Heel Down vs. Heel Up: The Case For Both Dorsiflexion & Plantarflexion

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There are several topics of debate in martial arts that are perennially propagated and vociferously introduced to each new generation of practitioners, one of the most infamous of which is the apparent dilemma of whether the heel should be kept flush with the floor or allowed to rise up when moving or executing a technique.

In this article, we examine the anatomy and functional application behind both dorsiflexion (heel down) and plantarflexion (heel up) in karate, to show that superiority of one to the other is context and intent dependent, and that each has its strengths and weaknesses. The most important criteria to determine whether to keep the heel down or let it come up is the nature of the scenario at hand in which one or the other might need to be invoked.

Anatomy of the dorsiflexor & plantarflexor muscles

The lower limb contains many muscles, but since our focus is on dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of the ankle, we will focus exclusively on the muscles relevant to those actions. Below, I have listed all the dorsiflexors and plantarflexors of the ankle and mentioned their origin, insertion, and action. Please note that the exact origins and insertions of these muscles are often very detailed and beyond the necessary information required to understand our discussion. Thus, I have purposefully generalized locations and/or left out connections with fascia, as well as omitted course of travel between origin and insertion. For precise information beyond this discussion, please consult any reputable anatomy textbook. I used “Clinically Oriented Anatomy,” which is referenced at the end of this article.

Dorsiflexion – tibialis anterior, extensor hallucis longus, extensor digitorum longus, fibularis/peroneus tertius.

1. Tibialis anterior – this muscle originates from the upper 2/3rds of the lateral surface of the tibia and the lateral condyle of the tibia, and inserts into the first metatarsal bone and medial cuneiform bone of the foot. The insertion onto the bottom of the first metatarsal bone is what allows this muscle to invert the foot in addition to dorsiflexion.
2. Extensor hallucis longus – this muscle originates from the medial two-thirds of the fibula and the interosseous membrane to insert onto the dorsal surface of the distal phalanx of the great toe.
3. Extensor digitorum longus – this muscle originates from the lateral condyle of the tibia, the upper anterior surface of the body of the fibula, and the upper portion of the interosseous membrane. It inserts onto the second, third, and fourth digits of the foot at the middle and base of the distal phalanges.
4. Fibularis/peroneus tertius – this muscle originates from the lower third of the fibula and the lower part of the interosseous membrane. It inserts onto the base of the metatarsal bone of the fifth digit and thus is involved in eversion of the foot at the ankle, in addition to weak dorsiflexion of the foot.

Plantarflexion – gastrocnemius, soleus, plantaris, tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis longus, flexor digitorum longus, fibularis longus, fibularis brevis

1. Gastrocnemius – this muscle has two heads and two origin sites. The lateral head originates from the lateral condyle of the femur, and the medial head originates from the medial condyle of the femur. Both portions of this muscle eventually fuse to form a common tendon with the soleus muscle, which then inserts onto the posterior portion of the calcaneus. Because this muscle crosses two joints, it is involved in both plantarflexion of the foot at the ankle and flexion of the leg at the knee.
2. Soleus – this muscle originates from the sides of the anterior aponeurosis of the tibia and fibula, and joins the gastrocnemius to form the common tendon that attaches onto the posterior portion of the calcaneus.
3. Plantaris– this muscle originates from the inferior part of the lateral supracondylar ridge of the femur and inserts distally into the calcaneal tendon. It is a weak plantar flexor and a weak flexor at the knee.
4. Tibialis posterior – this muscle originates from the posterior borders of the tibia and fibula, as well as the interosseous membrane. It inserts onto the bases of the second, third, and fourth metatarsals, the cuboid, the intermediate, medial, and lateral cuneiforms, and the navicular. It is involved with plantarflexion and inversion of the foot at the ankle.
5. Flexor hallucis longus – this muscle originates from the posterior surface of the body of the fibula and the interosseous membrane to insert onto the base of the distal phalanx of the great toe. It is involved with plantarflexion and inversion of the foot at the ankle, and flexion of the great toe.
6. Flexor digitorum longus – this muscle originates from the posterior surface of the body of the tibia and inserts onto the bases of the distal second, third, fourth, and fifth phalanges. It is involved in plantarflexion and inversion of the foot at the ankle.
7. Fibularis/peroneus longus – this muscle originates from the head of the fibula and inserts onto the lateral side of the base of the first metatarsal bone and the lateral side of the medial cuneiform bone. It is involved with plantarflexion and eversion of the foot at the ankle.
8. Fibularis/peroneus brevis – this muscle originates from the lateral surface of the body of the tibia and inserts onto the base of the fifth metatarsal bone. It is involved with weak plantarflexion and eversion of the foot at the ankle.

Benefits and Limits of Dorsiflexion (heel down)

Keeping the heel down in a state of dorsiflexion provides more stability than letting the heel come up, because the entire surface of the sole of the foot is flush with the floor and thus one’s body weight is distributed over a greater area.

The obvious downside to this is that keeping the foot flat on the floor limits one’s range of motion, as any movement beyond stationary shifting of one’s center of gravity requires that the heel of at least one foot leave the floor. Dorsiflexion also makes it harder to rotate, because the ankle’s range of motion is very limited if the heel is still in contact with the floor.

With the ankle essentially fixed in place, the main pivot point is the knee, although obviously some degree of changing the amount of ankle dorsiflexion will be necessary to accommodate the changes to the angle of the knee joint as it flexes or extends.

Due to anatomy, keeping the heel down is beneficial when grappling, which requires a strong support base. Similarly, keeping one’s heels downs makes it harder to be swept, as one’s body weight is distributed over a greater surface area than just the balls of the feet. It is also advantageous when kicking, as it confers more stability to the anchored leg, although allowing the heel to come up can provide a few extra inches in range of motion if necessary.

Benefits and Limits of Plantarflexion (heel up)

 Allowing the heel to come up so that the ankle can be in a state of plantarflexion allows for the muscles in the posterior compartment of the lower leg to contract to generate forward thrust. This increases range of motion and allows for greater penetration of techniques. Additionally, once on the ball of the foot, the ankle is more free and can pivot on the balls of the feet and toes to quickly change direction.

This is a huge asset in kumite, in which driving forward and having the capacity to penetrate an ever-moving target is essential.

The main downside of keeping the heel up is that there is less stability and one’s body weight is confined to distribution over just the ball of the feet and/or the toes. This reduced stability makes it easier to be swept.

Visualization

Let’s consider a few simple exercises to help illustrate the benefits and limits of both plantar- and dorsiflexion that are listed above. Conceptually understanding karate is one thing, but physically understanding it is something else entirely. Try these exercises for a better understanding of what is being discussed!

1. Assume zenkutsu-dachi (front stance) with both feet firmly on the floor. Without picking up or moving your feet (think of them like anchors), try to move forward. It is impossible to gain any ground beyond manipulating one’s center of gravity based off how much extension or flexion is happening at the knee, and how flexible one is at the ankle. This can certainly affect the range of one’s arm and hand techniques, but it still does not change that fact that each foot is still flush with the floor and unable to move to gain any ground. Try to move laterally to the left or right. You can’t do it without lifting some part of one of your feet from the floor.
2. Still from zenkutsu-dachi, keep the back foot anchored on the floor, but do whatever you want with the front leg – feel free to lift the foot off of the floor. Try to move forwards and backwards – it should be very easy. Try to move laterally – this should also be easy, but only in the direction of the foot that is freely mobile. But now try and rotate the body 30, 45, 90, 180, or 360 degrees without moving your back foot. It can’t be done.
3. With the front leg still freely mobile, allow the heel on the back foot to come up. The ball of the foot of the back leg must still stay flush with the floor. Try and move forwards – you should be able to get much further than before when the heel was still firmly planted. You should also now be able to rotate in any direction, be it 30, 45, 90, 180, or 360 degrees. Depending on how much you plantarflex the back foot, you can also gain height vertically by coming up on the ball of the foot.

These simple exercises show why being flat-footed in kumite is a distinct disadvantage against an opponent who is on their toes, lithe, or more agile than you are. All else being equal, if you are flat-footed and your opponent is not, they will outmaneuver you.

Let’s try another set of exercises with a partner.

1. Assume zenkutsu-dachi with both feet firmly planted. Have a partner try and push you off balance from the front or any other direction. Make a mental note of how easy or difficult you feel like it is to become unbalanced.
2. Now assume the same stance but get up on the balls of your feet. Have the partner try and unbalance you again.

It was much easier for your partner to unbalance you in the second exercise, right?

Now try wrestling with your partner from a standing position with heels flush with the floor. Then try again while standing on the balls of your feel with your heels up.

It should have been much easier to try and unbalance your partner while remaining stable when you had your heels down.

The main point is that neither dorsiflexion nor plantar flexion is right or wrong – there is a time and place for each, and in the dynamism of kumite or fighting in real life, both are likely to be fluidly interchanged. Keeping one’s heel up has a distinct advantage in kumite in terms of mobility, which is why you see world class tournament competitors bouncing up and down on their toes (regardless of your feelings about sports karate, you cannot deny their elite level of athleticism and physical prowess). If you are not used to this sort of bobbing up and down during kumite, you will likely find you become fatigued very quickly the first time you try it. Constantly moving up and down like this can be tiring if your muscles are not conditioned or your energy reserves are low. Thus, it is important in supplementary conditioning to train the muscles that plantarflex the feet.

When teaching beginners, it is not incorrect to stress that the back heel must be kept down and flush with the floor, as long as you understand why you are instructing your students to do so and recognize that once they become more advanced in their karate, this will change. Blindly reciting this because your organization or sensei told you to do so without critically thinking about what you are recommending can hinder progress later down the road in one’s training. Emphasize to beginner students who might see their senpai or sensei allowing their heels to come up in their own karate, that it is crucial to be able to develop solid fundamentals of power generation from the lower body from a position of dorsiflexion, before jumping ahead into allowing the heel to rise up. Similarly, explain this to any instructors besides yourself who you might have teaching in your dojo, so that they also know why they are teaching what they are teaching. Realize that always telling a yudansha or someone who has trained for many years that they should be keeping their heel down during kihon will prevent them from exploring greater range of motion and dynamism in their karate. If they can already comfortably and competently generate power from a position of dorsiflexion, there is nothing wrong with them allowing their heel to come up. A state of ankle dorsiflexion is probably going to be the most transient of positions during a fight.

There is a time and place for everything. Train both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion accordingly, critically think about what your instructor is telling you, try out the exercises described above, and determine for yourself whether it makes sense to always keep your heel down in training.

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REFERENCES:

Moore KL, Agur AMR, Dalley AF. Clinically Oriented Anatomy. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2013.

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SUPPLEMENTAL READING:

Standard disclaimer: Any time I list references to other reading, I am not endorsing any individuals or organizations, nor am I verifying or vouching for the content. Usually I will highlight what I feel are examples of good karate demonstrating the principle or concept I am discussing. My goal is for this article to be an asset to you and your training. My sensei would always say that sometimes all it takes is another person articulating or demonstrating what you have already heard a 1000 times for the light bulb to go off and for something to finally make sense. Hopefully these resources supplement what I have written. Let me know if you come across any other good explanations or videos and I will update this article to include them. Happy training!

• Steve Ubl demonstrates the importance of knowing when to keep the heel down vs. heel up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGc9A7P4YkY