My kick ends up looking a bit like this. Supporting leg turned out a little, knee out of the way, support foot pivoted (but no too much), pelvis dropping through and out. Actually my kicking side and pelvis probably comes through more than Enoeda's do but the support leg is very similar. Actually now I think about it my foot pivots a bit more too (probably related to the pelvis and side coming through).
This weirds me out even more than turning for a front kick. It just seems wrong, unless you're doing some sort of thai style 45 degree kick. For a mid-level roundhouse I turn my supporting foot at least 90, usually 135 degrees.
turning out 45 degrees or more for a roundhouse? yep. turning out 45 degrees or more for a teep/push kick/stomp? possibly, but can be done without it. turning out 45 degrees or more for a traditional front kick? nope. it must be as natural as taking a big step/stride. and it also preclude your centerline. if you're in a bladed stance and using your lead foot, back foot is of course angled. if your hips are squared(like in a rear foot front kick), better not turn out the lead foot.
But as I understand it, the hips shouldn't be square when you go to kick someone or something. Certainly I find it is easier to attack the centre line if I allow my hip to drive into the kick. But again, that's just me.
No pics, sorry. Stand facing a wall in front stance, close enough to put your reverse palm on it. Now raise your knee and place the ball of the foot on the wall. Now look at your supporting leg. Play with foot positions. Sink your hips, bend your leg more, push your pelvis forward more - see where you can feel it stretching and where the stress is. You can also push off the wall with your kicking foot as you push into the wall with your pelvis and supporting leg.
Cheers, that description... I don't want to say it's better, because that seems rude about your previous description, but... That's really helpful, thanks a lot .
They should on a front kick. The force for a maegeri comes from pushing with your bum-muscles and pushing your leg out in the forward plane. You don't gain anything from your hips being off-line from the direction that the kick is going.
Personally I'm with PASmith. I think a little rotation of the supporting foot aids the kick and feels more natural. Keeping the supporting foot pointing straight ahead seems like a stylistic requirement to me, not a practical one. Mitch
If I put some "oooopmh" in a front kick sheer momentum means I tend to naturally pivot through a bit. Maybe that's a Thai thing as they tend to go through with a kick (roundhouse for example) and let the impact stop their momentum rather than muscle control per se?
I've seen a TKD instructor (not you) deliberately place his soon to be supporting foot out at 90 degrees before doing the kick. Is that a TKD 'thing'?
In many respects, so far as Karate is concerned, and certainly so far as Shotokan is concerned, this is linked (flexibility wise) to how you step from one front stance to another.
