Targets
Common targets for this kick include the head (especially in competition), as well as the knees and floating ribs. Kyokushinkai karate practitioners commonly use low mawashigeri attacks to strike the thigh of opponents whereas this move is less common in other styles.
There are many versions of roundhouse kick.
Martial arts have many different methods of delivering a roundhouse kick. The original method involved bringing up the knee, and then swiftly turning the hip over and snapping the leg outwards from the knee to deliver a strike with the ball of the foot.
As the years have gone by, some martial arts schools also practice kicking roundhouse kick with the shin, which has always been the preferred method of Muay Thai.
Another popular point of contact is with the instep, which, for safety reasons, is usually practiced when sparring in the martial arts school.
There are now more and more martial artists practicing the 'cutting roundhouse kick', this is where the practitioner will lift their attacking leg higher than the intended target, they will then execute the kick in a downward cutting movement. A very effective attack against the thigh.
A popular way of using mawashi-geri in the Goju Ryu style of karate involves aiming a snapped round house to the opponent's groin.
Read more about this topic: Mawashi Geri