The Front Rising Kick is the first kick you will learn in Tae Kwon-Do – often referred to as “The Leg Raise Exercise”.
This kick is the one of the most powerful kicks – if performed correctly, and it will also sharpen your other basic kicks, hence why it is performed first by the beginner. As a stretching technique, this kick develops and strengthens the biceps femoris area as well as the illicus and gluteus muscles, arch tension, hamstring and lower abdomen areas.
It will also help you develop balance and speed.
The practical applications of this kick are varied. Rising up with the ball of your foot, the Front Rising Kick is a powerful attach for the groin area or under the chin – however using the heel on the way back down can cause a devastating blow to the face or collar bone.
Common Mistakes
A common error when it comes to the Front Rising Kick is to just swing the leg without leaning the hip into it. This will reduce both the speed of the kick as well as its power.
Other errors include leaning forward, which keeps your leg from rising as high as it can, and bending-over the balancing leg – which hinders the full development of the stretch in the hips and hamstrings.
Breathing
Inhale before the kick, as you rise up with the kick exhale sharply. When you return to ready stance, inhale again.
