FOOTWORK TRAINING IN MARTIAL ARTS

Greetings All:

In response to a comment a respected teacher made in a FB Group I am a member of, that he felt footwork training was becoming a lost art, I thought I would share some ideas on this topic. Keep in mind that a simple note like this is not meant to be completely comprehensive, but just to share ideas on a topic I am familiar with and hopefully to spur further interest, energy and training.

First off, what do we mean by 'footwork training?" Well, it is more than just stepping and moving, but encompasses everything related to training the feet and legs. Thus, this is a potentially very deep topic. Just as training the hands and arms is, except for us humans the training of our legs is even more challenging, especially for modern, sedentary people. So this includes conditioning the feet and legs, applications which utilize the feet and legs, as well as stepping/ stancework and traversing in myriad ways, kicking techniques of all kinds, chin na type application using the feet and legs, and more. In this simple note I am going to focus mainly on the stepping and moving aspects of footwork. By the way, this morning I was at the park hiking and doing some taiji, and noticed two young guys on the tennis court, MMA type practitioners, doing some light sparring. Their footwork consisted entirely of bouncing in place like bad boxers, and back and forth a bit...for successful sparring, fighting, and application- in the kwoon, dojo or on the street, much more than this is needed. The Asian martial arts have not been practiced and developed for thousands of years so that today this is all we are left with- dig deeper!

First off, the idea is that Footwork and Stepping, including moving in stances, is it's own sub- art. It is something which can and ideally should be practiced and developed daily- forever. It is not just practicing forms and leaving it at that. We need to take apart every form we know, as well as every other method, and examine it as footwork and movement alone. It needs to be practiced and examined from course to fine, as well as fine and subtle to the course. Fast to slow, slow to fast- and everywhere in between. Many styles have their own unique methods of stance and footwork training, including complex systems of this. The bagua systems are famous for that. Just keep in mind, again, there is more to it than just learning a few bagua circle stepping routines, if one really wants to learn and master it as a martial art.

So, here are some ideas on how to do this:

- From a standing position, feet together, there are quite a variety of ways to take the first step. Such as:

         **step to a stance, sink/squat to a stance, leap/jump/hop to a stance, stomp to a stance- these can be done to any direction, as well as combined in various ways, and with spinning/ turning.

- Some simple and well known stance maneuvers and stepping methods include:

         ** step and slide, scooting, crossing maneuvers- in front and behind and all directions- sinking, rising, turning/spinning, linear steps forward and back and side to side, circular stepping methods, figure 8 stepping patterns, box/ square stepping patterns, triangular stepping patterns, 8 directional footwork patterns, zig zag/ lightning bolt patterns, ground methods (such as spider walking), and more.

*** Regarding these, there is quite a bit of variety out there. For instance I have learned circle walking in a variety of ways, from Pai Te Lung White Dragon, to Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, Taiji Chuan circle walking, and two different Bagua styles- each has it's own unique and practical methods.

** Some other ideas: Whatever forms you know, they can be viewed and practiced purely as sets of moving stancework or footwork and leg maneuvers. Also, pieces of forms can be practiced in the the same way to perfect the footwork/ movement. The same goes for any formal exercises one knows which have movement. There is an old saying, “every step is a kick, every kick is a step.” And they both contain leg maneuvers.

** Also, footwork needs to be practiced on as many types of surfaces as possible, including outdoors- smooth floor, carpet, dirt, sand, side of hill, mud, in water/ stream/ surf, snow/ice, all seasons, day, night, blindfolded, on and on- be safe but be creative!!!

** Of course in addition to solo footwork training, there are methods which utilize a partner- one, two, or more- learn them and practice them!

** Various styles each have their own unique methods of footwork for attack and defense- from tiger, leopard, snake, crane, dragon, monkey, bagua, hsing i, taiji, TKD, jiu jitsu, preying mantis, kali, silat, karate, and so on- every style out there has it’s methods.

** No matter how skilled we may be in applying our techniques, even if we have deadly 'poison,' learning to move and fight is essential- especially for multiple attacker and edged weapon scenarios- one day the Immovable Object may indeed meet the Irresistible Force- then what??

** In our system (White Lotus Five Form Fist Shaolin) in addition to all of these methods mentioned, we have two main advanced footwork systems- the Lotus Stepping system and the Dragon Walking/ Stepping system...these include simple, basic methods, up to moving in all directions, as well as partnered methods, tui shou, weapons applications, and more. We were taught these two systems contain just about every type of human movement/stepping possible. The Lotus Steps begins with the 8 Directional “Single Lotus Step” and the Dragon Walking begins with an East-West Dragon Lightning Bolt Zig Zag stepping method. They then proceed from there and contain many, many methods and applications.

** A superb example of a practitioner who went to great lengths to master his art and footwork, was SGM Ed Parker, Sr., Founder of American Kenpo. SGM Parker actually filmed himself doing all of his forms and techniques, mind you ancient super 8 film technology- then played them backwards and actually learned to perform all of his forms and methods backwards- from end to beginning! Now that's discipline and focus, and commitment to excellence!!

** Of course footwork and stepping and stance practice are also key for health and balance as we age and go through the various stages of life.

Ultimately the goal is to be able to act naturally in any situation utilizing a combination of internal and external, hard and soft methods as the situation dictates. As the great “Sword Saint” Miyamoto Musashi put it, “my fighting step is my walking step, my walking step is my fighting step.” White Lotus Five Form Fist Shaolin Headmaster Tao Chi Li used to tell us, “throwing a punch is like snapping your fingers, and Chinese boxing/kung fu must be like taking a walk.” This is the naturalness of movement and application we must aspire to. Training in footwork as described here is one way we can approach this ideal. Enjoy the journey.

OK, I look forward to your comments and feedback!