How to 540 Crescent / Cheat 720 Kick – A Written and Video Tricking Tutorial

 

Video exampler: here

Singles and slow-mo: soon…

Recommended prerequisites: 360 crescent

Description: A jump, spin, outside stretch kick!

The 540 crescent is a natural progression atop the outside crescent kick category of tricks. It differs from the 360 crescent in that it uses a “cheat” takeoff (single footed) rather than a pop takeoff (two footed). And because of this, it shares a lot of similarities with the 540 kick.

Slide by slide breakdown

As usual, harness your inner strength to one side of your body to corral momentum. Be relaxed.

Shift the momentum to the direction of flight.

See how my left leg opened up a bit? Yeah, do that. Turn that foot to wind your lower body up. Step over and across your body with the other foot. Arms are wide because wide arms make for better spins, as long as you coil them at the right time.

It looks very 540 here, but my 540 crescents are very different feeling because I treat them as a more technical move. This is one of those technical bits: see how my spine is close to being straight up and down? I’m trying hard to keep myself centered because my rotation has to be centered.

I’m also not digging for height that much. To me, in this move, the spin trumps the jump height. I’m more focused on prepping for a good spin, and you don’t need that much height for a good spin.

Things went down and around and are now preparing to go up. Take a look at my right foot. It’s “cheating” right now. The video clears this up further, but the direction you plant your foot matters a lot in this move. You typically need to rotate it more than you think you do during the set up.

If me facing the camera is 0 degrees, you can see my take off foot is planted at around 90 degrees. That’s the magic. If you’re taking off and your foot is beyond 90, then fix it.

Otherwise, this is where we take flight. In any move, you get your height before you wrap for spin. Arms are wide, going straight up in the air. Lead knee is following. Up, up, and away!

Also: look at my head. You need to kick a target in this move. Look at your target initially as you get your height. It will ground you and keep your rotation tighter.

After everything goes up and you stare down your target for a hot second, it’s time to bring everything in. Wrap like a mummy. Or a burrito. Or a roll of toilet paper. Or whatever. Bring your arms into your body.

After you wrap, think about your target again. Bring your head around to look at your target. Where your head goes, the body follows. Want to get around? Then get your eyeballs around.

Once you see your target, eject the kick. This kick will be a mirror of what your outside stretch kick looks like, so if you don’t like your kick you need to go back to basic and practice.

Throw the kick at the target. Take someone’s head off.

After the kick, I have a habit of bending my leg in preparation for the landing. It’s also something I do during my regular outside stretch kicks. Again, don’t be an idiot like me: get your basics solid and they’ll melt into your tricks in the same solid fashion.

Land.

Recap cues:

• Prep the spin more so than the jump on the takeoff.
• Cheat the takeoff. Point your plant leg the right direction.
• Get your height by throwing everything in the air.
• Look for a target and kick the target.

Troubleshooting:

Bad kick? Maybe you just need to practice. If you haven’t put in some hours training basic kicks, start there.

Bad spin? Try to keep your torso upright during takeoff. Don’t bend at the waist as much. Try to keep your spine straight. Also: keep your arms wide at the start of the trick, and then wrap when the time is right.

No height? Make sure you’re throwing everything up. There should be a point in the move where your hands are above your head.

Your next conquest:

• Cheat 900

See the rest of the tutorials:

• Tricking page