Preferred Kicking Leg

[Gwai Lo Dan]

Is there a correlation between preferred kicking leg and being right-handed vs. left-handed? Do most right-handed people prefer kicking with the right leg?

I am right-handed and am much more comfortable kicking with the LEFT leg. Not sure why - I was thinking that being right-handed would lead to preferring the right foot. As an aside, I kick a soccer ball with the right leg, if I have a choice.

Do the instructors here see a correlation in their classes?

 

[RTKDCMB]

Usually, but some kicks are easier/more comfortable with the opposite leg, for me it's running jumping back kick.

 

[ATC]

The dominant leg tends to be your better support leg so many tend to kick with the non dominant leg with kicks that spin or jump. The reason being that you can keep your balance better while on your dominate leg for spinning kicks, and for jumping kicks you can take off and land on the dominant leg easier. So many prefer to kick with the non-dominant leg.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I kick with my dominant leg and don't worry so much about support with the other leg. I don't counter balance, but it makes sense that counter balancers would use their dominant leg to do so. I had never thought about it until now. LOL
Sean

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

The dominant leg tends to be your better support leg so many tend to kick with the non dominant leg with kicks that spin or jump.

This reminds me of hockey where roughly half the people have the dominant hand on the bottom of the stick and half have it on the top.

My brother and I are both right-handed, but I put my right hand on the bottom, and my brother has his right hand on the top.

I say I want my right hand on the bottom of the stick to generate more power, and my brother says he wants his right hand on the top of the stick for control. It seems that TKD may be similar with the dominant leg.

 

[TKDTony2179]

Coming up through rank I was always told to train both sides equally. With that being said I do notice that some people have a perferred side when sparring which will allow them to use only a perferred leg to kick with. I myself have told people that all of your basic kicks should look the same. The intermidate kicks and advance kicks may look the same but the power and flexibilty may change in each leg. But if someone could stand to the side and watching you perfom a kick and they can tell the difference would be bad.

I don't have a perfered side. But since I have been teaching for a while I do find myself off balance a lil. Especially with the jump spin hook kick with my right leg. So when sparring certain intermidate or advance kicks I will do from either a right or left back stance.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

Coming up through rank I was always told to train both sides equally....I don't have a perfered side.

How long have you been training? Did you ever have a preferred side?

 

[TKDTony2179]

How long have you been training? Did you ever have a preferred side?

7yrs. I have never had a preferred side and still don't. My instructor would say we practice both sides so we can be equal. When squaring off I watch people step into either a right back stance or left back stance. Then I will step into the same stance (facing opposite directions). I didn't want to practice only on one side so I always sparred opposite direction of my opponent. Which some people are othordox and others are south paw sort of speaking. As I would spar I use to see people scample backwards when they are in the wrong stance for them because they couldn't spar in that stance because they couldn't do the same kicks, blocks, or punches because they are uncomfortable. Sometimes I would change the stance so I could try to mess them up because they couldn't switch and do what I could do.

Now Gwai Lo Dan do you have a preferred leg to kick with or stance?

 

[ATC]

7yrs. I have never had a preferred side and still don't. My instructor would say we practice both sides so we can be equal. When squaring off I watch people step into either a right back stance or left back stance. Then I will step into the same stance (facing opposite directions). I didn't want to practice only on one side so I always sparred opposite direction of my opponent. Which some people are othordox and others are south paw sort of speaking. As I would spar I use to see people scample backwards when they are in the wrong stance for them because they couldn't spar in that stance because they couldn't do the same kicks, blocks, or punches because they are uncomfortable. Sometimes I would change the stance so I could try to mess them up because they couldn't switch and do what I could do.

Now Gwai Lo Dan do you have a preferred leg to kick with or stance?

Most good artist can fight or spar on both sides. But there is always a side that is better than the other. No one fights the same on both sides. No one. I teach my fighters that you don't ever have to switch stances. If you choose left leg back then stay on that side as all techniques from that side will work, regardless of the stance side your opponent is in. This is the same for is you put your right leg back.

I took a small group of student (4) to a tournament this past weekend and told them all that they would only be in right leg back fighting stance. They were only allowed to use 2 techniques also. The object was to figure out how to make those 2 techniques work from that single stance, no matter what the opponent was doing. The results were 3 gold and 1 silver. On kid even overheard a coach tell his student that this kid only has 2 kicks after watching his first match. Then that kid got beat 15 - 1 with those only 2 kicks.

Did my students like fighting from one side only? No, but now they know they can do it and make what they want work. There really is no need to worry about left side, right side. Just pick a side regardless of what you like. As I have stated everyone has a better side but that should not matter.

 

[zDom]

Most good artist can fight or spar on both sides. But there is always a side that is better than the other.

With just over 20 years of experience, I really don't think about what stance I'm in and change stance a lot — sometimes to set something up, sometimes just to disrupt a thought I see forming on my opponent's face.

I don't have a preference for either leg although some techniques "feel a bit better" on one side or the other if I stop and think about it.

It is something I notice more while training reps on something than while in the moment of sparring.


While sometimes I do take "manual control" over my sparring technique selection to do something specific, most of the time it is like I am in that "no-mind" state where I am just feeling the ebbs and flows of distance and opportunity.

 

[Jaeimseu]

I feel comfortable from either side, but my right leg is definitely better. I agree with whoever it was who said no one is equal on both sides. If someone is truly equal, they're probably equally bad on both legs.

I've always thought it would be advantageous to be left leg dominant for Taekwondo, since most people seem to be right legged kickers. A good left leg back kick and/or back hook kick is a nice weapon against a right leg round kick.

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[Gwai Lo Dan]

One kid even overheard a coach tell his student that this kid only has 2 kicks after watching his first match. Then that kid got beat 15 - 1 with those only 2 kicks.

I think Bill Wallace said something similar. The opponent knew what Bill would do: kick with the front left leg, using either a round house, side kick, or hook kick. 3 kicks - that's it. Yet Bill could do it well enough to win.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

Now Gwai Lo Dan do you have a preferred leg to kick with or stance?

I generally prefer my left leg, although it's only the back kick and spinning hook kick where I feel a HUGE difference. For me, spinning hook kick with the right leg is like throwing a baseball with my left arm. I'm not sure why (nature or nurture).

Nature - As a kid in hockey, changing from skating forwards to backwards (which involves a 180 degree rotation while moving) was always more natural with a spin to the left (CCW) than to the right (CW). So maybe it is more natural for me to spin on my right foot.

Nurture - I had hamstring issues on my left side for years, so it was always more comfortable to put my upper body to the right leg than left. At times, right leg back kick was an issue due to the left hamstring being tight. So perhaps in my formative years I trained the one side in a more biomechanically-correct fashion, and as it got better, it's been more enjoyable to keep training that side. I'll practice the right leg spinning hook kick, but keep coming back to the left leg kick as a frame of reference. And while I am kicking with the left side to understand how exactly I am moving on my good side, it is so tempting to just keep practising the good side!

 

[Touch Of Death]

I generally prefer my left leg, although it's only the back kick and spinning hook kick where I feel a HUGE difference. For me, spinning hook kick with the right leg is like throwing a baseball with my left arm. I'm not sure why (nature or nurture).

Nature - As a kid in hockey, changing from skating forwards to backwards (which involves a 180 degree rotation while moving) was always more natural with a spin to the left (CCW) than to the right (CW). So maybe it is more natural for me to spin on my right foot.

Nurture - I had hamstring issues on my left side for years, so it was always more comfortable to put my upper body to the right leg than left. At times, right leg back kick was an issue due to the left hamstring being tight. So perhaps in my formative years I trained the one side in a more biomechanically-correct fashion, and as it got better, it's been more enjoyable to keep training that side. I'll practice the right leg spinning hook kick, but keep coming back to the left leg kick as a frame of reference. And while I am kicking with the left side to understand how exactly I am moving on my good side, it is so tempting to just keep practising the good side!

Consider you have a dominant eye, and that spinning back kicks on the non dominant side are blind, so to speak.
Sean

 

[TKDTony2179]

Most good artist can fight or spar on both sides. But there is always a side that is better than the other. No one fights the same on both sides. No one. I teach my fighters that you don't ever have to switch stances. If you choose left leg back then stay on that side as all techniques from that side will work, regardless of the stance side your opponent is in. This is the same for is you put your right leg back.

I took a small group of student (4) to a tournament this past weekend and told them all that they would only be in right leg back fighting stance. They were only allowed to use 2 techniques also. The object was to figure out how to make those 2 techniques work from that single stance, no matter what the opponent was doing. The results were 3 gold and 1 silver. On kid even overheard a coach tell his student that this kid only has 2 kicks after watching his first match. Then that kid got beat 15 - 1 with those only 2 kicks.

Did my students like fighting from one side only? No, but now they know they can do it and make what they want work. There really is no need to worry about left side, right side. Just pick a side regardless of what you like. As I have stated everyone has a better side but that should not matter.

I guess I didn't say that but yea there will always be a strong kicjking leg, a more flexible leg, or more accurate leg to kick with. But you should try to train both sides at least. Yea I will be honest and say I do use the axe kick with my left leg more because it is more flexible but I have a stronger tornado kick with my right leg than my left. Just saying if you sitting on the side line you see me sparring or working the bags, both sides look the same but they are different.

 

[Rumy73]

Another way to structure the question would be using front vs rear leg. Most ppl kick from the back leg. Learning to effectively apply a front leg attack or defense kick will help overcome situations where an opponent has longer reach.

 

[TKDTony2179]

Another way to structure the question would be using front vs rear leg. Most ppl kick from the back leg. Learning to effectively apply a front leg attack or defense kick will help overcome situations where an opponent has longer reach.

True

 

[ATC]

Another way to structure the question would be using front vs rear leg. Most ppl kick from the back leg. Learning to effectively apply a front leg attack or defense kick will help overcome situations where an opponent has longer reach.

Exactly!!! Hence no need to switch feet.

 

[TKDTony2179]

Exactly!!! Hence no need to switch feet.

But what if you do a spin side or spin back kick? The foot in back is now the front. Should the person go back to the orginal stance or continue on in the new stance.

 

[Em MacIntosh]

My left leg is better for "hamstring" kicks like the front kick, crescent kicks and axe kicks.
My right leg is better for "split" kicks like the roundhouse, hook or side kick.
It stems from an injury to my left hip when I was a nine. I've been trying to recover the mobility over since. I also have tighter hamstrings on my right leg. Needless to say I practice hook kicks with my left and crescent kicks with my right to try and even it out but, 21 years later, I still have a lot of work to do.