2026-08-05

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

A 270° turn starting in front stance and ending in back stance appears after the second kiai in Heian Shodan and after the first kiai in Heian Nidan. It’s the same turn, and it’s repeated for a reason. It teaches us something very important about maintaining stability during a long turn, and the longer the turn, the more it exposes flaws in your balance.

The biggest problem I see is not bending the front knee over the toe in front stance from the beginning. This moves the center of gravity backwards, away from the front foot that serves as the axis of rotation, and allows the body’s rotational momentum to carry you off balance while you pivot.

The fix is to make sure your knee is bent when you begin the rotation, so your center of gravity is as close to the axis of rotation as possible, whether that’s the heel or the ball of your front foot. Then you need to keep that leg bent instead of standing up and straightening it.

Remember that the bend of the front leg in front stance is identical to the bend of the back leg in back stance. During both transitions, your right leg starts in the front and ends in the back, so it doesn’t have to change shape at all while you pivot on it.