Stepping with Right or Left Foot

[isshinryuronin]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

I’m not Chinese, but I’ve never heard that before. Interesting.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

A: Dear judge! What crime have I committed to deserve 10 year in prison?
B: You stepped in this courtroom with left foot first.

This form starts with left foot first. This is the only left hand form in the long fist system. There are more left side forward than right side forward.

 

[Flying Crane]

The first step taken in our fundamental form is with the left foot.

My first sifu is left handed. He told me there is tremendous pressure for people to NOT be left handed, so when he was young he was forced to do things right handed. I’m not sure what the source or reasoning behind this is, but I vaguely recall it having to do with left being regarded as evil/bad or some such.

He is Chinese-American but his parents were immigrants.

 

[Haruhiko]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

It's related to yin-yang. Depending on the form, stepping with the left/yin leg is a defensive and stable or "inwards" martial philosophy, and wouldn't be interpreted or received as "outwards" or aggressive enough. That's from what I recall.

Ironically, Musashi talks about this in Go Rin no Sho (this is a paraphrased quote):
["When you move forward, use the principle of in-yo, and when retreating, also use the principle of in-yo. The body should move as one with the feet, and the timing of stepping is vital in determining advantage or disadvantage. The foot that moves and the foot that stays reflect the alternation of yin and yang."]

 

[Same Trick]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

Hmm ive never heard this.

Often one start feet together then step left foot to left, just as one start a karate kata/exercise - Yoi !

However there are some rules, one should always facing south beginning the taolu(kata)….and if one is into Xingyiquan one should clench one’s teeth when taking a leak.

Are these actually important rules to follow, I don’t know, but I follow them anyway

Anyway, Xingyiquan practice start with a left foot forward santishi stance(some schools do take a small step forward with right foot before landing in that left santishi stance)

Wu taijiquan form step forward with left foot too.

 

[Same Trick]

Some feng shui stuff on left/right

Dr Hsu Feng Shui Talk #5: Yin Yang Balance and Resonance

Talks on Feng Shui with Dr. Hsu 5: Yin Yang Balance and Resonance In the previous posting (number 4), we mentioned that, in Yin-Yang theory, a combination of Yin and Yang create harmony, while a combination of Yang and Yang, or Yin and Yin, create resonance, which means empowerment. I used...

www.bluemountainfengshui.com

 

[Same Trick]

It's related to yin-yang. Depending on the form, stepping with the left/yin leg is a defensive and stable or "inwards" martial philosophy, and wouldn't be interpreted or received as "outwards" or aggressive enough. That's from what I recall.

Ironically, Musashi talks about this in Go Rin no Sho (this is a paraphrased quote):
["When you move forward, use the principle of in-yo, and when retreating, also use the principle of in-yo. The body should move as one with the feet, and the timing of stepping is vital in determining advantage or disadvantage. The foot that moves and the foot that stays reflect the alternation of yin and yang."]

I don’t see Musashi here speaking that one leg or the other have a specific concrete yin or yang status.
Didn’t musashi move away from the common two hand grip of the sword(that usually face forwad with right leg) so to wield two sword instead, one in each hand, which leg forward just an adaption to how opponent(s) move ?

 

[Xue Sheng]

The first step taken in our fundamental form is with the left foot.

My first sifu is left handed. He told me there is tremendous pressure for people to NOT be left handed, so when he was young he was forced to do things right handed. I’m not sure what the source or reasoning behind this is, but I vaguely recall it having to do with left being regarded as evil/bad or some such.

He is Chinese-American but his parents were immigrants.

Chinese like to force folks to be right handed. They force everyone to write right handed, even say you can't write Chinese characters with your left hand

 

[Xue Sheng]

In Chinese culture/MA, I read that is bad luck to start with the left foot. This may affect how forms may begin. Anyone out there that can comment on this from a cultural point of view?

I have never heard that from any of my Chinese Shifus, my wife, friends or their families. However this could be regional. There are superstitions in the North that no one in the South ever heard of and vise versa. I imagine these things can also be based on province of origin.

 

[Appledog]

In our school we have a saying, "left side first". I.E. if we repeat a move over and over, such as punching, 1 is the left side. I can imagine there's a local superstition somewhere but I don't think this has something to do with right or left handedness.