Mawashi-geri 回し蹴り
Roundhouse kick
The technique, and its job.
A circular kick travelling from the outside inward to the ribs, the body or the head, delivered with the instep or the ball of the foot. It is the most-used kick in competition kumite because it curves around a guard that a straight kick would run into.
Application. The principal kicking attack of competition kumite, curving around the guard to the ribs or head, and equally useful as the second technique after a hand attack has drawn the guard.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Chamber
- The knee lifts to the side and points at the target; the lower leg is folded back and hangs loose.
- Supporting foot
- Pivots until the heel points at, or past, the target. Insufficient pivot is what limits the height and strains the supporting knee.
- Hips
- Rotate over the supporting leg and drive through — the hip, not the leg, throws this kick.
- Trajectory
- A horizontal arc from outside to inside.
- Extension
- The lower leg whips out from the knee at the last moment.
- Target
- Thigh, ribs, side of the head.
- Contact surface
- The instep — haisoku — or the ball of the foot where the rules and the target require it.
- Retraction
- Fold the lower leg straight back to the chamber and set the foot down under control.
- Balance
- The supporting leg stays slightly bent; the torso leans away only as far as the height demands.
- Guard
- Both hands stay up. The commonest counter to a roundhouse is a straight punch through the gap the dropped hand leaves.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- The support-foot pivot governs everything: the height available, the power delivered and the safety of the knee.
- The knee points at the target before the leg extends. That is what makes the kick arrive from an angle the guard is not covering.
- It is thrown by the hip rotating over the supporting leg.
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Naming a fault teaches nobody. Each one below carries why it happens and what corrects it.
Why it happens. Rushing the kick, or weak ankle mobility.
The fix. Slow repetitions with the pivot exaggerated, then at speed.
Why it happens. Skipping the chamber.
The fix. Chamber, hold, then extend. Repeat until the chamber is automatic.
Why it happens. Using the arm for balance.
The fix. Kick with a partner ready to counter the moment the hand drops.
Drills
- Chamber and hold, checking the knee points at the target.
- Pad work at three heights — thigh, ribs, head — in one set.
- Front-leg mawashi from kamae, with no preparatory weight shift.
Where it appears.
Kihon is the vocabulary, kata is the literature, kumite is the conversation. Every link below was written down deliberately; none of it was inferred from a name matching.
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Unsu Cloud hands
- Attacking in kumite Attack selection and delivery
- Combination attack Combination technique
- Jiyu kumite Free sparring
- Mae-geri Front kick
- Yoko-geri keage Side snap kick
- Yoko-geri kekomi Side thrust kick
- Ushiro-geri Back kick
- Ura-mawashi-geri Reverse roundhouse kick, hook kick
- Mikazuki-geri Crescent kick
- Fumikomi Stamping kick
Mawashi-geri appears in these shapes.
These are conceptual families, not MMAKF grading combinations. The federation has approved no combination list, and none is invented here.
- Lead hand into kick — Draw the guard up, then attack the level it has left.
- Hand, kick, hand — Move the guard twice and finish where it is not.
The Japanese, explained.
- Mawashi-geri 回し蹴り
- Roundhouse kick. A circular kick from outside to inside, delivered with the instep or ball of the foot. The most-used kick in competition.
- Haisoku 背足
- Instep. The top of the foot, toes pointed. The usual contact surface for a roundhouse kick.