A butterfly kick or horse kick is a jumping kick in martial arts such as modern wushu, taekwondo and capoeira. In certain changquan styles, this kick is known as Swallow Kick (Yianzi tui). 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. In action cinema it is often seen as a kick used to "cut a swathe" through multiple opponents. In traditional Chinese longfist, it is used defensively to evade an opponent's floor sweep and land on the enemy's vulnerable side. 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. The name "butterfly kick" is due to the legs reaching 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.

Variants

There are many butterfly kick variants, as each student adopts slightly different maneuvers and style depending on his specific 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.

Multi-rotation variants

Some variants add additional rotation(s) to the standard Butterfly twist. The extra twisting generally requires faster twisting of the body, more torque and extra height in order to land safely.

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, tricking, martial arts films, various video games (such as the Tekken series, the Mortal Kombat series and The Matrix Online), gymnastics and even on the ice as seen in Olympics figure skating. It has also appeared in the sport of professional wrestling by trained martial artists like Low Ki. It also appeared in The Phantom Menace as one of Darth Maul's signature techniques, Ray Park being a wushu champion. 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.