At the end of the third step of the foxtrot reverse turn a top pro on vidio has his Rf well back the right knee close to the floor his weight is well forward of the foot ,the only way he can get his weight onto that fourth step(RF) is to pull it on. You can also see his left heal sliding along the floor for some distance before that left foot swings to the side for the fifth step. Pictures speak louder than words.

I must confess - i wish i could see the pictures because i've never seen what you describe. Which video is it? - i'll try to get my hands on it. I have Sinkinson and Hilton teaching videos and i've never seen anything like this on them.
When you say reverse turn i assume you mean with the lady doing a heel turn. Isn't the first step a slow on the man's left, - second step a quick on man's right, having made most of the turn, - the third step man's left foot back..etc. All these steps are made with a pushing action from the man's standing leg (and to some extent, controlled use of body momentum). Even sprinters don't pull themselves onto the (front) foot.

"the only way he can get his weight onto that fourth step(RF) is to pull it on."

No, he gets his weight to the new foot from executing a powerful pushing action as he releases the toe of his departing foot - or at least he would if he wasn't too original to use the classic technique. But he wouldn't need to push all that much anyway, because there should be substantial body flight carrying him onto the foot. Pushing only extends the possible distance.

Incidentally, you've posed a false premise. The end of the third step is defined as when his feet are passing, so it's impossible for him to have one foot back at that point. What you are actually talking about is the midpoint of the fourth step.

I have read all the above and can't see what the the argument is'. If I do not push off the back foot going forward, or do not push off the rear foot when going backwards then I am standing still
going nowhere.

Don, i think everyone would agree. it's just the idea of 'pulling' oneself backwards (or i guess forwards)which is bugging us.
Dave, i can only conclude that you're using the word 'pull' in a different way.
When you explained how to pull yourself back while holding onto a table (it was some time back - and don't worry - no offence taken )you added something - pushing with the front leg before lifting it. that's entirely the point. You push with the front leg.
My experiment was to see if anyone could pull themselves backward from a standing start. If indeed there is a pull, it must be possible from a standing start. I can just about generate a small force, but not enough to pull me back in my experiment, and certainly it's not part of my dancing.

Phil, the video is Victor Veyrasset'S,Slow Foxtrot,reverse turn. What I am suggesting is that when dancing the basic foxtrot figures on moving backwards is that we first push off from the front foot(LF, 3rd step of RT) that gives us the flight to arrive onto the ball of the back foot{RF},but as the weight moves onto the heal we then pull and push off that heal while we swing the (LF) to the side for the feather exit. Notice that I said (suggest).

Lets put it a different way. Taking a walking step off the left foot we push off giving us enough flight to place us over the instep of the right foot so that all we have to do now is to compress and release from the ball and toe of the RF for the next step. Does this not mean that we are only using the ball and toe of the RF to controll the speed at wich we move over the Rf. If you agree we also use the heal then you have agree that the flight from the LF only takes us to the point where the left heal hits the floor we then pull our weight over the instep with control.

Dave - i think it's the word 'pull' that is causing me problems. I can't picture any pulling action when rolling forward from the heel to the ball and toes of the standing foot as we move over it. When the heel strikes, the muscles of the leg and foot take over to control the motion over that standing foot, but 'pulling' implies a conscious force back towards the body as it moves towards the standing foot. i can't visualise that - i certainly don't feel that's what im doing.

Do any of you guys actually analyse what you are doing. I will try to explain. I have a picture of Peter Eggleton taken years ago in a technique book. In it he is at full stretch front toe off the floor. Back heel off the floor. His weight is right in the middle of the two feet. A question was asked . Is he going forward, or is he going backward. It is impossible to say. Now go to the learning centre here. Find the forward and the backward walks. You will find there is one shot in the forward walk. And there is one shot in the backward walk where the weight is smack in the middle.. Place them on each other and tell me if there is any difference. The problem with most seems to be the flight of the body which must pass the split weight position.The flight of the body must be coming from the push, whether it be back or forward. Why do you think the rear heel is off the floor. Or the front toe is also off the floor. Going forward the weight is going to arrive as the toe touches the floor. And going backward as the heel lowers to the floor. The big discusion point is where is the moving foot in relation to the body as the toe or the heel lowers.This is where we need to go to the Disks or Video and study.

"I have a picture of Peter Eggleton taken years ago in a technique book. In it he is at full stretch front toe off the floor. Back heel off the floor. His weight is right in the middle of the two feet. A question was asked . Is he going forward, or is he going backward. It is impossible to say. Now go to the learning centre here. Find the forward and the backward walks. You will find there is one shot in the forward walk. And there is one shot in the backward walk where the weight is smack in the middle.. Place them on each other and tell me if there is any difference. The problem with most seems to be the flight of the body which must pass the split weight position.The flight of the body must be coming from the push, whether it be back or forward."

You would think that at that instant the weight is shared between the feet, but in fact it should not be. The pressure is entirely in the departing foot, and is a combination of support against gravity and push to move across the floor. The body is not in a position of static balance at the time when you switch feet - you are not fully supported. To stop there you would have to have weight in both feet, but we do not stop there, we go from supported on one foot, to unsupported, to supported on the other.