curling your toes back

[MasterPain]

I am a huge fan of kicking with my toe, almost to a fault. I have a hard time pulling my toes back to kick with the ball of my foot so as not to hurt people in my class. My toes just automaticly form the sokusen when I kick.

Here is a youtube link of some of my toe conditioning. This way you can see a different weapon using a kick that isn't the top of the foot or the ball of the foot.

Have I mentioned lately that you Karate people are crazy? That looks like torture. My shins, however....

[bushido_man96]

I am a huge fan of kicking with my toe, almost to a fault. I have a hard time pulling my toes back to kick with the ball of my foot so as not to hurt people in my class. My toes just automaticly form the sokusen when I kick.

Here is a youtube link of some of my toe conditioning. This way you can see a different weapon using a kick that isn't the top of the foot or the ball of the foot.

I don't like the idea of kicking with my toes, but I have broken boards from time to time with the instep, just for fun. The most I've been able to do with the instep is two. I tried three once, and my foot just bounced off...and then hurt for a while...

[Shizentai]

I accidentally bent a couple of hollow metal dowels in half with my instep once... but that was a rather sad and painful accident that involved me as an orange belt attempting to practice side-snap kick while looking at my form in the bathroom mirror.

The towel racks were one thing, but trying to explain to my dad how the sink came off the wall was quite another. I was such a clumsy kid...

[Sokusen]

Have I mentioned lately that you Karate people are crazy? That looks like torture.

It's actually not that bad. It’s all about forming the weapon correctly. Once you do, the toes are compacted and have nowhere to go so the energy goes into the target. It's a lot like punching with a fist. You hit someone with a loose fist, on contact the energy created from the strike goes into your hand which could break your hand. If the fist is a nice tight fist the energy goes into the target. Same with the toe kick.

I have broken up to 5 boards with a toe kick, buts what’s funny is I have never tried to break anything with the ball of my foot. It's something I should learn how to do it if for nothing else but to expand my horizons.

[bushido_man96]

5 boards! That's impressive!

[DWx]

I have broken up to 5 boards with a toe kick...

wow. Five boards with anything is good but with your toes?!?

[sensei8]

I have broken up to 5 boards with a toe kick...

wow. Five boards with anything is good but with your toes?!?

Ditto...and...OUCHY!!

[sensei8]

Within the Shindokan syllabus/curriculum there is no certain training for curling the toes back. Our Soke and Dai-Soke never actually taught us the how to over the why to, and in that, just do it. Otherwise, be subjected to what happens to ones toes when one doesn't remember to do just that: CURL YOUR TOES BACK!!

The only exercise I can ever remember doing for curling my toes back was while I was sitting or laying down, I ever so slowly extended my leg forward, I'd just curl my toes backwards as far as I could, and then I'd hold it for as long as I could plus one. I also would kick the ground with the ball of my foot over and over, and as hard as possible while standing still on either leg. These two little drills helped me a lot.

Muscle memory also brings my toes way back and out of harms way.

[evergrey]

OSU Bob, Shihan has us do the kick the ground with the ball of your foot thing too!