BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF TAEKWONDO ROUNDHOUSE KICK FOCUSED ON PHASE BEFORE TOE OFF

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the biomechanical taekwondo roundhouse kick (RHK) mechanism of the lower half of the body in the phase before toe off the floor (READY phase) focusing especially on techniques for producing faster kicking speed and shortened time of kicking. The results were summarized as follows: i) motion of hip joint in support leg had relation to the flow of mechanical energy to pelvis, ii) extension of hip joint in support leg produced the translational velocity of pelvis, and iii) players accomplished motion of hip joint extension by providing the torque of hip joint extension in support leg at early time. Taken together, our data suggests that coaches should pay greater attention to support leg and READY phase in order to improve the players’ kicking technique for kicking fast and quick.