Butterfly kick

For the swimming technique, see Butterfly stroke.

A butterfly kick or horse kick (xuànzi 旋子) is a kick featured within many disciplines of martial arts, but originally practiced in Chinese martial arts, in particular modern wushu. It is so named because as the legs reach the apex of their arc the arms are stretched out, leaving all limbs extended in a position similar to that of a butterfly's wings in-flight (however, note that the original Chinese word for this technique contains no references to butterflies or kicks). Although the specific nature of the kick varies, it is generally composed of a twist of the body while both legs are lifted from the ground and swung around, while the torso remains as horizontal as possible. It is an advanced maneuver that requires the use of the whole body and the strike can occur with either leg. It is often seen as a kick used to "cut a swathe" through multiple opponents. There are many variations, and different movements may be captured under the same name or likewise similar movements given under a different name depending on the martial arts school or style. It can be executed either from standing or from a step up run.

Because of its great appeal the move is often used in movies (although more as a jump than a kick).

Variants

There are many butterfly kick variants, as each student adopts slightly different maneuvers and style depending on his specfic martial arts background. For example, a wushu-derived butterfly kick would be somewhat more graceful compared to a tae kwon do-derived kick, which would have a more dynamic, energetic look.

Butterfly Twist

Also known simply as a twist, this is a move that is very popular within the tricking community due to its floating and twisting motion, as well as its ability to easily link into other moves. A butterfly twist can be described as a butterfly kick where a 360° spin is added once one is in the air. A derivative of the butterfly twist is the "HK spin"which is essentially the same move, but the person delivering the move falls onto to ground horizontally. This is not usually performed as a trick, but is used as a type of fall in fight choreography. HK spins are named so because they were popularzed in Hong Kong martial arts films.

Corkscrew

Similar to a butterfly twist, but the move is done backwards like a gainer. The performer starts off running and kicks his/her first leg into the air like a roundhouse kick while running. This creates the momentum to lift the person into the air backwards and twist at the same time. The amount of spin depends on the performer, and so does the landing.

Illusion Twist

Begins almost identically to a normal twist, however the body begins to up right itself during mid-execution. This is because a crescent kick is thrown with the last leg to take off. The kick is thrown in a very fast whipping motion that brings the body upright and facing forward. Another distinguishing feature of this kick is that both feet land at the same time.

Hyper Twist

This move adds an additional 90-180 degrees of rotation to the twist. The defining characteristic of this move is the fact that the landing is done with the other leg. Because of the setup of the feet created by this landing, it is possible to immediately go into another butterfly, twist, or other variant.

Hyper Hook

Essentially a Hyper Twist with a hook kick thrown after the landing leg has swung over into position for a landing.

720 Twist

This is essentially a normal twist but rotates 720° instead of 360°. Variants of this include, 720 Hyper Twists, 720 Twists to the splits, and a hybrid twist to gyro—begins as a twist, rotates 360°, continues spinning in the air as it uprights to 360 gyro.

Cheat 720 Twist (540 Twist)

Practically every variant of the twist begins with the lead leg of the body taking off last. With a 720 Cheat, the take off is very similar to a standard 540 kick except that it lays a bit more horizontal. After rotating about 180° in the air, the body then the assumes the normal mechanics of a standard twist. This move, however, does require more rotation

California Roll

Is Cheat 720 twist with an added rotation. It is argued whether anyone has ever landed this variant because it has never been captured on film.

1080 Twist

A triple butterfly twist. While it is rumored that some wushu practioners and advanced trickers can perform this move, it has also never been caught on film.

Twist to the splits

Like most tricks and their variants, this too can be landed in the splits.

Popularity

The spectacular appearance that is both graceful and powerful as from its martial arts origin has made the Butterfly kick versatile in a wide range of performing arts such as breakdancing, martial arts films, various video games (such as the Tekken series), gymnastics and even on the ice as seen in Olympics figure skating. It also appeared in The Phantom Menace as one of Darth Maul's signature techniques. Though not as well known as some of the other tricking moves such as aerials and flips, the Butterfly kick holds a unique position in the acrobatic world for being a traditional defensive move incorporated into the modern popular arts and international sports.