# Foot trapping



## Flatlander (Sep 13, 2005)

Does anybody out there do foot trapping?  I'm not sure where my instructor got it from, or what arts generally use it; I'm not sure if this is something that is common within JKD.  All I can really say is that the best way to learn how to do it is to have your foot stepped on a lot.  I did, and it works.  I now trap feet naturally, with no other learning process.

 So, who does this?  Where does foot trapping come from?


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## Mikael151 (Sep 13, 2005)

I can't say which art orginally used foot trapping.  I can say that it's a great tool to have.


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## arnisador (Sep 13, 2005)

We do it a fair amount in our Modern Arnis (when coming in close for a punyo strike, say), and a lesser but nontrivial amount in JKD. I've been told it's an old "dirty boxing" technique!

I don't go out of my way to get it but I take it when I can. It' s a great technique when it works. I agree that the best way to learn is to see how often and easily someone can do it to you if they try! At first I thought it would be infeasible to get it other than by accident, but I no longer feel that way.


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## Ceicei (Sep 14, 2005)

I tend to do that, especially when sparring.  It wasn't always intentional, but it happens a lot as I usually like to go in very close.  I think it is funny when I trap right before my partner's foot is supposed to move.  It gives me a few seconds, just enough time to put in some hand moves.  

 - Ceicei


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## rutherford (Sep 14, 2005)

Silat, FMA, and Wing Chun all have foot trapping components and I'm sure many of the concepts have made their way into your JKD practice.

It's also a big part of much of what we do in the Bujinkan, and is a skill I'd like to improve considerably.

At the moment, I'm decent at foot pinning and breaking balance with knee shifting.  I'd love to do some drills on more advanced obstructions and destructions.


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## kroh (Sep 14, 2005)

Step on foot...Punch face...watch them do the whole weeble thing...

...insert maniacle laughter here.  

All kidding aside this is a skill that most will not develop because of the desire to overdevelope all the hand stuff and only kick with the legs.  Foot, shin, and leg traps are all great tools that should be developed in conjunction with the hand stuff.  

I guess that is the difference bewteen some one who uses the tools that he has to accomplish the goal and some one who uses the correct tool for the correct job because he has them all. 

Regards, 
Walt


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## tshadowchaser (Sep 14, 2005)

We tend to do it a lot.  It was taught as a good way to make sure your opponent dose not get away.  It also disrupts the movement and flow of a person, as well as lead to take down techniques.


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## Bigshadow (Sep 14, 2005)

Flatlander said:
			
		

> Does anybody out there do foot trapping? I'm not sure where my instructor got it from, or what arts generally use it; I'm not sure if this is something that is common within JKD. All I can really say is that the best way to learn how to do it is to have your foot stepped on a lot. I did, and it works. I now trap feet naturally, with no other learning process.
> 
> So, who does this?  Where does foot trapping come from?


  I am not in JKD, but after reading the post I gather it is an open question...

 We do alot of foot trapping. At this point in my training I can do it quite naturally. Most often I find that I am either stepping on or somehow trapping one or more feet as I train. I don't know where it comes from but I would think that it is probably a universal principle of budo. We are humans and humans have certain characteristics therefore it is probably safe to say it is just a natural progression. Now this doesn't mean that all arts do this. Just that it can be taken advantage of when it presents itself.


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## rutherford (Sep 14, 2005)

Ahh, forgot to answer one of the questions and had a question of my own.

In the PFS school I trained at a few years back, foot trapping was not emphasized or really covered much at all.

Have you incorporated any foot trapping into your use of the Straight Blast?


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## Flatlander (Sep 14, 2005)

Well, that's a tough question to answer.  I probably do, but foot trapping has become a subconscious activitiy.  As I said, I never even tried to learn it, it just started happenning all on its own. So, probably, but, not consciously....


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## arnisador (Sep 14, 2005)

I'm in the PFS branch of JKD. We do it, but not as much as in arnis.


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## JAMJTX (Sep 15, 2005)

It is done on Wing Chun, at least in the group I trained with.  But I also picked it early on from my first Tae Kwon Do teacher.


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## kroh (Sep 15, 2005)

Just out of curiosity, Why would you trap a foot during jik chung chuie?

I was always under the impression that particular chain of attacks was a rapid succession lasting no longer than a second or two (or else a clever opponent could figure out your attack method and counter).  Why would you want to fix the foot (and thus yourself) in an attack that is inherantly mobile?  Just curious... :asian: 

Regards, 
Walt


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## rutherford (Sep 15, 2005)

To be honest, it's a question I have as well and why I brought it up.  Is the mechanic of the Straight Blast such that you just want to use your legs to drive you forward and generate as much power as possible?  This is certainly the way I was taught.

But, it seems you could easily add a foot pin to the last or second to last step forward.  Or you could step through his space and make low line attacks at the same time as your straight blast above.  If foot trapping is deeply a part of your footwork, you're not robbing yourself of mobility or power by using it.

The typical concept of foot trapping is that it's not something done by itself.  It's something you do in addition to the five or six other things you're doing to totally control the situation.  Is that overkill, if the straight blast goes off right?  I don't know.  The only times I've thrown them full power, my training partner was wearing a motorcycle helmet and still got tossed around pretty easily.

Here's something I pulled off another internet page and modified a bit.  Foot trapping means:


 Checking: to place your foot alongside a foot to check or limit it's movement, 
 Reading: as a tactile tool to read his foot movement to step away or lift it to kick you, 
 Pinning: to step on a foot and thereby pinning it, 
 Blocking: present an obstacle, often combined with the torque and momentum of the opponent's body to facilitate a throw, break a limb, or dislocate a joint
 Sweeping: to take out a foot as it is about to have it's weight placed upon it, or 
 Destruction: At its most basic, kicking your opponent with your stepping action, could also involve knees, shins, etc, might be high or low impact, used to break your opponents structure, balance, or joints, bones . . .


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## kroh (Sep 15, 2005)

I was told by a reputable source that a "straight blast" should be like doing a fifty yard dash down the front of some poor sod's face.  

That being said, I have seen both mobile and stationary applications.  The mobile aplications I would say could benefit from the foot trap in pinning or unbalancing your opponent long enough to blast him with one or two more hits.  I would place such a suppliment at the end of the "drive."  For the stationary version ( every time I have seen this done it is usually doen with a "piston" style punch rather than a "chain of hands" method), i would say that the "trap" would come into play when the person was first launching the attack so he (the poor sod) couldn't get away from the attack.  

But based on the "Trapping Definitions" that you give at the end of the post, i would say that a good addition to the jik chung chuie ( god my Chinese sucks...) would be to sweep or ruin ( crush ) the foot so that he would have a harder time addressing the rush.

Good post...
Regards,
Walt


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## pesilat (Sep 22, 2005)

Flatlander said:
			
		

> Does anybody out there do foot trapping?  I'm not sure where my instructor got it from, or what arts generally use it; I'm not sure if this is something that is common within JKD.  All I can really say is that the best way to learn how to do it is to have your foot stepped on a lot.  I did, and it works.  I now trap feet naturally, with no other learning process.
> 
> So, who does this?  Where does foot trapping come from?



I _love_ foot trapping and am notorious for it.

I always did it naturally. But when I started training in Sikal (Filipino and Indonesian MA) we started doing drills that develop the skill/ability even further. I know other systems use foot trapping but I honed my skill/ability with it in the FMA/IMA.

Mike


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## Andrew Evans (Sep 26, 2005)

Foot trapping rocks! One of the best I have seen using it is Kelly Worden.


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## Mark Lynn (Oct 4, 2005)

kroh said:
			
		

> Just out of curiosity, Why would you trap a foot during jik chung chuie?
> 
> I was always under the impression that particular chain of attacks was a rapid succession lasting no longer than a second or two (or else a clever opponent could figure out your attack method and counter).  Why would you want to fix the foot (and thus yourself) in an attack that is inherantly mobile?  Just curious... :asian:
> 
> ...



Walt

I'm not sure of what strike(s) you are talking about here, but in response to your second question of fixing the foot in an attack that is mobile FWIW.

I use foot traps when crashing in to hit, or to practice locking the guy, or knocking the guy off balance.  I use the foot trap to help set up the next technique.  In real life the trap would only be used for a second or two as I try and knock the guy off his base and onto the floor where if I keep the foot pinned I'll screw up his foot and ankle.  Then he won't be able to run after me,    as I go mobile.

Mark


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## Eric Daniel (Oct 6, 2005)

I think that a lot of times pinning the foot happens by accident. If you think about pinning the foot I don't think you will pull it off. For example, you might tell yourself don't go to sleep, don't go to sleep, what happens? You go to sleep. To me, this means that if you think about doing something like pinning the foot, it will not work out like you thought.


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## Navarre (Oct 6, 2005)

Are we talking about standing on the foot or locking it? I trap by sliding in with my hand technique as a primary assault and to distract from my legs. As I slide in I slide my foot nearest the opponent inside of their closest foot (so, inside of my near foot to the inside of theirs). 

It's easy to lock them from there and it also prevent them from kicking.  I am also able to go for a takedown by rotating my knee to the outside, which bends their knee inward, turning the head away from me and opening them up to other strikes, locks, or a choke.


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## Brother John (Oct 6, 2005)

We do LOTS and LOTS of foot-trapping!!!!!!


Your Brother (with the occasional limp)
John


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## pesilat (Oct 6, 2005)

Eric Daniel said:
			
		

> I think that a lot of times pinning the foot happens by accident. If you think about pinning the foot I don't think you will pull it off. For example, you might tell yourself don't go to sleep, don't go to sleep, what happens? You go to sleep. To me, this means that if you think about doing something like pinning the foot, it will not work out like you thought.



You're partially right. If you plan to trap someone's foot - or plan for anything else - it likely won't happen. I step on people's feet *all the time*. In fact, I'm notorious for it in several schools/groups around the nation. And I can often even pull it off with full intention ... i.e.: during sparring, I think, "I'm going to move forward and trap his foot." And then I do just that.

However, plans rarely work out in sparring ... much less in fighting.

But, IMO, to say that it "happens by accident" is an exaggeration. For me, foot trapping (whether actually stepping on the foot or trapping the leg) happens regularly because I have trained it a lot. I don't have to think about it to get it. And when I do decide to think about it, it often still works because it's such a habitual thing for me.

If you train it, you'll be able to pull it off regularly and reliably ("it" being virtually any technique you want). And there's nothing accidental about it if I've trained to do it.

Mike


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## Brother John (Oct 6, 2005)

pesilat said:
			
		

> You're partially right. If you plan to trap someone's foot - or plan for anything else - it likely won't happen.
> However, plans rarely work out in sparring ... much less in fighting.
> 
> But, IMO, to say that it "happens by accident" is an exaggeration. For me, foot trapping (whether actually stepping on the foot or trapping the leg) happens regularly because I have trained it a lot.
> ...



EXCELLENT POINT Mike!!!
It's like my favorite quotes from General (later, President) Eisenhower regarding "Planning"
#1: "ALL plans fail upon making contact with the enemy."
This one would support what Eric was saying. That you shouldn't go in thinking "I WILL do THIS."...because it's not fluid and responsive.
#2: "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
This is the crux. In PREPARATION....planning is crucial... but in "going in", discard and respond to the way things are in each moment.
THEN: Take charge and Control the "way things are" in each moment.

Run the table.


Your Brother
John


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## pesilat (Oct 6, 2005)

Brother John said:
			
		

> EXCELLENT POINT Mike!!!
> It's like my favorite quotes from General (later, President) Eisenhower regarding "Planning"
> #1: "ALL plans fail upon making contact with the enemy."
> This one would support what Eric was saying. That you shouldn't go in thinking "I WILL do THIS."...because it's not fluid and responsive.
> ...



Bingo! Leave it to a man like Ike to phrase the two so succinctly 

Mike


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## arnisador (Oct 6, 2005)

pesilat said:
			
		

> But, IMO, to say that it "happens by accident" is an exaggeration. For me, foot trapping (whether actually stepping on the foot or trapping the leg) happens regularly because I have trained it a lot.


I agree. Not every jab I throw lands, but those that do aren't doing so by accident.

Yet, I agree that the foot trap is harder, and I see why people feel this way--I often do too!--but the more I've worked on I've thought about it, the more often it's happened. I still have a ways to go with it.


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