Roundhouse kick in a muay Thai training is one of the first techniques to learn. But you’ll end up not doing it right if you don’t pay attention to the details. You must know the correct Muay Thai roundhouse kick technique to beat your opponent.
There’s no need to mention how important and versatile a roundhouse kick is in muay Thai. No matter whether you are going for self-defense techniques or muay Thai competition training, you must get your roundhouse kick right.
As a learner, you make a lot of mistakes while learning a certain technique. Doing mistakes is completely fine but doing it repeatedly won’t help you during a fight. You must rectify those mistakes before making them your technique habit.
So, here we are going to help you achieve the correct and most powerful roundhouse kick by avoiding common mistakes.

Before hopping into the roundhouse kick mistakes, let’s discuss what a roundhouse kick is and how powerful it is? Here you go.
What is a Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick?
The roundhouse kick is one of the dangerous and powerful muay Thai techniques. The technique looks straightforward but not as simple as it seems. You need good amounts of sessions to ace it. A practitioner can practice low, medium, and high roundhouse kicks.
You can use it for self-defense and in competitions. Moreover, to make it more influential, you should use elbow strikes, punches, and knee kicks along with the actual technique.
Roundhouse Kick Step by Step:
- Chamber your leg. The leg should be perpendicular to the target.
- Twist your hips over and start turning the leg for the strike.
- Use your muscles and release the kick while maintaining your perfect balance.
- Put all the movements together.
- Add maximum force and speed to your kick. The more the force the better the kick will be.
Benefits of Roundhouse kick:
- It is great for developing speed, accuracy, and power.
- Additionally, it can develop endurance and strength.
- It also helps a fighter to have balanced and controlled body movement throughout the training.
- Practicing this technique with a punching bag also helps to gain vitality and stamina in the legs.
Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick Technique Mistakes:
Following mistakes in the roundhouse kick will certainly make your kick less effective and you might end up losing the fight. To avoid such a situation, you should notice your roundhouse kick technique when you practice it. Also, learners make the same mistakes in taekwondo as well.
If you want to learn more about taekwondo kicks, here is a detailed article.
So without any delay now let’s dive into the details.
Mistake no 1: Incomplete Hip Rotation
Most of the learners practice this common mistake and don’t even feel that they are doing it wrong. Incomplete hip rotation not only causes body imbalance but also reduces the power of the kick.
Not turning the hip over is another common mistake related to this one. This mistake will make you susceptible to hurting your leg.
How to Avoid it?
To add maximum power to your kick, your kick should align your body as well. Putting body weight into your kick will help you get a complete rotation of the hip. Be confident when you’re performing muay Thai roundhouse kick drills.
Using shoulder movement properly while performing roundhouse kicks will help to turn over the hip in the right way.
Mistake no 2: Extending Leg Too Early
This mistake is another commonly practiced roundhouse kick techniques mistake that a lot of fighters do. You can even miss your target by extending your leg too early.
How to Avoid it?
You don’t have to extend your leg too early or too much to throw an impactful and powerful roundhouse kick. To avoid this mistake, you should bend your leg the time you make contact with the target.
Mistake no 3: No Arm Movement
One of the least talked about roundhouse kick drill mistakes is less to no arm movement. A lot of people don’t discuss this mistake but having an awkward hand motion can ruin your kick.
Hands glued to your head or moving randomly won’t help your kick in any way. It might give a signal to your opponent that you’re confused or not prepared for the kick.
How to Avoid it?
You can improve the quality of your kick by correcting the movement of your hands. Your shoulders and hands should assist your kick and protect your face as well. You can follow this hand motion while muay Thai roundhouse kick techniques.
Left Hand: Facing or combing your hair back
Right Hand: Use to distract the opponent or right in front of the target’s head.
Mistake no 4: Not Stepping Out First
A fighter should maintain a body balance while throwing an impactful and full-of-force roundhouse kick. Stepping your support leg out is an important factor to maintain body balance. Learner fighters forget this important step and complain about not having a perfect roundhouse kick technique.
How to Avoid it?
When you get ready for throwing a roundhouse kick, the first thing you should be doing is stepping your support leg out at a 45 degrees angle. Also, your leg should be facing the way your kick is going.
Mistake no 5: No Single Punch
The last mistake we want to discuss is not throwing punches or jabs before throwing a roundhouse kick. Solid and powerful punches can certainly distract your opponent and can even imbalance his body which will help you to set a target.
How to Avoid it?
Avoiding this mistake is not very difficult. All you have to do is learn powerful punching techniques that go perfectly with a roundhouse kick technique. After that, you must remember to throw that punch or jab right at your target.
Conclusion:
Kickboxing roundhouse kick techniques are not as easy as it seems. A learner can easily make mistakes while learning and performing muay thai techniques. Paying attention to each technique is the key to success when it comes to muay Thai techniques.
We hope our mentioned muay Thai roundhouse technique mistakes helped you to rectify your technique better. Avoiding these mistakes can significantly enhance the quality of your technique.
Frequently Asked Question:
Q1: How long does it take to learn roundhouse kick?
Learning muay Thai techniques can take 5-6 months but honestly speaking learning and applying all the techniques properly can take years. Additionally, a few weeks are enough to learn roundhouse kick properly. Practice repeatedly can help you learn it even quicker.
Q2: Are Muay Thai kicks effective?
Yes, they are. All of the muay Thai kicks are effective and powerful to knock any opponent down. People use muay Thai techniques for self-defense and competition purposes.