Balance

[gmwhite]

Hi everyone, I have a question: I am learning a new form and am having problems with my balance when i cross my right leg over infront of my left. How can i correct this?

[Subitai]

As in doing a Twist stance of some sorts?

Mabe a better description necessary but can't you just ask your teacher?

[Lucas]

Mainly with repetition, but you can also check to make sure your weight is centered over your heel or center of your foot, how ever you are doing it. Sometimes people may let their weight go to the side by leaning their hips in the direction they are stepping as soon as they lift their foot.

[Dragonzbane76]

need more clairfication in what you are doing. transition stance? static? tech. you are performing?

[David Jamieson]

Hi everyone, I have a question: I am learning a new form and am having problems with my balance when i cross my right leg over infront of my left. How can i correct this?

got a clip of what you're doing?
a picture?
a name of the form?

anything?

[mooyingmantis]

Hi everyone, I have a question: I am learning a new form and am having problems with my balance when i cross my right leg over in front of my left. How can i correct this?

Loss of Balance in Martial Arts is usually due to one of these four things:
1. Ankles are not flexible enough and part of the foot (feet) is not touching the ground.
2. Ankles are not strong enough to support the stance for more than a few seconds.
3. Leg muscles are not strong enough to support the stance for more than a few seconds.
4. The weight is not positioned over the heels or center of the soles.

Old School
Static stance training is a good cure for all the above. Stand in the traditional Horse Stance (ma bu, sei ping ma, ma shi, etc.) and twist the body to form the Twist Stance (niu bu). The twisting action stretches and strengthens the ankles. Holding the stance strengthens the muscles of the entire leg.

Modern Approach (though most Old School folks did these too)
Incorporate weight lifting (squats and toe raises) plus track & field type leg stretching to strengthen and stretch the muscles involved.

I would advise using both approaches for the best and quickest results. Don't sacrifice one approach for the other.

[monkey mind]

Weight over the heels? Really? I'll admit that my TCMA experience is limited compared to what I've done in Muay Thai & Japanese arts, but I've always learned that weight on the heels contributes to poor balance. On the other hand, when the weight is primarily on the ball of the foot it's much easier to make the fine adjustments necessary to maintain balance. A former teacher of mine trained for 6 moths exclusively on the balls of his feet, not letting his heels touched the ground, & he said this was the best balance training he ever did. He certainly was incredibly smooth & balanced in his movement.

For me I'd say the keys to balance are staying relaxed, moving from your center & keeping the weight forward on the feet (heels only lightly on the ground). But to the OP, have you asked your teacher about this problem? What did he/she say?

[taai gihk yahn]

Hi everyone, I have a question: I am learning a new form and am having problems with my balance when i cross my right leg over infront of my left. How can i correct this?
I know a lot of people here have given u a variety of suggestions, but may I suggest u try something a lot simpler that usually produces immediate and noticeable changes?

the "secret" is to practice the side that you are good on: in other words, cross the left leg in front of the right and hold that position (the time for holding varies: some say 2x20 seconds is enough, others say 1x90 sec); then go back and try the "bad" side; in most cases u will see an immediate improvement, if it's simply a case of neuromuscular control (meaning that if u have a structural dysfunction, such as lack of hip range due to fibrosis, that may not change);

if u don't c a change, then make holding the good side more challenging: holding it for longer, holding it with your knees bent more, holding a weight with both hands at midline while u do it - basically u want to challenge the system to push it a bit beyond its comfort zone, but not too much (e.g. - to the point of muscle failure)

the reason this works is due to a neurological phenomenon that when u practice the good side, the "bad" side gets better; here's research to support this:


Unilateral practice of a ballistic movement causes bilateral increases in performance and corticospinal excitability J Appl Physiol 104: 1656–1664, 2008.
Review article at: http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/104/6/1656

M, Byblow WD. Excitability changes in human forearm corticospinal projections and spinal reflex pathways during rhythmic voluntary movement of the opposite limb. J Physiol 560: 929–940, 2004.

Duque J, Mazzocchio R, Stefan K, Hummel F, Olivier E, Cohen LG. Memory formation in the motor cortex ipsilateral to a training hand. CerebCortex: Oct 10, 2007.

Zijdewind I, Butler JE, Gandevia SC, Taylor JL. The origin of activity in the biceps brachii muscle during voluntary contractions of the contralateral elbow flexor muscles. Exp Brain Res 175: 526–535, 2006.
(if u want to read more research, there's lots of it here (http://www.totalmotionrelease.com/researcharticles.html))

try it, c if it works for u; let us know how it goes!

[jdhowland]

I can't improve on what taai gihk yahn posted but here's another aspect.

What are you doing with the rest of your body when you take the step?

Are you falling off of the left leg and trying to catch yourself with the right?

You might try focusing on the strength of the left leg's support and delay the moment the right foot touches down. Avoid leading with the torso but let your legs determine where and when you move. You should be able to stop the motion at any point without unbalancing.

The reason I bring up this point is that I had a similar experience when I was a youngling and trying to learn a move that involved a crossover step with a simultaneous backfist to the rear. I couldn't figure out how to coordinate upper and lower and still have power in the strike. Then I learned that the "step" is really a leg sweep and it all made sense. I learned to move from the middle and put power into both by not thinking of it as just locomotion.

[Vajramusti]

I know a lot of people here have given u a variety of suggestions, but may I suggest u try something a lot simpler that usually produces immediate and noticeable changes?

the "secret" is to practice the side that you are good on: in other words, cross the left leg in front of the right and hold that position (the time for holding varies: some say 2x20 seconds is enough, others say 1x90 sec); then go back and try the "bad" side; in most cases u will see an immediate improvement, if it's simply a case of neuromuscular control (meaning that if u have a structural dysfunction, such as lack of hip range due to fibrosis, that may not change);

if u don't c a change, then make holding the good side more challenging: holding it for longer, holding it with your knees bent more, holding a weight with both hands at midline while u do it - basically u want to challenge the system to push it a bit beyond its comfort zone, but not too much (e.g. - to the point of muscle failure)

the reason this works is due to a neurological phenomenon that when u practice the good side, the "bad" side gets better; here's research to support this:


Unilateral practice of a ballistic movement causes bilateral increases in performance and corticospinal excitability J Appl Physiol 104: 1656–1664, 2008.
Review article at: http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/104/6/1656

M, Byblow WD. Excitability changes in human forearm corticospinal projections and spinal reflex pathways during rhythmic voluntary movement of the opposite limb. J Physiol 560: 929–940, 2004.

Duque J, Mazzocchio R, Stefan K, Hummel F, Olivier E, Cohen LG. Memory formation in the motor cortex ipsilateral to a training hand. CerebCortex: Oct 10, 2007.

Zijdewind I, Butler JE, Gandevia SC, Taylor JL. The origin of activity in the biceps brachii muscle during voluntary contractions of the contralateral elbow flexor muscles. Exp Brain Res 175: 526–535, 2006.
(if u want to read more research, there's lots of it here (http://www.totalmotionrelease.com/researcharticles.html))

try it, c if it works for u; let us know how it goes!
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A good post-some old timers in wing chun also thought that going back to correct and practice the strong kick helps later in the development of the initially weak kick.