# Triangles



## RevDogo (Dec 24, 2010)

I have been spending a lot of time walking around triangles to improve my movement.
I have had some good feed back while "sparring" with some kids that play around here 
and there with Muy Thai and JKD concepts as well as the Kempoist from the dojo I attend.
I think I have always been a side step kind of high strung person so working the slip and side stepping has been my focus. I am not a very strong person so stick and move is my thing...lol
Anyway...
Do many of you spend a lot of time doing the male, female triangle foot work drills?


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## Blindside (Dec 24, 2010)

RevDogo said:


> Do many of you spend a lot of time doing the male, female triangle foot work drills?



We often run them as a warm-up to the group class, spend twenty minutes or so on footwork as a cardio workout, that way we are getting a functional focus to the warm-up rather than doing jumping jacks or something.  We run 8 basic footwork patterns of which the male and female triangles are two of.


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## geezer (Dec 24, 2010)

Currently my emphasis has been on a little known system called DTE or "Direct Torres Eskrima" and it's all about off-lining and angling. We don't spend too much time training the classic male/female or X angle-patterns (or any _patterns_ for that matter) since the angles we apply are meaningful only in relation to the changing position of your opponent... but everything we do is built on getting the right angle, and that means working your triangles.

Another interesting connection... my empty-hand foundation is Ving Tsun and it's also based on triangular footwork. In some ways, it's like using the tip, or point of the larger Eskrima triangle --which is only natural as you move in closer.


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## MJS (Dec 25, 2010)

RevDogo said:


> I have been spending a lot of time walking around triangles to improve my movement.
> I have had some good feed back while "sparring" with some kids that play around here
> and there with Muy Thai and JKD concepts as well as the Kempoist from the dojo I attend.
> I think I have always been a side step kind of high strung person so working the slip and side stepping has been my focus. I am not a very strong person so stick and move is my thing...lol
> ...


 
IMO, the triangle is the foundation for all of the moves, techniques, etc, in the system, so yes, in the beginning, this is focused on quite a bit.  Its also part of the rank requirements for the early ranks.  

Its amazing though, at how the footwork patterns easily fit into other arts as well.  I do Kenpo as well, so I do find myself working the FMA footwork into my Kenpo as well.


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## geezer (Dec 25, 2010)

MJS said:


> Its amazing though, at how the footwork patterns easily fit into other arts as well.  I do Kenpo as well, so I do find myself working the FMA footwork into my Kenpo as well.



Good point. A while back I was demonstrating some Wing Chun techniques and my partner came at me much harder and faster than I expected. I instinctively reverted to my escrima "triangle" footwork to off-line and give myself a better line to counterattack. The head of our association was watching and said, "I saw that side-step..." Since he's not a big FMA fan, I braced for a reprimand, but he continued, "...nice spontaneous application of (advanced) wooden dummy footwork". And when I thought about it, he was right... the same principle is expressed in both arts. So I just thanked him and kept my mouth shut.


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## ap Oweyn (Jan 20, 2011)

Spent the first few months of my training focusing very heavily on the triangle footwork.  But even after that, it's hardwired into everything else.  When you're practicing abecedario, you're stepping into part of the triangle, or out on part of the triangle, or whatever.  It occurs in every drill, every sparring session, etc.  It's always there, even if I'm just using some small part of the triangle. 

When I step into a muay thai-style round kick, I'm thinking about the first half of the triangle.  Or I step from a jab into a cross.  Or weaving under a punch.  Or whatever else.  It's always in the mix somewhere.

Hell, when I was taught to sprawl, I saw the reverse triangle there too.  Half of it, anyway.


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## lhommedieu (Jan 23, 2011)

ap Oweyn said:


> ...When I step into a muay thai-style round kick, I'm thinking about the first half of the triangle.  Or I step from a jab into a cross.  Or weaving under a punch.  Or whatever else.  It's always in the mix somewhere.
> 
> Hell, when I was taught to sprawl, I saw the reverse triangle there too.  Half of it, anyway.



Anytime you move off-line you're moving on half of a triangle; any subsequent movement completes the second line of a triangle - unless you move forwards or backwards along the initial line.  Triangle stepping helps beginners envision the possibilities of getting off-line, but as you say it gets to be second-nature after a while.

Having said that, I think that one of the sins we're all guilty of (especially me) is not moving off-line frequently enough or appropriately (i.e. to give ourselves the best positional advantage).   The tendency is generally to "dig in" and confront someone directly; just learning not to do that and move (instead) is one of the fundamentals that triangle stepping addresses.

Often the shape of the triangles taught in a particular system reflects the length of the weapon that is used.

Best,

Steve


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## ap Oweyn (Jan 25, 2011)

lhommedieu said:


> Anytime you move off-line you're moving on half of a triangle; any subsequent movement completes the second line of a triangle - unless you move forwards or backwards along the initial line. Triangle stepping helps beginners envision the possibilities of getting off-line, but as you say it gets to be second-nature after a while.
> 
> Having said that, I think that one of the sins we're all guilty of (especially me) is not moving off-line frequently enough or appropriately (i.e. to give ourselves the best positional advantage). The tendency is generally to "dig in" and confront someone directly; just learning not to do that and move (instead) is one of the fundamentals that triangle stepping addresses.
> 
> ...


 
I think that's also one of the big benefits of weapon training in the first place.  The tendency to "dig in" is stronger in empty hand, I think.  Because you know that your ability to absorb that is higher.


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## lhommedieu (Jan 27, 2011)

RevDogo said:


> I have been spending a lot of time walking around triangles to improve my movement.
> I have had some good feed back while "sparring" with some kids that play around here
> and there with Muy Thai and JKD concepts as well as the Kempoist from the dojo I attend.
> I think I have always been a side step kind of high strung person so working the slip and side stepping has been my focus. I am not a very strong person so stick and move is my thing...lol
> ...



Yes (see above). You might be interested in Tuhon William McGrath's PTK summer camp this August.  A lot of time will be spent introducing triangle footwork at the Lakan (beginner) level on 8/27, according to the schedule posted on the website.  Click on the link above and scroll down and click on the "Seminars" link for more information.

***



> I think that's also one of the big benefits of weapon training in the first place. The tendency to "dig in" is stronger in empty hand, I think. Because you know that your ability to absorb that is higher.



Stuart - agreed.  One of my teachers likes to hold a Cold Steel Trailmaster in front of his students (notice my careful choice of wording) whenever he notices that the quality of their footwork is merely methodical or "drill-driven."  It's always interesting to note the new quality of "aliveness" (he calls it "appropriateness") that ensues.

Best,

Steve


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