Vankuen's question on another thread suggested that this may be a good topic because many doing Yip Man WCK may not have experienced it. As a general classification, most Yip Man WCK does the chor ma shifting motion using the heels as the pivot point. Most non-Yip Man WCK uses K1 (a spot just behind the ball of the foot and centered) as the pivot point. Again, this is a generalization only......some Yip Man WCK lineages also use the K1 spot to pivot on.
I practiced WCK from a Yip Man lineage that pivots on the heels for many years. Then when a discussion on the topic came up on the WCML I was convinced to give the K1 pivot a fair trial and really liked it. Not long after that I became part of a Pin Sun WCK lineage that teaches to pivot on the K1 point. So I thought I would provide what I have found to be advantages to pivoting on the K1 point. This is not to say that pivoting on the heels is wrong. Other's mileage may vary. :-)
IMHO, these are some of the good points about the K1 pivot:
1. Good balance. In just about any human motion involving using the feet the toes are used for balance. When pivoting on K1 you can still "grip" the ground with the toes providing excellent stability. The weight also stays forward near the center of the foot rather than rocking back to the heels even momentarily. This also increases balance and stability.
2. Good safety. The K1 pivot, even when using a 50/50 weight distribution, takes you off of the line of attack. Therefore your defensive motions become more deflective in nature and you are in a safer position. If one needs to pivot, the pivot itself should be part of the defensive response.
3. Good rooting/sinking. Since the weight stays centered near the middle of the foot rather than transferring back to the heels, this encourages the knees to converge more in the stance. This leads to better sinking. And again, since the weight does not transfer back to the heels even momentarily, one can stay rooted more easily.
Some additional points to keep in mind:
1. Just because the K1 spot is the pivot point, this does not mean you are up on the balls of your feet. Even though the heels are "swinging" during the pivot, they do not leave the ground but rather slide across the surface.
2. Likewise, when the heel is used as the pivot point, one does not "rock back" completely on the heels and let the front of the foot come off the ground. When the toes "swing", they too just slide across the surface.
3. However, given the above two points, biomechanically greater than 50% of the weight distribution has to be either at the K1 point for the heels to "swing", or at the heels for the toes to "swing." IMHO, keeping the weight forward near the center of the foot and pivoting off of the line of attack are the two major advantages to the K1 method of pivoting.
The above is just my opinion, and in no way should be seen as an attack on anyone else's way of doing things. Just wanted those that have never seen the K1 pivot to have the right info.
Keith
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