Mae Geri Help ?

[ZenGuitar]

Hi everyone, I've been having a mental quandary about the position of the foot on supporting leg when performing mae geri.

When kicking with my right, dominant leg, my left supporting foot doesn't have any problems facing straight forward.. sometimes it's even slightly inward, if I've risen to a mae geri from zenkutsu dachi.

When kicking with the left leg and my right foot is supporting, things have never felt right. I've taken the opinion of just working and working on it until it does feel right but the weird thing is this:

When my right foot is facing forward (when I'm balancing on it in a mae geri position) it doesn't feel like it's forward.. it feels like it's turned in. Without looking at it, I turn it until it feels natural and like it's facing forward.. when I look down at it, naturally it's turned slightly outwards.

I've been told that my supporting foot should always stay facing forward or you risk opening the hips.. I've also seen footage of other sensei and pics of Sensei Dave Hazard performing Mae Geri with his supporting foot clearly turned outwards. So not sure which is right..

Sorry for the long winded post but my question is basically this: Is this one of those cases where you should just listen to your body and let it do what it wants to do (especially in the case of joint alignment.. I've also got flat feet - I don't know if that would affect it) or is it just a case of keep on trying to get my foot pointing straight on ?

I've no problem with drilling technique until it's right.. I guess I'd just like to know where I should be committing my focus so I can then devote myself 100% to it

Thanks.. any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Dobbersky]

As this is a more Traditional karate base I will not impose Only to say that in my style we do turn the standing for slightly outward to open the hips up.

A lot of Old school Karateka suffer from bad joints etc. why 1 reason could be the incorrect positioning of their bodies when performing techniques etc!

I know the knowledge on here you WILL find an answer to your quest

Welcome to the Forum

[ZenGuitar]

As this is a more Traditional karate base I will not impose Only to say that in my style we do turn the standing for slightly outward to open the hips up.

A lot of Old school Karateka suffer from bad joints etc. why 1 reason could be the incorrect positioning of their bodies when performing techniques etc!

That's ok, impose all you like. I'm interested in any karateka's views on this, seeing as it's a move we all learn.

Opening up the foot a little does feel more natural.. and my hips still seem square on anyway. Maybe my feet are just weird. I really would like to know if anybody else has ever experienced this too ?

[GaryMo]

I find that my front foot faces directly forward before the kick but after the kick (during which my front leg becomes the supporting leg then the back leg) it's turned slightly outwards, as it should be when in a zenkutsu dachi stance. My kicking foot lands directly forward.

[evergrey]

OSU, you'll get a much more stable base, and it will be kinder on your joints, if you plant your foot so your toe is pointing out a bit. You're going from two feet to one, and having your foot at a diagonal, knee slightly bent, will give you more stability. That's what I've found, at any rate, especially when you're throwing your hip into the Mae Geri.

[brickshooter]

Hi everyone, I've been having a mental quandary about the position of the foot on supporting leg when performing mae geri.

When kicking with my right, dominant leg, my left supporting foot doesn't have any problems facing straight forward.. sometimes it's even slightly inward, if I've risen to a mae geri from zenkutsu dachi.

When kicking with the left leg and my right foot is supporting, things have never felt right. I've taken the opinion of just working and working on it until it does feel right but the weird thing is this:

When my right foot is facing forward (when I'm balancing on it in a mae geri position) it doesn't feel like it's forward.. it feels like it's turned in. Without looking at it, I turn it until it feels natural and like it's facing forward.. when I look down at it, naturally it's turned slightly outwards.

I've been told that my supporting foot should always stay facing forward or you risk opening the hips.. I've also seen footage of other sensei and pics of Sensei Dave Hazard performing Mae Geri with his supporting foot clearly turned outwards. So not sure which is right..

Sorry for the long winded post but my question is basically this: Is this one of those cases where you should just listen to your body and let it do what it wants to do (especially in the case of joint alignment.. I've also got flat feet - I don't know if that would affect it) or is it just a case of keep on trying to get my foot pointing straight on ?

I've no problem with drilling technique until it's right.. I guess I'd just like to know where I should be committing my focus so I can then devote myself 100% to it

Thanks.. any advice will be greatly appreciated.

When kicking with your left leg, you are pivoting on your right ball of your foot. That's why you're rotating your right foot. Under Shotokan/Shito/Itosu standards, you're supposed to be pushing off of your supporting leg, particularly the heel (not ball).

So plant the right supporting heel. Then push off of it when you're kicking with the other leg. That should straighten the right foot out. And if it dosen't, don't worry. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're pushing off of the heel in order to maximize moving your weight into the kick.

Hazard's foot is facing outward because he's old. And the hips aren't as flexible as they used to be. (Thank goodness, this forum is anonymous).

[Drew]

I'm not really a karateka so please feel free to ignore me.

However, when doing a front kick (I assume thats what a mae geri is based on my limited Japanese) I prefer to turn the toes of my supporting foot out for two reasons.

One, my fighting stance has the toes of my rear foot turned out anyway, so I may as well turn them out at the end of the kick. Of course, not everyone stands with their rear foot like mine, I just find that to be natural and don't fight it.

Two, a lot of people will see a front kick coming from a mile away and back up accordingly, but not as many will expect it to mutate into a side kick in mid-chamber. The foot turning outward and the hips opening up make this transition all the more natural.

Again, I'm no karateka, but I think you will find martial arts in general a lot easier and much more rewarding if you listen to your body when training instead of mindlessly doing what your instructors do. Everyone is unique after all.

Best of luck to you!

[shinobitribe]

Main goal while doing a Mae geri is to keep your trunk or center stable.Positioning of your leg should be such that your body is stable and your not leaning backwards or to your sides as this will take away from the kimae of the kick.I find that keeping your leg slightly pointing outwards helps me get more stability and a slight bend in the knee will help you use your hips more.But everyone's center of mass and body is different so as do whatever is comfortable for you....hope that helps....

[brickshooter]

I'm not really a karateka so please feel free to ignore me.

However, when doing a front kick (I assume thats what a mae geri is based on my limited Japanese) I prefer to turn the toes of my supporting foot out for two reasons.

One, my fighting stance has the toes of my rear foot turned out anyway, so I may as well turn them out at the end of the kick. Of course, not everyone stands with their rear foot like mine, I just find that to be natural and don't fight it.

Two, a lot of people will see a front kick coming from a mile away and back up accordingly, but not as many will expect it to mutate into a side kick in mid-chamber. The foot turning outward and the hips opening up make this transition all the more natural.

Again, I'm no karateka, but I think you will find martial arts in general a lot easier and much more rewarding if you listen to your body when training instead of mindlessly doing what your instructors do. Everyone is unique after all.

Best of luck to you!

Apprantly, most Karate schools agree with you. So in addition to the front kick, they teach one to do a side kick the same way you just did. By mimicking a front kick, but pivoting on the ball of the foot and delivering a side kick at the last second.

[Drew]

I'm not really a karateka so please feel free to ignore me.

However, when doing a front kick (I assume thats what a mae geri is based on my limited Japanese) I prefer to turn the toes of my supporting foot out for two reasons.

One, my fighting stance has the toes of my rear foot turned out anyway, so I may as well turn them out at the end of the kick. Of course, not everyone stands with their rear foot like mine, I just find that to be natural and don't fight it.

Two, a lot of people will see a front kick coming from a mile away and back up accordingly, but not as many will expect it to mutate into a side kick in mid-chamber. The foot turning outward and the hips opening up make this transition all the more natural.

Again, I'm no karateka, but I think you will find martial arts in general a lot easier and much more rewarding if you listen to your body when training instead of mindlessly doing what your instructors do. Everyone is unique after all.

Best of luck to you!

Apprantly, most Karate schools agree with you. So in addition to the front kick, they teach one to do a side kick the same way you just did. By mimicking a front kick, but pivoting on the ball of the foot and delivering a side kick at the last second.

Cool, the more the merrier.