Main > Everything Else

south pawed and goofy footed (updated with easier to read poll!)

(1/6) > >>

danny_galaga:
edit: 'goofy' means when riding a board, you have your right foot forward. this description applies whether you write with your right hand or your left hand. likewise 'southpaw' means if you were to box you would have your right foot and right hand forward. this description applies whether you write with your right hand or your left hand.


note: ONLY VOTE IF YOU EXACTLY FIT ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES

So i was talking to a friend last night who said he was ambidextrous. he's not as it turns out, but we were able to establish that he is goofy-footed and south pawed, as am i. we are both right-handed. that got me thinking about how common this is. i had been told i was south pawed by someone before, but then someone else said im not. so until last night i was never really sure until we checked on wikipedia.

so what are you? even if youve never boxed or been in a fight (like me) its easy to know which stance you have. if you were to box, which foot do you put forward? right foot forward, and therefore your right hand means you are a south paw. this is what most left handed people do. seems strange to me, if you are right handed, it just seems 'right' to have right foot forward. same with being goofy footed, if your right foot is forward on a skateboard, snowboard or surfboard you are goofy, like most lefties.

i suspect that these stances are coupled. if you are goofy footed, you are also going to be south pawed. id never thought about it until last night.

now theres one other stance that could be of use. the way you hold a cricket or baseball bat. in those games, my left foot would be forward. baseball bat over my right shoulder, cricket bat in front of my right foot. is this normal for a right handed person? i havent put this in the poll because it will get too messy.

what im hoping to see, if theres a big enough sample, is that the 'graphs' of this poll should show a similar shape for both left and right handed people.

my friend started out saying he was ambidextrous, and then saying he favoured neither foot in stances. but when we looked at it, he conceded it feels more natural for him to have right foot forward on a skateboard or when fighting (he does judo n stuff). so if you are like him, you should be able to do this poll. if you GENUINELY favour neither foot, then sorry, this polls not for you!


Ginsu Victim:
I'm lost.... I'm a lefty and I skate with my left foot forward, right foot on the tail. Which is that?

Ummon:
?? Generally I've found that people are one way or the other. Righ-handed writer equals leading with the left hand/foot in other stuff, and vice-versa. Sometimes, people are mixed. There are also some anomalies, for example, a kid I skated with in high school who was a righty, but took his left and leading foot off the board, keeping his right foot at the back of it, and pushing with his left. He was the fastest of us all, too.

Kevin Mullins:

--- Quote from: Ummon on February 15, 2009, 06:47:28 pm ---Sometimes, people are mixed. There are also some anomalies,

--- End quote ---

I must be one of those then ..... this poll just confused me.

We'll try to understand that things may be described slightly different in the UK, but for instance....
"Right Handed and South Paw" just doesn't make sense.
Handed - generally spoken about the hand that you write with.
South Paw - Left Handed

Me:
Write left handed
Hammer left handed
Throw a football or baseball right handed
Bat left handed more but do switch hit with the right
Kick a ball left footed
Jab left handed
Power hit right handed
Would have a stance with left foot forward whether boxing or riding a skateboard, etc

And what about those people with two left feet?  ;D

Xiaou2:

 When you fight... if you are always limited to one side stance... then you have
a very big weakness.   A good fighter will take you apart in a second, by scooting
to your weak side with a counter.

 While Im left handed with writing.. I throw a baseball with my right.  However,
when it comes to the arts... I have trained in a style that stresses equal sided
accuracy.

 Which with very limited training... becomes very natural to do.   Standing on one
side vs the other isnt anything like the precision needed to control a pencil well.
Same for kicks and punches.  Very low tech.  Not very hard to train at all.

 Mostly, a lead leg issue is merely an issue of not having as much strength in the
leg as the opposite leg.  That and or flexibility.   Both of which can be resolved.  Its
just that many people choose to stick to the side that has the greater power and
flexibility instead of fixing the opposing sides issues with much more effort and attention.

 FYI - There are plenty of people who have lost their arm, and learned to draw and
write just as good with the opposite hand/arm.  Samely, many have learned to draw
and do things with their feet with amazing precision.   However, as said.. these are
extreme examples which will take many years to accomplish.  Where as fixing a bad
lead, can probably fixed in less than a years time of soso efforts.  Much faster, with
constant and hardcore attention/work.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version