飛び回し蹴り（基本型）(Tobi Mawashi-geri (Kihon-gata))
TraditionalTranslation: standard flying roundhouse
The Standard Flying Roundhouse Kick is executed by leaping forward and upward, then delivering a full circular roundhouse kick at the peak of the jump, striking the target — typically the opponent's head — with the shin or instep. [1] The kicker generates rotational force during the airborne phase by whipping the hip and kicking leg through the circular path while the body is in flight. [1],[2] The technique requires excellent timing, spatial awareness, and confidence, as missing leaves the attacker completely exposed upon landing. [2],[3]
Standard flying roundhouse kick. [1]
From TKD/karate. [1]
Used in competition. [1]
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Today we are going over the Tornado Kick and how to throw it and set it up in MMA. It is an interesting technique that i…
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Risk of injury to the person this technique is applied to
Airborne kicks maximize momentum; high injury risk to both fighters
Skill level needed to execute this technique reliably
Whether this technique is allowed under major competition rule sets
Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text (Gichin Funakoshi, 1935)
Alias sources — [1] Dynamic Karate (Nakayama, 1966) [2] Kukkiwon Taekwondo Textbook (Kukkiwon, 2006) [3] Best Karate Vol. 5 (Nakayama, 1979)
Effectiveness sources — [1] Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (Draeger & Smith, 1969)
Official karate technique names (和語/漢語)
Established Japanese martial arts naming convention — native Japanese term (和語/漢語)
Alias sources — [1] Dynamic Karate (Nakayama, 1966) [2] Kukkiwon Taekwondo Textbook (Kukkiwon, 2006) [3] Best Karate Vol. 5 (Nakayama, 1979)
Effectiveness sources — [1] Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (Draeger & Smith, 1969)
hip flexibility, rotational hip power, balance on support leg
long legs for reach, flexible hips for high kicks
hip flexors, glutes, quadriceps, obliques, calves
Stephen Wonderboy Thompson emphasizes that bringing the back leg all the way around in front is critical—if you bring it to the side instead, you'll end up kicking to the side rather than straight ahead.
According to Stephen Wonderboy Thompson, stepping with the back leg helps you cover distance and generate more power, though it's a stylistic choice some practitioners prefer.
Stephen Wonderboy Thompson teaches a 540 variation where instead of landing on the elevating leg, you jump and kick while landing on the same leg you started with.
The Standard Flying Roundhouse Kick is executed by leaping forward and upward, then delivering a full circular roundhouse kick at the peak of the jump, striking the target — typically the opponent's head — with the shin or instep. The kicker generates rotational force during the airborne phase by whipping the hip and kicking leg through the circular path while the body is in flight.
The standard flying roundhouse kick has been a competition and demonstration technique in taekwondo and karate for decades. It gained wide recognition in full-contact combat sports through highlight finishes in kickboxing, K-1, and MMA events.
Unified MMA: legal — Legal striking technique; WBC/Boxing: banned — All kicks prohibited in boxing; WKF: legal — Legal, chudan (body) kick scores 2 points, jodan (head) kick scores 3 points; Kyokushin: legal — Legal at full power to body and head; WT: legal — Legal, body kick 2 points, head kick 3 points, spinning body 4 points, spinni…; WAKO: legal — Legal in Full Contact and Low Kick formats; K: legal — 1/GLORY — Legal; IFMA: legal — Legal — kicks are a core Muay Thai technique
Danger rating 7/10. Very High — airborne kicks maximize momentum; high injury risk to both fighters
The standard setup chain: Assume Fighting Stance → Generate Power → Execute Strike → Recover to Guard.
Standard counters include: Check (Shin Block) — raise the shin to intercept the kick before it lands / Catch and Sweep — catch the kicking leg and sweep the standing leg / Step Inside — close distance inside the kick's effective range to smother it.
Common variants: Standard roundhouse (rear leg) (full hip rotation, shin strikes the target); Lead leg roundhouse (switch kick) (switch-step to generate power from the lead side); Low roundhouse (leg kick) (targeting the thigh to damage the opponent's base); Head kick (high roundhouse targeting the temple or jaw).
Used in competition.
Top errors to watch for: Not turning the hip over in the air, making the kick a swinging leg with no power behind it / Jumping straight up and losing all forward momentum — the power of the flying roundhouse is in the horizontal drive / Landing on the kicking leg after it connects, which jars the leg and prevents follow-up / Leaping from too far away and falling short of the target.
The Standard Flying Roundhouse is also known as Tobi Mawashi-geri (Kihon-gata), Standard Tobi Mawashi Geri, Standard Twi-eo Dollyo Chagi, Jumping Round Kick.
