How to Do an Illusion Kick

Warming Up

Start off by rotating your neck. Since you must stretch and loosen up all your muscles, start with the neck. Rotate it in a circular motion.

Rotate your arms. Throw your arms in a circular motion, moving them both forward and backward for 20 seconds each. You can do other motions such as throwing them up and down and moving them from side-to-side. Tip: Try doing push-ups to strengthen your arms.

Move your hip and knees. Rotate your hip and knees both clockwise and anti-clockwise. To rotate your knees, place your hands on them, and move both your hip and knees. Another way to stretch your knees is by pulling them up to your chest and holding them there for 10 counts.

Do Lunges. Lunges are important before attempting an illusion kick, as your thighs need to be strong enough to hold half your body's weight.

Point and flex your feet. Sit down and point your toes in front of you. Flex them after a few seconds. Do this at least 12 times. You can rotate your ankle to loosen it up, too.

Do a few stretching exercises. While you're on the carpet, you can do several exercises to stretch your muscles. These are extremely important and beneficial before you do your illusion kick. Read How to Stretch for different stretching ideas. Stretch your legs apart in a split. If you can't do a split, stretch your legs apart as far as they can go. Try to hold your toes and touch the floor with your head without bending your knees.Remember: If you cannot do your splits yet, the illusion will look incomplete and not how you'd expect it to look. You can continue to practice, though. Read How to Do a Split for a detailed guide if you haven't gotten your splits yet.

Doing the Kick

Start in the "Mountain Pose". Do the Mountain Pose on the floor or a mat. Make sure that your palms and feet are touching the round completely, your back is not arched, and that your knees aren't bent.

Bring your leg up. Bring your leg up in a split-like position in the air, with one leg down. Try not to stand on your toes while doing it, as this can make you lose balance and fall. The leg that is brought up varies from person-to-person. Just because you're a right-sided person, it doesn't mean that you find bringing your right leg up comfortable. Try bringing both of them up, and figure out which side comforts you and is easier.

Do half a turn. With your hands on both sides of your foot, do a releve, but it mustn't be too high. Turn your body slowly to the opposite of where you started from. Keep practicing this continuously. After you turn well with your foot down, pull your leg high up in the air and try again.

Try kicking without using your hands. Stand up and try kicking your leg up straight in the air without doing the Mountain Pose or touching the ground with your hands. If you practice a few times, it'll soon come naturally.

Add the half-turn to your kick. Try to turn without using your hands, and kick your leg as high into the air as you can. This will help the illusion look smooth.

Practice. It's great that you did your illusion. All you have to do now is keep practicing until you're satisfied with how it turned out.