This is the whole reason I started. I saw a spinning hook kick in a movie and thought “I need to be able to do that.” This page is the overview: the universal mechanics that every spinning kick shares, and a map to the individual tutorials.
Every spinning kick, from the (y-) back kick to the (y-) hook kick, is the same five actions in a row. Learn the chassis once and you can bolt any kick onto it.
(y-) The Five Phases of Every Spin
| Phase | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Pivot | The front foot rotates on the ball so your hips can open away from the target. |
| 2. Turn | Head and shoulders wind around. Your back briefly faces the opponent. This loads the coil. |
| 3. Spot | Your eyes find the target over your shoulder before the leg leaves the ground. Spot, then kick. |
| 4. Whip | The kicking leg fires along its path (straight for a back kick, arcing for a hook kick). |
| 5. Recover | You land facing the target, weight balanced, guard up, ready for the next action. |
The two phases that separate a clean spin from a dizzy stumble are Spot and Recover. Beginners rush the spot (they kick blind) and neglect the recover (they land off balance). Fix those two and the kick looks ten times cleaner.
(y-) The Spinning Kick Family
| Kick | Korean | Path | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spinning Back Kick | Dwi Chagi | Straight | Counter to forward pressure. Highest percentage. |
| Spinning Hook Kick | Dwi Huryeo Chagi | Arc + hook | Head shots around a guard. The showstopper. |
| 360 Roundhouse | Dora Baldum | Full circle | Power off a full rotation into forward pressure. |
| Reverse Roundhouse | Pandae Dollyo Chagi | Reverse arc | Catching an opponent moving off your lead side. |
| Jump Spinning Back Kick | Twieo Dwi Chagi | Airborne | Distance-closing bomb, hides the tell of a spin. |
Detailed tutorials: (y-) Spinning Back Kick and (y-) Spinning Hook Kick. Build the engine for all of them with the (y-) Spin Training Drills.
(y-) Universal Principles
Spot Before You Kick
Your head leads the turn and your eyes lock the target over your shoulder before the kicking leg commits. Kicking blind is how you spin into empty air or eat a counter.
Rotate Around a Straight Axis
Picture a broomstick running from the top of your head down through your standing leg. You rotate around it. If you lean, bend, or drop your head off that line, you lose balance and power.
Power Comes From the Hips, Not the Leg
The leg is a whip on the end of the rotation. Beginners try to muscle the kick with the leg alone. The speed comes from throwing your hips and shoulders around the axis. The leg just goes along for the ride and lands the tip.
Land Loaded
A spinning kick that leaves you flat-footed and facing the wrong way is a gift to your opponent. Train the recovery as hard as the kick: land facing the target, weight over your base, hands up.
(y-) Common Mistakes (all spins)
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Kicking before spotting | Slow the turn down. Eyes find the target, then the leg fires. |
| Leaning back to reach | Stay stacked over your axis. Reach with hip rotation, not a backbend. |
| Dropping the guard during turn | Keep hands framing your face. The spin is your most exposed moment. |
| Telegraphing with a big wind-up | Start the pivot small and sharp. The less warning, the more it lands. |
| Landing off balance | Finish the rotation fully. Land square, do not stop the spin halfway. |
(y-) A Note on Dizziness
Everyone gets dizzy at first. It goes away. Two things fix it fast: spotting (snapping your eyes to a fixed point cuts the visual blur, the same trick dancers use for turns) and volume (your inner ear adapts to repeated rotation within a few weeks). Drill the spin daily and the dizziness is gone before your kick is good.
Sources
(y-) Spinning Back Kick | (y-) Spinning Hook Kick | (y-) Spin Drills | (y-) Splits Progression
(y) Return to Taekwondo | (y) Return to Notes | (y) Return to Home