Wait, is it sore or is it popping? And by popping does it feel like your leg is jamming into your hips at the bone?
I noticed you said it's from kicking, too, probably from drilling tornados/540s am I right? I had that problem too, but you can fix it easily. It just has to do with letting your hips turn and square out so your leg can extend. When you leave the hips back and not following your kick, that's when you get the "awkward position" because you're forcing your leg to go somewhere in which there is no opening for the kick