540
540
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It’s a Tornado Kick that lands on the kicking leg. Now this is a very common explanation for the 540 and it’s true but there’s way more to it then that. In reality you don’t even need to have a tornado kick to just land a 540. Without the understanding of a tornado kick it will be probably a very ugly one, but still… landed.
You can land your first 540 by just doing a Cheat Setup into a hop, where you jump over your non kicking leg with an extended leg. That’s it. This will be the method to teach you in this guide but I still recommend you to learn the tornado kick beforehand.
01 Round Kick
First of all you should be able to throw a decent round kick. Make sure to spot and to turn your hip with the kick. It is NOT recommended to learn the 540 with an inside crescent kick. That makes it way harder.
02 Tornado
The Tornado kick is the next progression. You should apply the same technique that you used for the round kick in your tornado kick. That means to turn your hips with the kick and to spot a target in front of you. Your tornado kick should be firing a round kick and not a crescent.
03 Hop over
Let's take it a step back. Stand with in one place with your non kicking legs knee up and try to hop over that leg with your other. Try to really jump over it and do not just switch the legs. You can also practice this step with your foot resting on a stool or bed or anything else.
04 Add Cheat Setup
Now add the cheat setup into the hop. This should make it a lot easier now, since you can carry some momentum into it.
05 Bent leg 540
You are now very close to landing your first 540 kick. The next step will be to actually throw one but with a bent kicking leg. So do your setup like you’re about to throw a massive tornado kick but keep your kicking leg bent and just rotate over to land on it. Use your arms for more lift and spot a target in front of you.
06 540
Last Step - 540 Kick. Now put everything together and kick through your target. Do it fast and high.
Tips
Kicking with an inside crescent instead of a round kick is possible too but is quite a bit harder since your hip will be facing forward a lot longer, making it more difficult to land on the kicking leg. Check out Jujimufus 540 Kicks to get an idea how it would look like.
Many beginners will instinctively look at the ground when they learn this trick. Try not to. Spot a target in front of you and kick through it. This applies to any trick involving kicks.
Drill your tornado kicks if the 540 is giving you trouble. Make it higher and faster. It also helps to learn a Tornado Turbo, which is essentially a Tornado Kick landed on both feet.
Do not travel. A good 540 Kick should almost be stationary. When you come down for the landing, try to get your foot directly underneath you to lessen the impact. If you land with your center of gravity off, you will likely fall or have a very hard landing, which can cause injury.