rmcrobertson said:
Stomping really IS bad mechanics; repetitive trauma to feet, ankles, and right on up the chain, as I learned as a brown belt whose feet--like those of many brown belts--hurt all the time. It's also unnecessary, though of course a good foot stomp is part of kenpo from at least, "Scraping Hooves," on.
Oh yeah--and when people are switching, they're jumping too high if their feet come way off the mat and slam down--it takes too long, and hurts over time..
Well, I guess part of this revolves around just what we mean by "stomping." Stomping, I admit, sounds pretty bad. It conjures up for me at least, someone excessively slamming their foot to the ground. If this is what you are referring to when you reference "stomping," I'm sympathetic. However, it is possible to use a mechanism with the foot that might be mistaken for a "stomp," which is non-injurious but lends to immense benefit for body alignment and stability.
Stomping correctly, i.e., at the right time and place, can provide much benefit. However, what would seem to be a simple, almost soft, placement of foot at the proper time and place can yield the same benefits without employing excessive downward force. At first, I think, students have a need to use a more forceful stomp in order to get the feel and understanding of the underlying mechanism, internal structure and result sought. But, at same point (hopefully sooner than later), a much lighter, and certainly non-injurious, "stomp-lite," can and should be adopted.
I see this as an issue much like that of the "slap-check." While someone can certainly injure themselves by self-hitting, slap-checks done properly yield tremendous benefit, and do not produce injury (in fact, they prevent it).
So, I guess my underlying theme is that we may all be on the same page here, we might just need to clarify usage a bit.
