The Crescent Kick: Retro or Relevant?
- Black Belt Team
- Oct 11
- 1 min read
Back in the 1970s, an action movie hero once delivered a classic line: “I'm gonna take this right foot, and I'm gonna whop you on that side of your face. And you wanna know something? There's not a damn thing you're gonna be able to do about it."
That wasn’t just tough-guy talk—it was a pretty good description of the crescent kick.
Famed Hapkido master Bong Soo Han was the man behind the kick in the 1971 movie Billy Jack when the line was famously said by Tom Laughlin.
The crescent kick is the martial arts equivalent of a stylish curveball, sweeping, circular, and just flashy enough to make your opponent’s eyes widen. Whether it’s the outside-in or inside-out version, the move arcs gracefully through the air, aiming to clip the head, shoulder, or hand that didn’t see it coming. It may not be the hardest-hitting kick in the arsenal, but it’s sneaky, elegant, and annoyingly effective when timed right.
Beyond its practical bite, the crescent kick has a certain martial arts glamour. In kata or poomsae, it looks like choreography straight out of a kung fu flick, balanced, controlled, and oh-so photogenic. In tournaments and demos, it’s a crowd-pleaser, the kind of move that says: Yes, I could have punched you, but isn’t this prettier?
So the big question: does the crescent kick still deserve a place in today’s martial arts toolbox—or is it just a retro classic best left on VHS tapes?
Retro or relevant?
You decide.
