Certainly the mawashi geri (round kick or round-house kick) is a difficult kick and many karate-ka do it rather poorly.
You can perform and practice Mawashi Geri from any stance. Bring the knee of the kicking leg up to side of the body and make sure that the direction of the toes of the foot on the floor is straight. When you perform a Mawashi Geri, allow the foot on the ground to rotate (usually on the toes) so that the toes point between 90 and 180 degrees from the straight line. This allows a greater reach to the target and allows the hips to play their important role. It has been seen that students attempt to keep the toes of the foot on the ground pointing forward during the Mawashi Geri. This prevents the hip action and the extension of the leg forward.
The head does not come forward during a Mawashi Geri. It may bend to the side by 90 degress from the straight line or it may go backwards (greater than 90 degress from the straight line). It does not go forward (less than 90 degrees from the straight line). If the head goes forward, it keeps the hips back, and prevents the application of centralization in the kick.
