structural alignment

[ninjaboy]

hello all.....

something to ponder over the holidays:

i have a question about a cat stance. more specifically, regarding the
relationship between the femur and the toes of what i will call 'the support
leg' (ie. the leg that bears most of the weight).

some stylists seem to prefer keeping the femur of the support leg 'in line'
with the toes, as in like how they line up when we walk....
on the other hand, however, some stylists seem to prefer turning the knee of
their support leg in towards their center so that, from a bird's eye view,
the knee is not 'in line' with the toes. the knee and the foot point in
distinctly different directions.

i am curious to hear what your opinions are regarding the pros and cons of
either way and the rationale behind it for stability, mobility, power
generation, etc...

i hope i'm painting a clear picture of what i'm asking about but if my
question is unclear in any way, please let me know and i'll either reword it
or provide pics to help illustrate my curiosity.

sincerely,
ninjaboy

[ghthomason]

I think that if the knee is not lined up with the foot, you run the risk od adding undue stress to the knee joint.

I have always been told to keep my knees inline with feet whenver doing stances to avoid injury.

[Wong Ying Home]

The knee is a hinge joint, if you apply tortion to it, or counter rotation you will damage the cartilidge and miniscus over a period of time.
Why do you think so many wu shu players are having knee problems in later life.

When keeping the femur in line with the tibia, one should also not allow the weight of the standing leg to bear down into the standing leg kee. You need to ensue that you sit your weight back and open your Qua. This will place the pressure in the upper part of the thigh.

Hope that helps