Handedness and footedness are the two types of limb lateral (side) preference. People show handedness when they consistently use the same hand to perform a one-handed task like writing. In the same way, people show footedness when they use the same foot to perform a one-footed task like kicking a ball. Handedness is obvious in everyday actions like writing, brushing teeth or combing hair. Footedness often is apparent only when playing certain games or sports. Soccer players display a preference for kicking the ball with a particular foot as do NFL punters and field goal kickers. The photos here show two NFL players…one is kicking with the right foot and the other with the left. According to a 2013 post on NFL.com, Bill Belichick, the Super Bowl winning coach of the New England Patriots, has worked with more left-footed kickers than most NFL coaches. However, Belichick claims to admire both footedness types when it comes to kicking prowess…see Bill Belichick.
The movements of each foot are controlled by brain centers on the side of the head opposite to the foot. For example, the kicking motions of the left foot are controlled by centers in the right side (hemisphere) of the brain. This neural wiring pattern is the same as the hands…the right hemisphere controls the movements of the left hand while the right hand is under left hemisphere control. For this reason, researchers have argued that handedness and footedness should be aligned along the same side of the body.
Like handedness, the population percentage of footedness side is biased toward the right. Most people, around 85%, are right-footed. However, left- and right-handers differ when it comes to whether or not their handedness and footedness are congruent or on the same side. Ninety-one percent (91%) of right-handers are right-footed but only 61% of left-handers are left-footed. Left-handers are also more likely to show no particular foot preference (17%) when compared to right-handers (5%). Left-handers more frequently use their right hands when compared to left-hand use among right-handers. Likewise, left-handers more frequently show right-footedness when compared to the rare occurrence of left-footedness among right-handers.
When I ask left-handers about their right-hand use, they usually answer by saying that the world of tools and implements is biased toward right-handed majority use. Left-handers adapt to this environment by using their right hands either out of a sense of self-protection or for mere convenience. Left-handers have many more opportunities to practice actions with the right hand than right-handers have to use their left hands. These practice opportunities promote ambi-handedness in left-handers…in other words, left-handers can use either the right or left hand depending on the task. Footedness can also be affected by practice. Soccer players display a foot preference for kicking but they can increase the proficiency of their non-preferred foot through practice drills and playing experience. Irish dancers of the Riverdance variety are trained to lead with the right foot while using the left foot for balance and stability. As a result, Irish dancers have higher rates of right-footedness when compared to other non-dancer groups.
Use this questionnaire to compute a handedness and footedness score Lateral preference questionnaire. Are you one- or ambi-sided?