structural alignment

[ninjaboy]

hello all.....

something to ponder over the holidays:

i have a question about a cat stance. more specifically, regarding the
relationship between the femur and the toes of what i will call 'the support
leg' (ie. the leg that bears most of the weight).

some stylists seem to prefer keeping the femur of the support leg 'in line'
with the toes, as in like how they line up when we walk....
on the other hand, however, some stylists seem to prefer turning the knee of
their support leg in towards their center so that, from a bird's eye view,
the knee is not 'in line' with the toes. the knee and the foot point in
distinctly different directions.

i am curious to hear what your opinions are regarding the pros and cons of
either way and the rationale behind it for stability, mobility, power
generation, etc...

i hope i'm painting a clear picture of what i'm asking about but if my
question is unclear in any way, please let me know and i'll either reword it
or provide pics to help illustrate my curiosity.

sincerely,
ninjaboy

[rubthebuddha]

i can't speak to the style itself, but what i've been taught is that the knee should not splay out or in. having it splay in either direction puts an abnormal amount of stress on the side of the joint, and the last time i checked, knees bent in only one way. i would suggest asking this on the forum associated with your art -- the folks there might have a bit more insight than us. :)

[ninjaboy]

that's a good idea but i don't feel my question to be 'style specific'. i see it all over the place in chinese martial arts. as a point of interest, considering how readily visible it is that it happens, no one, in all the forums i have asked this question in, has talked about any benefits of this 'splaying' as you put it - only the dangers associated...

i can't help but wonder why it is such a prevalent way to stand, transitionally or otherwise....

either the people that do it have a secret and are quietly snickering at my ignorance or they don't know why they do it that way either, other than by mimicing others assuming it's correct.

ninjaboy

[babooon87]

The knee has to be in line with the toes, if its inward it puts alot of stress on the knee.

People putting the knee inward do that to go low because the arent able to go lower the proper way, bad habit.