From a fighting stance, chamber your knee up and across your body, pivoting on your standing foot so your hip opens side-on to the target. Extend the leg out past the target's line, then whip your heel back across it in a hooking arc - the kick connects on the pull, heel traveling across, not on the way out. Re-chamber, set the foot down, and reset your stance. Guard stays up, and the pivot foot turns with the kick so your knee is never fighting the rotation.

Works: glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, core

Breathing: Sharp exhale as the heel whips across, inhale as you reset your stance.

Common Mistakes: Skipping the pivot so the standing knee twists under the rotation, swinging a straight leg around instead of chambering and hooking, and dropping the guard mid-kick.

Make Easier: Kick low and slow - knee height is plenty - break the kick into stages (chamber, extend, hook, chamber), and use a wall for balance while you learn the pivot. Master Side Kicks first.

Make Harder: Kick higher and re-chamber faster without touching down between kicks, or combine it with Turning Kicks.