By Phillip Starr
Imagine doing a powerful roundhouse kick but neglecting the pivot...! Not a pretty sight at all. The supporting foot remains planted while body turns at least 90 degrees. That places a lot of torque on the supporting knee and you may well tear ligaments! That's a bit of a drastic example (although I've seen lots of people do it), but there are infinite variations that occur with great frequency. That is, the toes are pointing in one direction and the knee is not aligned with them...
In the art of baguazhang (one of China's internal martial arts), this is a common problem, since the signature exercise is to walk around the rim of a circle. This “walking” isn't anything like a normal walk! One foot or the other is frequented angled inward or outward and it's crucial that the knee is aligned precisely with the toes. Moreover, there are strange movements that involve stepping or turning one foot outward (pai-bu) or inward (kou-bu) and in both cases, proper alignment of the knee with the foot is vital! Otherwise, you're constantly putting torque on the knee and although it may not be bothersome at first...it will be, eventually.
Also, bear in mind that where the foot points, the hip also points. If your rear foot is allowed to point outwards when you execute a reverse punch, you can't get nearly enough rotation of your hip into the blow! The rear foot should be allowed to point outward no more than about 30 degrees. Ideally, it points almost dead straight ahead (when delivering a strong blow).
Allowing the back foot to splay out when advancing into a forward stance easily develops into a bad habit that's tough to break. Don't let it happen and check all of your stances to insure that everything is properly aligned.
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