High jumps

[solar_kid]

I've been having some trouble with jumps as in heian godan... well, more with the landing. I keep landing on the same spot on the ball of my left foot, and it hurts! Is there a trick to landing after jumping as high as you can without killing your foot?

[Blitz]

dont jump as high untill your foot is more conditioned

[NidaninNJ]

I've been having some trouble with jumps as in heian godan... well, more with the landing. I keep landing on the same spot on the ball of my left foot, and it hurts! Is there a trick to landing after jumping as high as you can without killing your foot?

Watch the way cats land. Do it softly. Let your feet down before the rest of your body by stetching out your legs a little on the way down and then you should land more gently. On the way up, push off really hard with the legs and tuck your feet tight against your butt. Then on the way down try what I wrote above about the cat landing.

[Hobbes]

I agree with the last poster. If you think sticking the landing like a gymnast is a must then you could be in for serious injury. You have to use your body as a natural shock absorber extending your feet and legs down before landing and then decelerating your body until you reach the conclusion of your jump. If you're landing hard on your ball of your left foot I think you are landing with too much weight on that foot. In a jump such as yours, equal weight is not distributed on both feet. The majority is on the right foot (approximately 80%) as measured by force plates in a locomotion lab. This varies from persons to persons and style-to-style but this is a general reference for kosa dachi. Keep in mind that in Heian Godan, its often interpreted as a transitory stance to front stance.

Another thing I’ve seen is that the left foot remains tucked as the right foot absorbs the impact of landing. When the body suddenly stops or slows significantly the left foot is often still somewhat tucked and above the landing surface. The momentum of the deceleration brings the ball of the left foot into forceful contact with the floor. If you hear two distinct sounds of the feet landing, this may be suspected.

One of the best ways to see what you are doing is to video tape your jump.