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up vote 8 down vote favorite

Most people are either right- or left-handed, or ambidextrous. This handedness is usually followed by the foot they use for kicking, meaning that a right-handed person is usually also right-footed.

Is there a word that describes someone who is right-handed but left-footed, or vice versa?

EDIT: I ask because I am right-handed and right-footed when doing something that involves my whole body (such as batting, archery, etc.), but am left-footed when it comes to kicking. What does this make me?

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3  
"Most people are either right or left handed or ambidextrous" ... and some are just plain useless with both! ;) – w3d Aug 8 '12 at 8:26
Maybe typical - I am left everything except dealing cards and dialing phones. I think a few cross-sidings may be common. – bib Aug 8 '12 at 12:32

2 Answers

up vote 16 down vote accepted

The terms cross-dominance, mixed dominance, mixed laterality, hand-confusion, and mixed-handedness are used to describe the use of different sides of the body for different things. Fans of board-sports might also be familiar with goofy-footedness.

In other words, the original poster could be described as cross-dominant.

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Upvotes for references to cross-dominance & laterality. It doesnt completely describe me though. – NWS Aug 8 '12 at 9:15
@NWS That would mean that you are cross-dominant. See the list of cross-dominant people on the WP page. – coleopterist Aug 8 '12 at 15:06
A closer look at the page indicates this is correct. – NWS Aug 9 '12 at 7:47
"Goofy" just means you aren't riding the board facing the direction typcial riders (iow: Right-handers) do it. It's essentially the board version of "left-handed". It doesn't have anything to do with cross-dominance. – T.E.D. Aug 9 '12 at 17:31
up vote 2 down vote

Don't have a big issue with the accepted answer.

However, from personal experience, handedness in soccer (sorry for being an American here) is a bit different than when using actual hands.

I'm a lefty, but after a couple of years of play, I discovered that while I have more control with the left foot, I have more power with the right. Thus I'd usually shoot or clear a ball with my right, unless I'm going for placement (eg: an inside or outside of the foot shot). Dribbling is done with both feet. A player who never touches the ball with one foot is probably not a very good player.

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Never apologize for who you are. :) – tchrist Mar 25 at 18:06
@tchrist - Well, I'm not really at all sorry of course. :-) However, there appears to be some law in the UK that requires them to insist on the BE meaning of "football" at any opportunity, and I find the ensuing discussion rather tiresome. I understand Brits like to apologize for seemingly everything, so I'm heading off that conversation in a way they might appreciate. Think of the parenthetical part as a small piece of BE inside an AmE answer. – T.E.D. Mar 25 at 19:11

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