Toe/Knuckle Alignment

[Martial D]

This is something I learned some years ago that seems to maximize power through rotation and body positioning for punches, I was wondering if this is a thing in any traditional style or what you train or teach;

Always keep your toes pointed in the same direction as your knuckles on the same leg while punching.

Examples;..the toes twist, the hips follow, naturally drawing the weight forward for the hook.

Your weight comes forward more naturally for the lead straight and cross

You will dip into your uppercuts tighter when you step in and will be more aligned to land.

 

[skribs]

Could you perhaps post a video of what you're talking about. The way I'm reading it doesn't really make sense to me, at least the way we teach punches at my Taekwondo School. We have punches with the hand oriented vertically, horizontally, and upside-down (some lower punches).

All of our punches with our rear hand we pivot on the ball of our feet to go from our sparring stance or back stance, into something between a front stance and kneeling stance. I'm not aware of any difference to this based on what type of punch we are doing.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'm having trouble following this, too, MD. Part of that may be because my feet naturally flair out a bit (if I point all my toes forward, my knees point in, almost like Wing Chun stance most folks are familiar with). Beyond that, with a rear-hand strike (rear straight, reverse punch), my toes will almost never be pointed toward the target. If I'm in our basic fighting stance (both feet at 45 degrees-ish), my toes won't align with either punch.

 

[MI_martialist]

I am wondering if the focus on the toes is a training aid to get the student to focus on the hips and the direction of the hip movement.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I am wondering if the focus on the toes is a training aid to get the student to focus on the hips and the direction of the hip movement.

That could make sense.

 

[Martial D]

Could you perhaps post a video of what you're talking about.

After trying (and failing)to reword this in a way that makes any sense, I think this is probably the best option. One video coming up.

 

[Martial D]

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That makes more sense, especially when you demonstrate it on full extension. It doesn't apply so clearly at partial extension (at least when I punch), but that doesn't make the principle any less valid.

 

[skribs]

Really the only difference then is the hook. If you have a normal sparring stance, then your lead foot points straight and your rear foot points out, and punches with the lead hand just fly, and you pivot your toes/drop your knee/twist your hip (however you call it) on punches with the rear hand.

The only punch that breaks this rule appears to be the hook.

 

[JP3]

This is something I learned some years ago that seems to maximize power through rotation and body positioning for punches, I was wondering if this is a thing in any traditional style or what you train or teach;

Always keep your toes pointed in the same direction as your knuckles on the same leg while punching.

Examples;..the toes twist, the hips follow, naturally drawing the weight forward for the hook.

Your weight comes forward more naturally for the lead straight and cross

You will dip into your uppercuts tighter when you step in and will be more aligned to land.

We call that "Same hand, same foot." Shorthand reference for a body movement principle which helps with foot-hand timing, i.e. when the strike is hitting (doesn't have to be a punch, so consider that), the weight is dropping into the foot on the earth right as the power is being delivered from hand to target. It works for almost any sort of movement, it doesn't have to be hand strikes, the principle works with throws/takedowns too.

 

[MI_martialist]

My concern with what you demonstrated is the torque on the knee that is not very healthy. What I saw confirmed the shifting / hip rotation needed to project energy.