2025-05-21

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

We’ve all heard it a thousand times: “Foot and fist, same time!” But is it really true? (Here’s a hint: I’m writing about it, so the answer isn’t just “yes.”)

First of all, I teach it a bit differently. I say “Foot, fist, and breath, same time”, because breathing is important too.

Second, students understand “foot and fist, same time” when they’re punching air, but once you start hitting a target you need to answer “The same time as what?” Many students mistakenly bring their foot to rest when they strike the target, but that’s not correct. The foot should come to rest when the punch reaches full extension, which is actually inside the target.

To say that another way, the punch still reaches full extension as your foot hits the ground, but when you’re hitting something, contact comes slightly before the arm is at full extension. After all, if you made contact with the arm at full extension, you’d just be grazing the surface of the target with no penetration. Likewise, if the foot hit the ground at the same time you made contact, your body mass would be transferred into the floor, not the target.

TL;DR: When striking a target, your foot should strike the ground slightly after you make contact with the target, because your punch shouldn’t reach full extension until it’s inside the target.