I have been thinking about this kick and was wondering what other people do with the supporting leg whilst delivering the kick With a slightly bent back leg it is better for balance but wont transfer all the power of the kick into the target as there will always be a 'bit of give' in the supporting leg. With a straight back leg it's not so good for balance but allows you to transfer more power into the kick as it reduces any backward movement caused by resistance of what you are kicking, in the same way as locking the back leg whilst punching in Walking Stance. As I see it, the straight back leg is a more committed technique and has less control due to reduced balance but more power. Any Thoughts?
Yes, Check out "Closed Chain Linking" or "Kinetic Linking" search the net. You can have the best of both worlds. The support leg only needs to be straigh momentarily for the duration of the mpact.
Interesting. The punching principal is something I am already familiar with from another style that I did many years ago which utilised the whole body movement I will think about it a bit more and experiment with the straight leg in Moon Moo which has to be the best test of balance in the side piercing kick that I can think of. Many Thanks for the response Martin
While experimentation is fine, for Patterns there is a technical standard. For side Piercing kick the technical standard is for a slightly bent knee on the support leg. The dynamics also change radicaly for the Side Piercing kick which impacts nothing in a pattern and impacts something in Sparring / fighting or Board breaking. So I submit that pattern experimentation has only a little value. Further, the "piercing" aspect of the SPK is largely irrelevant for board beaking which uses the technical term but is more of a smashing kick.
I am sort of with Master Weiss... in patterns, it tends to remain slighty bent, but so slightly you can barely see it. I just looked at some pictures for an article I did recently and my leg looks 'locked'... but I just threw a few and found that 100% locking the support leg makes it not only feel uncomfortable, but also 'dangerous' (to me) - as locked joints can be broken easily. So overall and I suspect its the same when we break boards etc. I think we (well I) 'almost' lock the leg, but don't, instead tensing the knee muscles to make the joint solid, whilst retaining a 'slightly' bent leg. I dont have a board holder here to test and see if I sub-consciously 100% lock it when breaking... but I suspect I dont! Just my tuppence worth Stuart
Therein lies an important difference. "Locked" vs "Straight" . You can be almost 100% straight without being locked. IMO locked means no more room for a joint to move and any addittional prssure will lead to pain or damage. This is generaly not a good idea. Always best to have some latitude allowing the muscles. tendons and ligaments to absorb some of the stress as opposed to the joint taking 100%.
