatile kick and get you decisive points in your fight.
In open sparring, tournaments can provide you three points if you kick the head.
Is a great kick for counterattacking, but has to be executed as soon as your opponent finishes his kick.
Kicking the stomach with this kick can end the sparring match right away and you win for technical KO.
If you kick the head and add too much force to it you might be disqualified for excessive force.

The first part, the stance and turning. — The first part, the stance, and turning.

Second part, the turning and jump. — The second part, the turning, and jump.

Tornado Kick Step by Step

Let’s go over all the necessary steps to do successfully execute this kick, make sure you practice this kick with a bag or with a partner:

Start on a fighting stance with your right foot back
Keep your hands up so they don’t bother you when you spin.
Move your right foot forward and keep turning to your left
Make the turn and at the end of the turn do a small jump.
Add the roundhouse kick.
Go back to your fighting stance.

Recommendations

Do not practice this kick in the air, because the power of the kick has to be transferred otherwise your knee will absorb the pressure.
It is important to find your distance, not too far and not too close.
If you would like to use this kick in a competition you need to have good timing, practice your spin, and keep your hands up.
Keep your hands up all the time, if you drop your hands then when you land your opponent will have an opening.
You are required to have decent stretching abilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are tornado kicks really effective or not?

The tornado kick is very effective and distracting at the same time to an opponent. When facing a tornado kicking in motion, it is very difficult to assess where the kick is coming from, this makes the kick very hard to evade. As you turn your kick gets more speed and when you make contact you transfer all that speed and power onto your opponent.

Can you use the same motion and change the kick at the end?

You could but the kick will not be as powerful as the tornado kick, you could use an outside inside crescent kick, but if you miss the target you might lose your balance and your opponent will have an opening to attack.