540 crescent tutorial

Negative.


So let us begin. Just like the 540 tornado kick we are going to step through keeping our eyes on our target.


I like to bring my leg up slightly higher than most but it's a simple matter of preference. Keeping your arms high is important for the spinning momentum required by the technique, I find that extending them early helps me rip through in the trick for a better result.


If you view my 540 tutorial and compare it to this one, you'll find the take off is extremely similar. Here we are digging down and will soon perform a slight punch takeoff with our base leg.


My right arm in this slide is reaching from the top and will rip down low and back up. *Yawn* I'm tired of referencing the 540 kick takeoff, but one last note: Look at the direction my feet are pointing at takeoff.


Okay I have destroyed the undead scourge's alter of darkness, they can no longer revive their hero so I can attack on a full frontal assault without worry of being crushed by their high level death knight. Ummmmm... yeah.. This is self explanatory. Still ripping my arms through and pushing off with the base leg while pulling your first leg around (which is inevitably going to kick). Use your shoulders/arms/and visionary focus in unison to LAUNCH YOU UP!


Okay this is the cool part of the move. Swing that shit UP! Arms UP - Knee UP - body straight UP. Throw that shit up there and stall! STALL!


The first spin in a 540 crescent really feels like a loop. What you want to do is get that kicking leg going across all the way through, you want to reach over with your shoulders and get the hands UP like a 540 kick, pause, then bring them through into said loop and spin. Why stall? Because you get UP then you immediately throw that shit one more turn. This all happens VERY quickly. The transition between the stall and the continuation of the spin all the way through happens with such speed and subtleness, some might argue it doesn't exist, but it does! Look at the previous slide!


This is beginning to look strange isn't it. Why am I still looking at my target? It works the same way the legs work on the double leg. They stall to the point where they MUST catch back up and fling through, in this move - I'm looking towards the front and the body continues getting around, then all of a sudden WHIP the head and shoulders throw a violent turn, you can imagine throwing an elbow strike, but the last turn is just a sharp jab.


Pump! Now we are edging that final torque and looping inside.


The kick starts here! I swear, the last spin isn't much of a spin, it's just a brutally sharp elbow over.


Get your eyes back on the target and bring that kick around.


This kick is just about done.


*KICK*


Follow the kick through and keep your eyes on your target. The feel of your foot going across someone's face isn't near as good as the feeling you get while watching them get kicked by your foot. BLooooOooD!


Hands up? Hahaha!


That's it - A basic recommendation : This move can be done many different ways. The best way to get this kick coming out is to try it a bazigillionjillion different ways to see which way works best. Experiment with the pump, your torso alignment, hip motion, arm movement, take-off, and .. AND ... EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU WANT! Do this your own way, this is just the way I do it. Go out and discover your very own spinny wiener kick!

by Jon Call