Crossing Legs

[Kellen Bassette]

Conventional MMA wisdom dictates that you never cross your legs when fighting. TCMA, however, makes use of leg crossing frequently with footwork stepping patterns, classical stances, spinning/unwinding techniques, step-behind kicks and the like.

Do you incorporate leg crossing in your sparring and overall strategy? If so, how and why do you see it as beneficial?

[mooyingmantis]

In my mantis school I only teach a cross leg (niu bu) stance for a common mantis retreating tactic to draw the opponent in. We NEVER use cross-legged movement to move side-ward.

[bawang]

Conventional MMA wisdom dictates that you never cross your legs when fighting. TCMA, however, makes use of leg crossing frequently with footwork stepping patterns, classical stances, spinning/unwinding techniques, step-behind kicks and the like.

Do you incorporate leg crossing in your sparring and overall strategy? If so, how and why do you see it as beneficial?

tcma does not make frequent use of leg crossing

[Kellen Bassette]

tcma does not make frequent use of leg crossing

It's pretty common in form work....

[bawang]

It's pretty common in form work....

give exampls

[Kellen Bassette]

give exampls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqoxhz4voPo 1:43, 3:19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbZsgJ-pb4 0:22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVc7UF4LOIs Throughout the whole form really, but especially 2:17-2:50 and 3:08-3:16








Postures 3 and 4 in the second row....

I would consider all this to be examples of crossing legs....

[bawang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqoxhz4voPo 1:43, 3:19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbZsgJ-pb4 0:22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVc7UF4LOIs Throughout the whole form really, but especially 2:17-2:50 and 3:08-3:16


Postures 3 and 4 in the second row....

I would consider all this to be examples of crossing legs....

clf video is exaggerated movement for teaching
dahongquan video is exaggerated movement for performance
futsan kung fu cross legs to protect groin
1 move crossing the leg in a 100 move form is not frequent

[Jimbo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqoxhz4voPo 1:43, 3:19

I have used a similar combination to the one at 3:19, but was already in close, and used my foot to hook the ankle as a sweep. Also, instead of kwa with the sweep, I used a dot choi, following with a spinning dot choi, like in the vid. I've only used that particular combo infrequently during free-sparring, but it worked well.

[Jimbo]

Conventional MMA wisdom dictates that you never cross your legs when fighting. TCMA, however, makes use of leg crossing frequently with footwork stepping patterns, classical stances, spinning/unwinding techniques, step-behind kicks and the like.

Do you incorporate leg crossing in your sparring and overall strategy? If so, how and why do you see it as beneficial?

Many times, stepping patterns in forms that use a cross-step represent a foot sweep. In such cases, what the hands / upper body are doing simultaneously make it very obvious. This is clearly different from assuming or moving into a cross-legged stance while facing an opponent, which wouldn't be very smart, to put it kindly.