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Basic Kung Fu footwork

The first thing to say is that, once the basic techniques have been thoroughly tested and trained, your body will choose instantly and automatically: how, when, why and what to adopt. If this does not happen, you are very far from being ready for a real fight and even for sparring (read The meaning of sparring fighting in martial arts).

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

The second thing to stress is that there are a lot of footwork methods and in combat terms, the type of spatial movement that you choose depends on 2 factors:

The type of scenario you are facing (the context)
The type of fighters involved (you and your opponents)

The type of scenario

Let’s see some of the most common reasons that force you to change your footwork:

The type of terrain
The conditions of the terrain
The obstacles involved
The type of adversaries
The number of adversaries (read also Forget everything you know about multiple opponents fighting)
The type of contact with the ground (barefoot, with shoes, etc.)
The eventual presence of weapons (in your hands or those of the adversaries)
…

In addition to this, in the particular case of 6 Dragons Kung Fu:

The type of state you want to use (solid, liquid, etc., read 6DKF’s interactions: from the strong blow to the light touch)
The type of attacking / defensive power you want to release
The muscle chain you want to implement (read Use the body power: the muscle chain)
…

The type of fighters

Each contextual choice has its reasons but in a lot of cases, what is good for a specific practitioner can be totally wrong for another one (or against a particular one).

Let’s see the most common variables related to the fighter:

The height
The weight
The muscle mass
The level of balance
The speed of the limbs
The level of stamina
The level of flexibility
The reach of the limbs
The body conformation (bones, tendons, etc.)
The state of health of the body (injuries, etc.)
The technical preferences
The tactical preferences
…

A note by Master Kongling – Do not worry, after careful practice (based on active self-analysis), you will find your way to move, the one that will allow you to gain more time and space within the fight, from then on you will only have to personalize it and maximize its yield.

The first footwork method and its execution

Important:

The ones we are going to describe are very basic movement methods that are common to a lot of martial arts, this is our version of them
You cannot understand these footwork methods if you have not read the general rules described in Lesson 9.4
In 6 Dragons Kung Fu, we train symmetrically on both body sides; you can (and you will) have a preferred one but the level of preparation must be as much as possible the same

Let’s see the basic combat footwork:

Advancing – From the guard stance (read Lesson 5.2), the advanced foot makes a step forward and as dragged, the foot behind follows it
Retreating – From the guard stance, the foot behind makes a step backward and as dragged, the advanced foot follows it
Sidestepping to the right (with the left leg forward) – From the guard stance, the foot behind makes a step to the right and as dragged, the advanced foot follows it (with the right leg forward it is the opposite)
Sidestepping to the left (with the left leg forward) – From the guard stance, the advanced foot makes a step to the left and as dragged, the foot behind follows it (with the right leg forward it is the opposite)
Pivoting – From the guard stance, one foot rotates in the opposite direction we want to rotate and as dragged, the foot behind follows its rotation

A note by Master Kongling – In the next chapters of this course, we will see the advanced footwork techniques: for now this is more than enough (if you cannot do this fast and like breathing, it is totally useless to see more complex moves).

The most common errors to avoid:

Never cross the legs (it is dangerous for now, we will see this kind of movement in the next chapters, how when and why)
Always start, move and arrive in a balanced stance
Don’t be rigid, let the body relax, be natural, soft
Don’t move in spurts, (for now) maintain a harmonic flow
Don’t lift your feet off the ground more than the minimum necessary to move easily
Don’t look at your feet or the direction you want to move
…

How to train the basic combat footwork

This is the order of development:

Use it to move forward from a point A to a point B (at least 5-10m)
Use it to move forward and backward (A-B-A-B, etc.)
Use it to move laterally to the left and to the right (without changing the side of the guard, A-B-A-B, etc.)
Use it to move circularly (first clockwise and then in the other sense)
Use it to follow and / or escape from a training partner (the first times the partner must move slowly without getting too close)
Repeat all the past steps but with the inverted guard
Repeat all the past steps but halving the distances / spaces of action and increasing the execution speed
Use it in the fundamental practices (hanging speedball, sparring, fabric cloth, etc., read Lesson 3.6)

Each training session should last 5-10 minutes, in a few weeks of gradual and righteous practice, you will master all these basic movements.

A note by Master Kongling – Do not underestimate footwork: knowing how to manage movement, distances and spaces in dynamic contexts is much more important and effective than knowing thousands of fighting techniques.

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The core practices fundamental to develop natural and instinctive movement
Basic free hand fighting techniques – A step-by-step guide on how to move and fight

In-depth articles

5 running exercises ideal for beginners / warm-up – Running is always a good education for our legs
Sparring type 1: slow motion fighting – If you do not move precisely in slow motion, it is better if you do not try at high speed

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Can you use effectively the pivoting?

<< Lesson 9.4 – Index – Lesson 10.1 >>

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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