TCMA Footwork

[Gru Bianca]

I like the footwork, but not how it looks in the form.

Here it is in usage. Running attack, jumping, flying knee. And control the opponent's footwork by stepping in close and tight behind their lead leg.



Here you see the running attack, and also the idea that the step and the kick are the same. And when green shirt retreats, you see single leg stance as a leg check against the kick.

Fantastic Kids... I like the way they move, so confident and well coordinated.

[nubianmantis]

Here's the running footwork with 2 handed grab and kick.

Greetings Family, Feast your Eye's on a Great Master Mantis Man; Brendan Lai. One of the Few out of Hong-Kong. Be Well. NM. PS. THx N.

[nubianmantis]

We like the front/back/front motion too. Praying Mantis calls it swallow/spit(back).



Similar to this idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8_kP...eature=related

Sometime ago,Master Brendan Lai sayed that Once your Horse's are mastered and Hands are played well; you as a mantis man must be on the move at all times to end the fight. Be Well. NM. Thx N.

[-N-]

Fantastic Kids... I like the way they move, so confident and well coordinated.

I was lucky to be able to brainwash them early.

Cracks me up to watch them. Reminds me of puppies playfighting.

[-N-]

Here's some typical Mantis footwork.



You can see two full retreats, right and left side. The third step is a left side shiftback which allows a break in timing and sets you up for a reversal into counterattack on the half beat.

Mantis does that timing a lot. You'll see the concept of decreasing distance and timing on the retreat leading into an explosive reversal a lot in 2 person weapon forms.

On the attacking side in this clip, you see the low kick used as a forward advance. Followed by a "din bo" step. This is a type of momentum breaking footwork which gives you a half beat advantage on the forward attack. He follows with a second "din bo" to launch into the two handed grab knee attack. His right hand is in the wrong position though.

[Yum Cha]

Fantastic Kids... I like the way they move, so confident and well coordinated.

Yea, kudos.

[Yum Cha]

Here's some typical Mantis footwork.



You can see two full retreats, right and left side. The third step is a left side shiftback which allows a break in timing and sets you up for a reversal into counterattack on the half beat.

Mantis does that timing a lot. You'll see the concept of decreasing distance and timing on the retreat leading into an explosive reversal a lot in 2 person weapon forms.

On the attacking side in this clip, you see the low kick used as a forward advance. Followed by a "din bo" step. This is a type of momentum breaking footwork which gives you a half beat advantage on the forward attack. He follows with a second "din bo" to launch into the two handed grab knee attack. His right hand is in the wrong position though.

very familiar footwork.

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kJ8unUIlgM

[YouKnowWho]

Now we have seen many different styles, let's get into the detail of the footwork here.

One footwork from the San Lou Pao Chuan is the "running punch". You start with

- step in back leg block punch.
- move your back leg to touch your front leg.
- step in your front leg.
- step in back leg and punch again.

Please notice that after the 1st punch, you step in 3 steps to land your 2nd punch (step, punch, step, step, step, punch). That "running punch' can cover a lot of distance. It's used to hit your opponent when he retreats.

Could others take out your favor footwork from your form and describe a bit more detail here?

All MA styles discussion are welcomed here.

[jdhowland]

Here's one from Hap Ga that I like:

Retreat to single leg to foil attack and immediately kick with raised leg.

Before opponent can retreat partly retract the kicking leg then stamp downward onto foot or shin.

As opponent tries to retreat skip forward on the foot that has just completed the stomp and attack with hand on the same side.

Immediately step forward with the other foot continuing the attack.



The skipping footwork gains you six to ten inches of reach and is quick enough to allow you to interrupt your opponents retreat.

[YouKnowWho]

Most XingYi guys like to walk 5 miles in the morning daily. They would walk with arms behind the back. This way they can move their spine. They also walk with "Chuan Yi". If we remove Yi from XingYi Chuan, we will have Xing Chuan. The word "Xing" in Chinese is "walk". IMO, the whole XingYi syetem builds on top of fast footwork. The "Tui Gong - legs ability" came from both ZZ and walking.

If you have fast footwok, no matter how fast that your opponent may retreat, you will still be able to hit him.

Here is a good XingYi footwork clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJ2jkYfFFA

The longfist GM Han Chin-Tang won the 6th place in the 1st Chinese National tournament. After he lose his fight, he told his friend that his opponent could move so fast like a ghost that he couldn't even see him coming toward him.

The interest question is, "Should we all treat "fast foot work" as the highest priority in our training?"

[EarthDragon]

as our total system is named after footwaork I fel 8 step is supior in this instance. I woud like to share our footwork with you any question just ask.
The long steps
Ba bu
Cuan bu
Diei bu
Ru huan bu
Nou bu
Tuan bu
Ta bu
Xing bu
Tuo bu

The short
Huang bu
San jioa bu
Feng xing bu
Mei bu
Hua bu
Lin cun bu
Qi bu
Bagua bu
Jia bu

[YouKnowWho]

Since I have to walk with my dog daily, Instead of just walking like an average person does, I like to use my 3 steps footwork and 5 steps footwork.

[-N-]

as our total system is named after footwaork I fel 8 step is supior in this instance. I woud like to share our footwork with you any question just ask.

Well, how about some explanation on one of those footwork methods from the 8 Step perspective?

LIke what's considered correct/incorrect... effective/ineffective... typical mistakes... ideal execution... etc.

[Fighting Eagle]

In Ying Jow, we practice "Walking" which is a set of movements that teaches one to move around the opponent while learning how to move the body as one. The very basic of the technique is footwork, then comes the handwork, then comes the rooting, then comes the applications as "2 man walking" is practiced together utilizing techniques within the system paired with correct timing.

Another technique that has worked wonders for me is what my Sifu (RIP Joel Rodriguez) dubbed "Ying Jow Running" This is a sweep training drill that is literally ran across the floor back and forth paired with clawing, rooting while switching feet attacking both legs, first the front then the back. I truly feel with this alone, one has a tremendous advantage over the average punch kick kind-of fighter. I haven't run across many kickboxers that have much root, much less know what it is.

TCMA Footwork would be a real improvement today in combat sports. Stealing the opponents root, creating/closing distance and circling are something that I feel must be trained vigorously in TCMA, otherwise you're missing half the point. Before Ying Jow I was just a basic kick/punch, stick and move kinda guy, it only took me about 100 falls on my ass to realize I needed to add this stuff into my training... the difference, night and day.

Here's a good display of TCMA footwork applications (Ying Jow Pai):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Jh6Ygh2n8