A Question

[Jiggy9]

Okay here is the situation :

 

You are in lets say zencusudachi (front stance) and with an gyacusuki (front punch) you then turn around whilst doing a gidan barai. Do you rotate about youre heel or youre toes?

 

 

[Gloi]

We get told to turn on our heels and I try to, whether I always do is something entirely different.

[Jiggy9]

It's just that my sister who used to train with me, returned from the UK where she says according the the UK federation you are meant to rotate about youre heel. In all my years of training neither me or my sister had ever been corrected, and now that I ponder about it - I notice several other black belts with higher dans then me doing the same. I also noticed it on a kata demonstration video. So I was hoping to get everyones opinion ...

 

But thank you Gloi.

[Karateka]

I have been taught in Shi-to Ryu Seikokai to rotate on your toes. On your heels, you lose balance if you want speed. If you keep your toes on the ground, then you still have that firm contact which allows you to generate power quickly.

 

 

[moobrack]

I have been taughtn to do it on my heels, traditional shotokankarate

 

 

[Kato]

Goju has also taught me to rotate on my toes...for essentaly the same reasons that Karateka gave

[ronryu]

we in motobu ha shi-to ryu are taught aswell to turn on the ball of the foot however the foot still stays as flat as possable and toes grip the floor .

 

 

[SaiFightsMS]

We were taught to pivot on the ball of the foot.

 

I find when I do a crescent kick in a kata that includes a 360 spin I have to sort of turn my pivot foot towards the direction I am turning in before I actually start the move. I initiate that move by pivoting on the heel but I finish by pivoting on the ball of the foot. Sort of a 2 step pivot.

 

I have found that when the balance goes a bit wonky on a pivot to be on the ball of the foot and bending the knees helps keep the balance in check so that no one knows I had a bit of a problem for a second.

 

 

[Karateka]

Karate starts at the feet and goes up. The grip of your toes on the floor, to the flexing of muscles, to your abdomen; your foundation begins from the ground up!

 

 

[moobrack]

This thread is a good example of people being taught differently and different styles and how they relate or dont relate to eachother.

 

The theory behind turning on your heels is that your foot doesnt have to leave the ground, therefore holding much stronger ground. It can also be faster in some ways due to not having to take the time to lift your heel off the floor to turn. Could somebody please give me the theory behind turning on your toes please?