This study examined kinematic variables of the semicircular kick in karate, which were characterized and compared between the phases of attack and return, with 20 male adult athletes, black belt. For data acquisition it was used 06 Vicon MX-13 cameras, 200Hz frequency, with acquisition time of 04 seconds. Variables were characterized by descriptive statistics and the comparison between phases was performed by the Student's t-test (p <0.05). Results: the maximum velocities and accelerations of the ankle, knee and hip were lower than found in literature, resulting in slower execution of the karate kick. The velocities and accelerations of the ankle, knee and hip of the attack phase were statistically higher than in the return phase of the kick. It is concluded that the attack phase is faster and more offensive than the return phase, being the variable time important in the implementation of the semicircular kick.
Biomechanics; Karate; Kinematics; Semicircular kick
