Understand dwi huryeo chagi: the spinning hook kick to the head. Build-up from dwit chagi and huryeo chagi, head values from dummy tests and clear safety rules.
The honest answer: the spinning hook kick is a pro skill with a full backward rotation, and it is among the kicks that hit the head hardest. You spin around your own axis, lead the leg in an arc and whip the heel back against the head from behind. It is impressive, but you can only learn it safely if you master the preliminary steps cleanly.
What do labs measure? In a study with a dummy head and taekwondo headgear, the roundhouse (dollyo chagi, "turning kick" in the paper), the spinning hook kick and three punches were compared: the highest head accelerations came, in this order, from the roundhouse, the spinning hook kick, the hook punch, the straight punch and the jab; statistical differences were not clear [1]. A comparison of two lab studies found taekwondo kicks produced larger head values than boxing punches [2].
For you this means: the kick is dangerous when it lands. It is also risky for you because you turn your back on your opponent. Realistically you need many months until you kick it under control on a pad (experience, not a study). This guide explains; it does not replace supervised training.
Before you attempt this kick, ask yourself an honest question: do you need it? In training, the roundhouse and back kick are more important for most goals. The spinning hook kick is a context skill for advanced athletes, not for every path.
Practise the half turn on the ball of the foot and look over the shoulder to the target in the middle of the turn. Milestone: after 20 turns you stand securely and dizziness-free.
Throw back kicks on a pad. A comparison of both legs in twelve elite athletes showed clear side differences in the back kick, and the authors recommend training the non-dominant leg specifically [3]. Milestone: both sides hit the pad at the same height.
Throw the hook kick on a pad without a turn. Milestone: five controlled hits.
Turn, lead the leg in an arc and stop just in front of the pad. At half speed first. Milestone: you stop calmly in front of the pad five times.
The coach holds the pad at shoulder height, later higher. You hit with the heel. Milestone: three hits in a row without losing balance.
This kick is safety-critical because of the turn and the head target. At World Championships the share of head and neck injuries fell alongside rule changes while upper-extremity injuries rose [5]. Rules and headgear change the risk but do not remove it. The lab values on the dummy head were measured with headgear [1].
Never practise the spinning hook kick on a partner's head. Only pads, bags and targets held by a coach, and only built up from low to high. No use in free play, no use on friends. If dizziness, nausea or confusion appear after a hit, stop immediately and get checked. This guide does not replace supervised training.
Then there is the orientation risk: with your back to the opponent you do not see them for a moment. That is why the kick belongs only in controlled drills. Plan the fall space before every attempt and keep enough distance from walls, mirrors and other athletes (practice standard).
Train the turn without the leg more often than the kick itself. Most errors arise not in the leg but in orientation. A turn you can do blind makes the kick easier. This is a practice rule; there is no study on it.
The spinning hook kick in taekwondo: you turn your back to the opponent, lead the leg in an arc and hit back with the heel from the side.
It belongs to taekwondo, but point values and rules change with World Taekwondo's competition rules. Read the current rules of your competition before you plan it.
On the dummy head the spinning hook kick produced high accelerations, only the roundhouse was higher (with unclear differences) [1]. It is risky for the person hit and, because of the turn, also for you.
The turn, yes; the kick on a pad only with a coach.
As a rule of thumb few but clean ones: five to ten controlled attempts per side, then rest. Fatigue makes the kick unpredictable. There is no study on this.
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