Front leg vs. back leg power

[nianfong]

now, h20_dragon, are you asking about kicking power, or leg power for positional movement?

[H2O_Dragon]

now, h20_dragon, are you asking about kicking power, or leg power for positional movement?

Yes

[Josealb]

H20,

Ill take the front leg. The back leg is the one who connects with the spine.

[DeusTrismegistus]

thanks for the self-regulation guys.

deus, I think you're just arguing over semantics about what "falling" means. we're ALWAYS at the mercy of gravity. if we use gravity to our advantage, it makes things better for us. I think you need to be shown the concept of the "falling" step which is very similar to the following step.

In fact, the falling step (to an exaggerated extent) is used in several shuai-jiao throws. esp shaving, where you "fall" onto the shaving foot. inner hooks are most effective when you fall into them and catch yourself after as well. John Wang talked about it all the time as "destroying your own balance" and then regaining it again. Same goes for outside leg seizing, where you bump the opponent's leg on the inside. When you bump that leg, you have to put your weight into your leg to give it power, and it also speeds up the step.

-Fong

Yea it is a semantic thing. But semantics are important when learning and talking about MA. The words you use give input to people based on their experience and common usage. Falling to most people has connotations of being unbalanced and out of control, which is not how you do MA. Even when you fall into shaving you are still in control of where your balance is and your movement even if it is at the mercy of gravity.

I have never really thought much of my front leg as generating power. I guess there is a component of front leg power in a rear leg roundhouse kick. What other types of moves would you guys say use front leg power?

[Interloper]

I have been playing alot lately with what Dan Harden stresses alot, that when one leg spirals up into the opposite hand the other is spiraling down as a balancer. So I guess both legs help generate the power in a coordinated fashion. Makes sense to me and if Dan's any example it hurts like a mofo (wincing thinking about it).

Thanks for that, Brady. You shouldn't have to choose between front or rear; you should have the use of both working together to generate power AND structural stability, avoiding double-weighting (commitment of body mass to one side of the body).