Suprised to see so many left handed people here as I never run into other left handers! I favour southpaw but can punch just as well right handed but this is the range I practice more than anything else. Outside of MA I do most things left handed. Noted during my Muay Thai and Kickboxing training, everyone seemed to find southpaws awkward to train with and was amazed at how many people struggle to hold pads for a southpaw, not to mention sparring, I never actually ever met another natural southpaw when I used to training in Kickboxing so seemed like a pretty rare occurance. sparring another leftie which would be a interesting experience. My left leg is my dominate leg but I am pretty comfortable kicking with both althrough any flashy showboat kicks i.e. Tornado kicks ect. I can only do off my left. More interested in close range anyway so not something I really worry about. Feel it is important to train both sides as most don't and if you are struggling sparring/fighting someone in there dominant side can throw off their game dramatically Would also be interesting to see who has their dominant (stronger) hand behind when fighting or as a lead as per the JKD/Jun Fan camp. I tend to favour my strong side (hand) to the rear. Cheers Cognito Ergo Sum Dan93
Sinister means left Dexter means right...in heraldry Leftys were thought to be wrongens and hence sinister came to mean naughty, or evil ( the devil sits on the left shoulder etc.) and led to kitogs (irish for left handed) being persecuted and forced into using thier right hands I only bore you with this trivia beacause the sinister tag has been removed which makes monkey sad :[
Sorry, I romoved that because I thought somebody was just being silly (once somebody put 'bdsmpapasmurf' as a tag on one of my threads). I've never heard of the sinister thing b4. I'll remove the 'dextrous' tag and replace that with sinister. And please tell me if the mods wont be happy with me for writing what that tag was. I'll go and check the rules to make sure.
Not martial arts related but do any leftys use the stuff sold in left handed shops? Can't think of anything right handed I've had trouble using personally.
Teachers used give me left handed scissors becasause I'm left handed and I couldn't use them. I used some scissors a few days ago (with proficency) and I was using my left hand but they must of been right handed scisors as I presume most are.
What is the percentage of leftys in the gen pop? The poll is showing nearly 50:50 Are leftys more militant or are rightys lazy?
It's about 10% actually. http://www.scq.ubc.ca/the-fighting-hypothesis-stability-of-polymorphism-in-human-handedness/ This article suggests that the number of folks in interactive sports might be about 32% because of the advantage lefties have against righties.
There is a good reason that you should put your strong side forward. In wrestling, you have major hand (leading hand) and minor hand (back hand), offense leg (leading leg) and defense leg (back leg). In striking, if you put your strong side back and if your opponent moves toward your side door, he can use your leading arm to jam your back arm, and make your back powerful striking arm useless. Boxers do that all the time.
Very interesting article Sketco. Thanks (I would give you e-thanks, but the button has gone?!) However I think we rightys need to get off our backsides and vote. Those leftys are making fools of us!
You maybe... I do a fair amount with my left hand like shaving and brushing my teeth, in order to keep the co-ordination up with my left. I actually really enjoy fighting southpaw. The footwork feels very natural even if the hands feel less so.
I'm a left-handed Piscean, meaning I'm all artistic and thoughtful and generous in spirit. And probably means I shouldn't be within a thousand yards of a dojo and the brutality therein! And it probably explains my lack of skillz! Being a lefty means I'm constantly examining my stance. I use a southpaw stance although orthodox feels a more natural hand position, but I prefer to have my left leg as my back leg for stronger kicks!
Right handed, but with a clear preference for the southpaw lead. I can fight either way (escrima and aikido go both ways) but Bruce Lee was correct: it's better with the strong hand and strong foot in the front. I'm goofy foot on skateboards, too.