Round kicks

The round (roundhouse or turning) kick is a dynamic kick that is a highly effective scoring technique in competition. The large semicircular motion of the roundhouse kick offers more contact points of the foot and leg to use against different targets.

A 1998 study by J. B. Lee, A study of kicking techniques of advanced Korea Taekwondo players (Coach Field Reports. Seoul, Korea: Korea Sports Research Institutes) showed that a roundhouse was used in 50% of the kicks used by competitors and that 89% of total points scored came from a roundhouse kick.

The contact surfaces of a roundhouse kick are either the ball of the foot (for penetration and greater striking force without injury), the instep (for more range in sparring), or the shin (especially against the common perineal nerve motor point in the upper leg).