Turns and Injuries

Turns
"You need to lean back on that wheel kick. Your back was straight up and down when you came around," says Brian A. to me as we all practice step wheel kicks.

You'd think that being a dancer would give me an advantage when doing spinning kicks.

I've found the opposite to be true. My ballet training seems to cause me to have trouble doing TKD turns!

In ballet, turns are always done in a lifted position: you think "up!" as you go around, tighten and lift core muscles so your weight is over one foot, and rise to half-toe (the ball of your foot) as you turn.

Not true in TKD. Often our turns are done while leaning over, or even with a slightly bent standing leg.

I also have trouble because I'm used to turns that are 360, like pirouettes, or even 180, like chaine turns.

Spinning kicks look like 180 turns, but as you execute the kick, your standing foot is only 90 from where it started! So I often end up going around the wrong amount.

OK, there is one similarity between ballet and TKD turns: both require spotting (looking at the target or a spot and snapping your head around as you turn).

Injuries
Justin came in with his foot wrapped in gauze: He has a large abrasion on his toe and the ball of his foot. It's a summertime injury from playing ball without shoes.

After class, he showed me the injury, which caused two reactions in people:

Adults came over and scolded Justin for not going to the ER with this nasty injury, warning him that his foot would fall off if he didn't get it treated, and offering to pay for the doctor's fee.

Children, most notably little boys came over to show me and Justin their injuries: scrapes and scabs from summertime fun: skateboarding, biking, running.

Interesting the way people of different ages view injuries!