Motion
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Things to avoid:
- If the thrust of the rear leg is weak, often the movement is made by tilting the head and shoulders forward. This impairs stability and results in an ineffective technique. Instead, keep the hips and upper body in vertical.
- If the heel or the rear foot is raised, it is difficult to use it properly for thrusting against the floor. However, allowing the rear foot to rise on the ball of the foot does allow extra reach on reverse punches.
- If the movement of the hands and the feet is not coordinated with the movement of the rest of the body, it is impossible to achieve a focused technique. All parts of the body must arrive at the point of impact at the same time.
The jab is the simplest example of linear motion applied to punching. In its most basic form, the rear leg pushes the hips and body toward the target, while the front knee and ankle bend in the direction of the target. The leading side of the body is pushed toward the target. The lead hand snaps straight to the target with the body weight. To cover more distance, the front foot may shift toward the target. To cover even more distance, the front foot and then the rear foot shift forward.The side kick takes advantage of linear motion to create power. In the lead leg side kick, both the hip and the target lie on the same straight line. To be effective, the kick must be thrust down that same straight line, with the base foot thrusting the hips toward the target. At the moment of impact, the hips should be closer to the target than the base foot to allow the support leg to thrust the kick toward the target.Moving upward while delivering a technique is usually a mistake unless the target is almost directly above you or the surface of the target is tilted toward the ground. Upper cuts to the body and head make use of this upward motion.Dropping the body weight while striking downward is the only method that does not make direct use of reaction force as its primary source of power. Dropping power involves lowering the body and delivering the technique in harmony with gravity. This can be done by dropping to a lower stance or after first jumping in the air.