The Correct Biomechanical Use of the Feet & Knees | Part 2: Foot Position

Foot Placement

The principles of correct foot posture apply to everyone. Foot placement will vary from individual to individual depending on their height, flexibility, width of waist, etc.

Wu Ta-Yeh writing in Tai-chi magazine in 1993 had some fascinating insights into Yang Chengfu's earlier and later taijiquan. In photographs of Yang taken in 1925 in a forward stance his rear foot was at 45 degrees to his front foot which was directly forward. In his 1931 photographs, however, his rear foot was 70 to 90 degrees.

Photographs of Chen Weiming taken in 1925 and Xu Lunhou in 1921 show them with rear foot angles of 45 degrees in low, long stances. The problem with 45-degree rear foot placement in long forward stances is quite obvious if we compared the postures in the Chen Weiming, Xu Longbow and early Yang Chengfu photographs with the later Yang Chengfu pictures. In postures such as Play Guitar, Roll Back and First Under Elbow when the weight is on the back leg, they had difficulty "emptying" the front leg and sitting the weight properly on the rear leg. In fact, the rear foot angle forced them to lean the body forward, and the strain on the back knee is obvious. In the 1931 pictures of Yang Chengfu, however, we see him with a back foot angle of about 80 degrees, and sometimes 90 degrees, but with a perfectly upright body and a completely "empty" front leg.

It is interesting to note that Wu Tianquan's rear foot (in pictures of the same period) was parallel to his front foot in back stances, but he used a very short stance and raised the toes and balls of the front foot to reduce the strain on the back knee.

Another advantage of the 70 to 90 degree back foot placement in a long forward stance is that you can deliver a tremendous amount of power directly off the back heel, whereas with a long 45 degree rear foot placement the force tends to come from further forward and from the ball of the rear foot. There is also the problem with the direction of force in the long 45-degree rear foot stance. The force tends to go laterally whereas with the wider foot placement the force travels forward and more centrally. Thus, we must conclude that the later pictures of Yang Chengfu represent a development in this taijiquan although some of the critics of his day and indeed some of his own students thought that as he got older and larger his technique deteriorated. This attitude might explain why most of his students continued to teach 45-degree rear foot placement. Two notable exceptions were Tung Ying-Chieh who studied with Yang and was his travelling assistant for a total of 20 years who in his 1948 book Taijiquan Explained recommended a 70-80 degree rear foot angle, and Chen Man-Ching who we are all familiar with who used a very wide rear foot angle.

Another important aspect of foot placement is the width of a forward stance. Judging from photographs, when he was younger Yang Chengfu used a forward stance with a width that was greater than shoulder width as did Chen Weiming and Xu Longhou. But when he was older, he used a stance that was shoulder width. Chen Man-Ching placed his foot under or aligned with the shoulder joints.

In concluding this discussion on foot placement my personal recommendations are: Beginners (1-3 years of experience) should use short stances with feet positioned under or in line with hip joints, with a 30-to-45-degree rear foot angle. This accommodates the lack of mobility in hips and ankles and the short adductor muscles that most beginners suffer from. It also facilitates good back posture and comfortable shifting of weight, with no strain on the knees. Intermediate practitioners should use longer wider stances with a greater rear foot angle. However, remember that the width of a forward stance should never be wider than shoulder width, and the angle of your rear foot will be determined by the flexibility of your adductors too. If you turn your foot out further than you can turn your knee out, you will be guilty of a chicken leg.