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In Goju Ryu, we always turn on the ball of the foot. The reason is simple: you have more control over your balance if your weight is on the ball of your foot rather than on your heel. You can easily test this by standing on the ball of your foot alternating with the heel. In the latter situation, it is much more difficult to maintain your balance for more than 30 seconds. The argument of the distance you gain in the turn seems to make little sense to me, when you look at the original meaning of the turn in kata. Correct bunkai teaches us that turning in kata always means that you strategicaly reposition yourself against your opponent. In doing so, stability is extremely important, not so much that you gain distance. After all, in principle you are standing very close to your opponent in a self-defense fight on which kata is based. After all, it is about self-defence, which always takes place close by. I think that also in Shotokan and other styles the turning on the heel only crept in later, when karate had moved from Okinawa to Japan, and when the sporting aspect gained importance compared to the original practical application in self-defence. Something similar can be seen when progressing in zenkutsu or shiko dachi. Many people make the mistake of turning the toes of their front foot outward, on the heel, before departing and then push off. This is very bad for the knee, which goes straight ahead while the foot is already turned to the side. The foot should only start to turn on the ball of the foot as soon as the back leg passes the front during the progression. In this way, your knee remains in line with your foot and you can also push off better and apply force with your ge-tanden in your stance. Compare with how sprinters stand in the starting blocks. They also stand with their feet straight and in line with their knees. That is how I learned. But that doesn't mean it can't be done differently. Great video. I now understand better why Shotokan practioners turn on their heels.Thanks for sharing.

My sports physiotherapy friends respectfully disagree. Shotput/ball throwing Olympic athletes are the ones we see turn on the heels the most (knees strapped up to the nth degree). Anyway, thanks for your take Yusuke-sam. Good to see/hear. I practice both heel or ball pivot and pick what is needed for the situation.

For these kind of back turn movements, I prefer to push the heel in that direction first (weight on the ball), and as I'm turning into position let the toes come around (weight on the heel). It's a method that has a good balance of speed and stability, and advances me further in the direction I want to go.

I may have been taught turning on the heel, but have no memory of that lesson. I did introduce it in the early ‘90s to my Dojo. For me the importance is twofold, 1. To train the mind that raising the heel is wrong, 2. To maintain the connection to the floor which makes thrusting forward much more powerful. Students were having a hard time with the concept of keeping their rear heel down. Before completing a turn they were introducing additional movements which waste time and reduce the connection to the floor. I had at the time a middle age woman White Belt who was an excellent student. She had the hardest time keeping her rear heel down when turning. I told her, “This is simple. I’m not asking you to do a backflip.” She said, “A backflip is simple. THIS is HARD!” (She had been a competitive gymnast years before-LOL!). These days I have talked to experienced Yodans who have no idea of the importance of keeping the rear heel planted.

This is smooth in the dojo. I will try this a few times. Thank you. I want to see you do this with shoes in the street where the ground is uneven. I have a problem with this because my ankles swell up after practicing. So I try to use the pivot on the mid point or do a controlled jump spin with the foot slightly touching the ground.....or twist the front leg hanmi so the leg is half turned first.

Thanks for the tips! Never thought of this advantage with turning on the heels. think I once heard, for throws it helps to turn with the heels as well and now I can see why - more range of motion = greater throw.

I think maybe the heel turn is more suited for the slower and controlled movements of kata and weight shifting rather than the explosiveness of kumite. Being on the ball of the foot engages the calf muscles and allows for faster footwork and forwards offense. This is why practitioners "bounce" not on the heels but using the ball of the foot for more agility

Many koryu bujutsu styles also use turning from the heel. It's mostly a question of being able to turn in place without needing extra movements. From what I was told, it's also related to the kind of footwear that was used by Japanese people during the Edo period. If you pay attention to iaijutsu styles, this is quite common. In ZNKR Iaido and Kendo movement comes from the ball of the feet. The same for atarashii Naginata. Jukendo and tankendo too, afaik. Of course, at least in those styles, the whole body is used and movement comes from the hip.

If you've got senior grades hearing this for the first time here, they've been let down. I'm a lowly 2nd kyu (Wadō-ryū) and this has been drilled into us since day one.

This is mainly a balance thing. In some katas i really need the ball of my foot, of even the whole foot to keep balance. If you perform a pinan/heian sandan, it is almost not possible to use only the ball, or the heel. For me personally, I learned to use the ball of the foot (Shito-ryu), but find myself using my whole foot in diverse situations when I need to turn quickly. Thanks for your insight though!

Masterful and simplistic, at once.

Regarding power alignement I kindly disagree, using the ball of the foot allows you to engage the whole kynectic chain to generate power and push forward. If you properly use it to propel you the intention is definitely forrward. Using your heel doesn't engage the whole chain, removing stability at the knee, which Can pose more risk for injury in my opinion.

You really make it look easy. Thanks for explaining the foot technique in such details and clarity. Wish you a happy New Year. Keep growing ✌🏼️👊🏼

Arigato gosaimasu! newbie here and im trying hard to get my form correct for taikyoku shodan ... always lifting my heel .. this is really helpful . OSS!

Turning on the heel puts more stress on the knee than turning on the ball of the foot for simple mechanical reasons (when turning on the ball of the foot, the length of the foot acts as a lever reducing the amount of torque at the knee necessary to overcome friction). The taller and heavier you are, the more stress on the knee from. This can be even further aggravated if the fore foot is not lifted during the turn e.g. if practicing on a mat rather than on a wooden floor. JKA should take this point into consideration!!

This, like me, who studied shorin-rye, should take note of this technique...

Excellent video! Thank you Yusuke

Sensei Nagano and Sensei Jesse ( They come before me in Karate experience 😜) have turned my karate world upside-down ....I am enjoyyyyiiing it ! Damn 😘

Super gut! Danke !

Cool work sir thank you very much 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Thank you for your videos.

You know I work in lamination and sometimes I'm stacking and when I have to take out the bed boards specifically on my line the way it's set up I do a similar motion to step four in order to hurry and get back before the next board shows up the only difference is I'm used to doing it more with the ball of my foot for doing it the way you did it would take practice for me to get used to but it's very similar it's a very quick way to turn so I quickly turn to the left throw the bad boy out as neatly as possible as quickly as possible and quickly turned back to catch the next board before it's officially completely there

Great video, this is high level shotokan. Speed comes from simplicity.

I Love for video

As much as i wanna believe this with all my heart, my intuition is telling me otherwise,but to make it through the shotokan style i will have to conform i guess. Turning at the heel feels not only unnatural but after long periods of times, my ankles start feeling like poop. Looking at fast animals, they manoeuvre on their ball. Other styles of karate also turn on the ball of their heel. Im also a medical student so the heel turning concept contradicts a lot with what i learn in anatomy

Oss🥊Can you share complete warm up and cool down in order?

Thank you.

Now I have to see how I turn. I never paid attention to this.

The idea of contraction is valid not only for body mechanics but also for body protection. Small modifications of the hand and arm movements, combined with the closing leg movements, enable you to cover/protect vital points - groin, solar plexus, face/head - when you change direction. Seiyu Oyata sensei would watch kata and note where the student failed to cover a vital point. "I killed you," he'd say. Your first job is to protect yourself. Second job is to take out the other guy.

Also less likely to roll your ankle or twist your knee. These are two common injuries when rotating especially when force is vector to you in contact sports.

Distance is not always good or doable, you just IMPLY it is good. If the turn encodes a throw, I can't really move further with someone on my back, nor do I want it. If I for some reason turn into an attacker, my face is closer to his fist, which is also not the best scenario. And if the attacker is close enough, I don't need distance, I may even need to replace the Oi-Zuki or whatever with a Tate-Zuki or Ura-Zuki anyways, where additional distance makes things worse. For these punches I don't need additional power alignment, I just need a good stance as a base for the punch. Other styles also stand before they punch, doing that at the exact same moment on purpose makes things only difficulter. I also have a couple of students who naturally move with their ball, not their heel. Teaching them to move differently is like teaching (or even forcing) a left handed person how to write with the right hand. If push comes to shove, natural movement always kicks in. Posture is always depending on the context. Ah, and then there is this interview of Lucio Maurino by Jesse Enkamp "Why the classical heel turn is scientifically wrong": kzfaq.info/get/bejne/raldaZeV15mvhWQ.html So I get the feeling that this is a little detail that should get abandoned.

It is a crime you haven’t given us an Andy Hug reaction vid 🙁

Please reply....what if your opponent keeps his foot hanging in the air while playing..force you to explain more than one technique for this...and also explain how your foot stays in the air I really learn alot from you 💯

the debating here sounds like the classic heel strike vs forefoot landing run gait argument over the past 2 decades.....everyone finds 'proof' their favoured method is best....but ultimately it probably comes down to individual preference and makes little difference to performance.....pivot on the ball or spin on the heel, pick one and train it until skilled

I am also a Shotokan Karate Instructor, but I totally disagree with the content of the video: the rotation on the heel is anti-physiological, and to be avoided in almost all situations. In addition, the rotation on the ball of the foot allows you to recruit the calf muscles and take advantage of the full range of motion of the hips. This increases the range, speed and power of all techniques. Karate and other traditional disciplines were coded in an era when our body and biodynamics were scientifically less known than today. Now we know that some technical details, which have been practiced for decades, have proved harmful to health. We instructors have the responsibility to prevent past mistakes from continuing. The masters of the past did not know they were making these mistakes. We do.

Learn the basics, practice and fight stance.

I do Kyokushin Karate

Osu sensei. I always watch your channel and I congratulate you on how varied and interesting its content is. But in this case, I disagree a bit on some things that he mentions about the use of the heel and the ball of the foot. As for the changes of direction (mawate), it is true that some distance is gained, but explosiveness of movement is sacrificed. It is true that when using the ball, the foot that is left behind does not gain distance, but it explodes better in strength. All this based on basic technique, but if I apply it in kumite, I can extend or slide (tsugi ashi) to gain that distance. It is also true that if I raise my heels and lower them again, the weight seeks the heels, but it is because they are responsible for the balance in a static position by being just below the line of the body. Even in the example that he presents when partially advancing in zenkutsu dachi he shows the heel supported, and it is because that leg is static supporting the weight. The simplest example for that is ordinary jumps: If you jump on the balls there is complete control, however if you jump on the heels, you can imagine the rest ... I am aware that not all bodies or situations are the same, but I have reached these conclusions through my years of study, practice and teaching in art. I also reiterate that the content of your channel is very good and I encourage you to continue like this, greetings from Panama. Osu.

Have you heard of sansoku?

Come on where’s the cobra Kai reactions?!!! I want cobra Kai reactions!!!

Takes practice, I think I did it.

Practicing kendo and viewing this is puzzling, heels? What are those? We do ashisabaki on the hall of the feet and we are not supposed to touch the floor with the heels 🤣

You have already seen the link to the profile I sent him master

Rect to ong bak fight club

I thought you turned into a wrestling bad guy like Ric Flair or something.

I'm 16 and if I pass my axem i becon a yellow belt

First

Gravity???

Why Karate's Classic "Heel-Turn" is Scientifically Wrong: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/raldaZeV15mvhWQ.html

..........

In general I don't agree, at least in 90 % of the situations. Even in your video it is visible you have to lift your toes a little to do the heel turn which puts stress on your calves and diminishes power generation. Your standing on your (heel)bones and are disconnected from your lower leg muscles. I was taught the same way as you (the turn on the heel dogma) but I changed my opinion over the years (+45 years of training)..simply because it doesn't work like that in human physiology.