360 Crescent kick

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The 360 Crescent is a Martial Arts kick that received its name from the motion of the kick itself. The practitioner jumps into the air and executes a 360 degree turn while keeping his or her body perpendicular to the ground. As soon as the kicker leaves the ground the kicking leg should be extended as high as possible. The kicking leg should remain unbent. The kicking leg will be the right leg if the practitioner is spinning to the right or the left leg if the practitioner is spinning to the left.

[edit] Variations

The different variations depend solely on the position of the hips and the direction the toes of the kicking foot are pointing. The mechanics to all the variations are basically unchanged from what is described above.

• 360 Crescent

  Here the toes are pointing either directly up or straight forward. If aiming for a target, the target is hit with either the blade of foot (outer edge from heel to pinky toe) or with the side of the heel. The hips rotate completely around, generating a good amount of power and speed, however the reach is somewhat shortened by the position of the body.

• 360 Hook

  Here the toes are pointing in the direction opposite of the direction the heel of the foot is moving. If aiming for a target, the target would be hit with the heel of the foot, maybe the flat of the foot depending on the material of the target. The hips do not rotate as much a crescent, but it is easier to obtain farther reach this way. Because of the way the hips rotate, the body bends towards the direction opposite of the kick, sometimes making it difficult for beginners to maintain balance on the landing.

• 360 to the Splits

  All variations of the 360 can be landed in the splits, however the more the hips rotate, the easier it is to set it up. Once the kicking leg has executed the kick, it is swung back while the other leg is maneuvered forward.

• 360 Gyro

  This is simply a normal 360 kick where an additional 360 degrees of spinning is executed after the kick, effectively spinning 720 degrees. A 360 Gyro is normally executed as a crescent, mainly because of the easier rotation of the hips after the kick. This is comparable to a 720 kick.

• 720 Crescent (Also known as simply a 720)

  This is very similar to a 360 gyro in that the degree of rotation is the same. The main difference is that the spinning is executed first, then kick is thrown out (which is normally a hook kick due the smaller amount of rotation needed). Many tricksters execute a 720 cheat or a 540 wheel in place of this move due to the extra amount of rotation needed.