Forehand Throws and Foot Turns: Follow-Up on the IO Foot
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Loading ...I tried to dig up a couple pictures of what I was talking about last week with the “IO Foot”; Keeghan Uhl’s gallery of Nationals provided a few useful pictures.
Without further ado:
This picture provides one angle on the IO foot. The throw isn’t explicitly IO–which is to say, this could just be a flat throw to the open side–but you’ll note that the foot position forces the knee to follow and wind up in a position which allows a fairly clean follow-through of the arm in front of the leg.
This picture shows essentially the same position as the prior one, but from a slightly different angle. You’ll note the release point, which is both low and well in front of the knee–again, this is not explicitly an IO throw (thought note the slight tilt), but I hope it’s fairly apparent that a throw from a similar position could penetrate a mark for a low-release break.
This picture is a great example of how the IO foot can be applied in game (though the foot block is a perpetual menace for low releases). Check the distance the thrower is able to penetrate from where his pivot foot (and presumably weight) was. Note the direction the foot points, relative to the throwing direction–pretty close to perpendicular*. Any mark within a few feet is a candidate for the step-through, IO forehand break.
*I know I referenced “past perpendicular” in the prior post, and that may have been a bit hyperbolic–I get there sometimes, but it’s more instructive as a cue than a hard-and-fast rule.
I’d love to hear thoughts from people who get by with other stepping/throwing techniques. I know there’s a decent-sized camp that points the foot upfield and releases outside of the knee rather than inside, and I’m curious as to how that plays for making IO breaks in particular.
One thrower who uses a different stepping style is Tad Wissel. He throws outside the knee and has some of the best breaks in the Mid-Atlantic. I think a lot of that he accomplishes with his quickness, and he definitely uses his forehand throwing style to this advantage. By getting in a balanced stance low and wide, he draws a lot of marks over, only to pivot and beat them with a backhand break (which he much prefers to the IO flick break). Pictures of his throwing stance here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremykanter/2969863855/in/set-72157608349496691/
The shots you've posted have the foot aligned with the leg – all good. I think that's optimal regardless of what direction you step out in.
The inside/outside the knee distinction seems fairly arbitrary though. The comment before this shows an example of what i'm saying. This guy supposedly throws "outside the knee" but if you look at the next image in that stream, you'll see his arm ends up "inside" the knee. In reality it would seem he is throwing around/over the knee?
The point is that when you step out, your shoulder position should be such that you can throw around your knee anyway. If your knee is in the way, you're not out as far as you should be.
I'm still a bit worried about the way you describe the foot position because I see things like this as an accident waiting to happen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremykanter/2969864601/in/set-72157608349496691/
if it hasn't been said, the main thing about this foot position (which I interpret as point your foot in the direction you are stepping — i.e. out — instead of forward) is that it opens up your hips, allowing you to drive with your hips on the throw. i can't imagine having your foot closed and trying to throw with and oomph.
I totally get the "past-perpendicular" phrase. Here at Kansas, I try and have my heel as forward as possible on my step out. This way it naturally brings your knee back a few degrees which no matter if you throw inside or outside the knee there will be less chance that the knee will be an obstruction for the throwing arm.
I've been doing this technique for a couple of years now without any injuries related to it. That's probably due to the amount of biking I do around town.
I've been thinking about this too recently, and just completed S-phase (level 3) Z-health certification last weekend in Tempe AZ, where we practiced "side flow" and various transitional athletic movements.
In I-phase, Dr. Cobb suggests athletes train in all directions of the "compass" lunge, N / NW / E etc. Furthermore, it's worth training the foot in internal and in external rotation (R foot external rotation being what you call IO Foot).
I talked to a Z-health Master Trainer about this at S-phase a little bit and she suggested that (for the side step at least) the external foot rotation does make it a little easier to get low. Think about it, if you lunge with internal foot rotation you have a little less stability, with slight external rotation a little more (neutral being facing forward).
I do think it's worth clarifying though what the original lunge position is, in Z we might call that a lateral lunge or a posterior 45 lunge or an anterior 45 lunge depending on the positioning, and it also gets a bit subtle when you start talking about how the hips orient wrt pelvis (i.e. is the pelvis square?).
Whatever the case, it's worth training ankle mobility and strength, and playing around with different positions in practice to see how it feels.