Body Mechanics Revisited.....Pushing with the back foot....

[LiLoong]

Hi all, it's been a long time since i posted here.

Anyways, i have a question for you guys....and i know this has been discussed before but I'll bring it up again anyways.

When you make the transition from bow stance to bow stance or bow stance to horse stance...... do you push off of the back foot with the heel or with the ball of the foot?

The reason i ask is that i have tried both ways and i can generate power both ways, however, there might be other reasons for do one over the other.

For example, i have noticed that if you push with the ball then your heel tends to come up off the ground. However, when you push the heel then it tends to stay on the ground.

Thanks. :D

[bung bo]

I just tried this out because I've never really thought about it. I pivoted on the ball of my back foot. Most of my weight was on the ball, but i kept some on the heel so it wouldn't totally uproot.

[WanderingMonk]

push with heel = more power, maybe
push with ball = mobility and longer reach

it is a trade off. It all depends on the situation.

[gfx]

It really depends.

There's a good reason why boxing and kendo all use the balls of their feet (speed), and you can generate a lot of power with proper body mechanics. A lot of the kungfu styles actually use the balls of the feet a lot, i.e Baji, mantis.

I use the balls of my feet for mobility, but I rest half my weight on my heel when I need a wide base of support. (i.e when tripping ).

[Christopher M]

Heel. Well, not really the heel: the 'bubbling well' point, which is a bit forward of the heel. The entire foot works in a particular way, with various parts doing various things, but it looks more like a heel-swivel than a ball-swivel.

[FngSaiYuk]

In forms and stance training I do the following-

horse -> bow: pivot on ball of rear foot & heel of front foot, press on heel of rear foot when 'sinking' the stance

bow -> horse: pivot on heel of both feet, contract ALL muscles on legs to 'sink' stance

In sparring I never really transition into a horse stance unless the horse is in the middle of a transition between other stances.

[Ray Pina]

I train driving off the heel when I'm training for power, delivering a pay load. This is for after contact has been established and I feel agressive and want to get in and stay in.


Sometimes I train driving off the ball of the foot, mostly when walking Ba Gua. This is for when I want forward force, but not to be so committed or engaged, maybe to break out and fit a kick in, maybe to move to a flank.

Basically I train and train and train both ways. And when fighting the body will do the right thing accord to the situation on its own. It's just getting the timing and calm frame of mind to choose which tactic and have the balls to see it through at say 90%.