Sparring Footwork Online Resources?

[Touch Of Death]

That video is extremely useful to me, thank you! I think I have some sort of problem understanding what people are 'telling' me. I need to be shown. Telling me to 'bridge the gap' means nothing to me. I know I have to do it, but how? And saying 'step in' or 'step to the side' or 'work the angles' is just a mystery to me. How? How do I do those things? Show me where to put my feet or I am NOT going to get it. I hate to say it, but when I ask for demonstration, I get more words, and I can't use them; my brain doesn't process written instructions into action that way. I need to be shown. This video does that very well. THANKYOU!

You can just fall back or fall forward on those last two pivots.

 

[wayneshin]

Wow. A lot of confusing and conflicting advice.
I'm going to keep my simple and from the persepctive of points fighting because I note from your posts that you are competing in points matches.

1/ In general whichever direction you are moving - move that leg first and let the other follow (ie If you go forward move your front leg. If you go back - move your back leg. If you go left move your left leg etc.)

2/ Get an agility ladder - failing that tape one on a floor somewhere

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Thanks to all who have responded. I sincerely appreciate the advice. Please bear in mind that I was not joking when I said I cannot learn from your written instructions; my mind does not process information that way and translate it into movements. I can read about footwork all day long and be able to do none of it. I don't even know what it means, I'm sorry. The fault is mine. I hate to see you write paragraphs of 'put this foot here and then pivot thusly' and really, it's not helping me, I'm sorry. I really need pictures, not words. It's not your fault, it's mine; it just does not process in my head. I get the feeling you guys think if you explain it better or more slowly, it will sink in - it won't. It's like shouting at a guy who doesn't speak English in the hopes if you say it louder he'll suddenly begin speaking the language. I can't understand your language, but I really do appreciate you taking the time to try to help me.

I found this video online and I think this is the sort of thing I am looking for. What is your opinion on it?

http://youtu.be/Nfe2tqid96k

 

[jks9199]

Bill, it's not your fault. It's simply how you learn. Different people learn differently, and an effective teacher tries to address multiple channels. I simply can't do that in this format. I'm not going to comb through all the videos on line for decent ones. In the most recent video you posted, I'm not wowed by the guy's approach, but that's because I don't play the point fighting game.

Let me revisit, in more detail, the exercise I mentioned earlier. Again, this is a simple exercise help you understand how you can move. It does require YOU to get up and do it...

Use some tape, and lay out an 8 point asterisk on the floor. Make it about 2 feet from the center on each leg. Make one cross, then another rotated 45 degrees.

Now, stand over the cross in your fighting stance. Let's start with your lead leg. How can you move it forward? How about to the first leg to the right? Repeat all the way around the star. Some you'll find several ways you can do, others will have only one or two ways. Then repeat with the back leg.

Once you've looked at how you can simply step... Combine the steps with blocks, strikes, and kicks.

You can also work with a partner on this drill. Have your partner stand in front of you, and experiment with moving to the various directions around your partner. Then see how you can use those lines to react to his movement.

Again... don't simply read this. Get up, and do it. You'll teach yourself... And that's part of learning to be a black belt, too.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

In the most recent video you posted, I'm not wowed by the guy's approach, but that's because I don't play the point fighting game.

I understand; this is designed for point-sparring, but that's exactly what I'm looking for. That is also the issue I run into in our dojo; we're not point-sparring in emphasis; we spar, but more as exercises in self-defense, which I quite understand are very different. I saw some of his stepping out in a 45 degree pass to the opponent's back and then backfisting him lightly on the helmet and that makes sense when point-sparring, at least to me.

Let me revisit, in more detail, the exercise I mentioned earlier. Again, this is a simple exercise help you understand how you can move. It does require YOU to get up and do it...

I will try it, thank you.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Thanks to all who have responded. I sincerely appreciate the advice. Please bear in mind that I was not joking when I said I cannot learn from your written instructions; my mind does not process information that way and translate it into movements. I can read about footwork all day long and be able to do none of it. I don't even know what it means, I'm sorry. The fault is mine. I hate to see you write paragraphs of 'put this foot here and then pivot thusly' and really, it's not helping me, I'm sorry. I really need pictures, not words. It's not your fault, it's mine; it just does not process in my head. I get the feeling you guys think if you explain it better or more slowly, it will sink in - it won't. It's like shouting at a guy who doesn't speak English in the hopes if you say it louder he'll suddenly begin speaking the language. I can't understand your language, but I really do appreciate you taking the time to try to help me.

I found this video online and I think this is the sort of thing I am looking for. What is your opinion on it?

http://youtu.be/Nfe2tqid96k

There is a slight disconnect on the teaching method, when you do what he is showing at street speed. You, sort of, take your body with the step, so that you aren't standing with your legs spread for any real length of time. Its hard to articulate the end product; he just shows you. LOL
Sean

 

[ATC]

I found this video online and I think this is the sort of thing I am looking for. What is your opinion on it?

http://youtu.be/Nfe2tqid96k

Good basic footwork drill. A simple angle off to front side and then to back side. This is a good start but there are hundreds of footwork movements. The vid you posted is a good begining. Again just so you know this is a simple angle off to the front side and then the back side of your opponent (depending on what leg they would have back). The one other thing the guy in the vid is doing is what we call a check forward to draw an attack for a counter. Everytime he moves forward then backwards he is hoping to be attacked. This is why the angle to the side after the move up then back.

I would say start with this and master it. Once you have this down other footwork movements will come easier to you as you have a base to work from. You can then add in pivots and rolls, but work with what is in the video for now.

Happy training.

 

[Stealthy]

http://youtu.be/Nfe2tqid96k

There is a lot of positive stuff to take from this video. Note the way he ebbs and flows inside and outside of striking distance. If he's inside striking distance and he can, he strikes, if not he pulls back out and flanks to counterstrike or step back in from a new angle.

There is no really good reason to move the "wrong" foot across first like he does. He gets away with it because he distracts with the hand. As has been mentioned before if you are stepping right move the right foot first, stepping left move the left first.

So fix his pattern a little, the first 1,2,3,4 are cool(moving left) but on the second rotation(moving to the right) 1(5) move the right foot(not left) 2(6) then bring the left over(otherwise you will pick up a real bad habit which there is no real need for).

The take home from this guys style is it is built for speed, he has traded in stability for it....the stance is very narrow to the point of going into negative when he crosses his legs to move...it's purpose built for point sparring.

Do the same drill with left foot forward, also do the drill alternating left foot forward and right foot forward.

Following his 1,2 counting system note that your deflections should be independent of the count but your counterstrikes, fakes and dazes will most likely come out on the odd numbers and the solid follow ups(your power strikes) on the evens.

 

[ATC]

There is a lot of positive stuff to take from this video. Note the way he ebbs and flows inside and outside of striking distance. If he's inside striking distance and he can, he strikes, if not he pulls back out and flanks to counterstrike or step back in from a new angle.

There is no really good reason to move the "wrong" foot across first like he does. He gets away with it because he distracts with the hand. As has been mentioned before if you are stepping right move the right foot first, stepping left move the left first.

So fix his pattern a little, the first 1,2,3,4 are cool(moving left) but on the second rotation(moving to the right) 1(5) move the right foot(not left) 2(6) then bring the left over(otherwise you will pick up a real bad habit which there is no real need for).

The take home from this guys style is it is built for speed, he has traded in stability for it....the stance is very narrow to the point of going into negative when he crosses his legs to move...it's purpose built for point sparring.

Do the same drill with left foot forward, also do the drill alternating left foot forward and right foot forward.

Following his 1,2 counting system note that your deflections should be independent of the count but your counterstrikes, fakes and dazes will most likely come out on the odd numbers and the solid follow ups(your power strikes) on the evens.

There is no wrong foot moving first. I do see your point if only boxing but even then there is a purpose for it. Moving the back foot as he does is to simply setup a roll off. Making you opponent miss and putting you on angle to counter in a straight line without repositioning. Otherwise your opponent would be off center and you would need to pivot after the step off.

Footwork is one of my favorite things to practice and there are no wrong steps, only wrong steps for the situation. The back leg roll off that he is setting up, is quite effective regardless of point or continuous fighting.

 

[Mark Lynn]

Bill

I noticed that someone said that they watched "your videos" is there a link where I could watch them?

Considering you stated that you were a visual kind of a guy, and you are looking for point sparring type of material. I suggest the following.


http://www.danandersonkarate.com/shopping/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=43
http://www.danandersonkarate.com/shopping/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=41

I HAVE NOT VIEWED EITHER OF THESE TWO DVDS, so you might wonder why I would recommend them. I know Dan and have attended several of his seminars on a variety of subjects on the Filipino martial arts, but what he is known for is/was his karate. Dan is an excellent instructor in person but he goes into greater detail on his DVDs, I do have several of his DVDs as they relate to the FMAs. Dan is a master of breaking down the movements, breaking down the techniques, breaking down the reasons why you do the techniques a certain way.

In his arnis series he breaks down foot work as it relates to stick sparring and blocking; why do you step here, how do you step, body alignment, etc. etc. Frankly after watching 10s of if not 100s of martial art videos on a variety of MAs and many on the FMAs, including going to many seminars on the MAs and FMAs, I have found his breakdown of material to be among the best, he does a top notch job. What kills me is that what he has produced on Modern Anis seems at first glance to be real basic, but it is stuff I continually go back to reference for my Presas Arnis classes. Stuff I have done for years makes sense with his approach where before it didn't. I have brought his drills and concepts into my class and my students feel the same way (my students from other instructors), "DAMN now that makes sense".

Since Dan was known for his karate first and foremost I believe these two DVDs could help you. I'd go to his website and email Dan and ask him if the type of Drills you are looking for (Footwork) are on his DVDs (which one) and go from there, personally I don't think you will be dissapointed. Considering you are looking specifically for point fighting material I think you would be better served learning the strategies and concepts for point fighting tying it into the footwork as a complete package so to speak than just trying to get ideas of footwork off of a forum and UTUBE.

 

[Stealthy]

There is no wrong foot moving first. I do see your point if only boxing but even then there is a purpose for it. Moving the back foot as he does is to simply setup a roll off. Making you opponent miss and putting you on angle to counter in a straight line without repositioning. Otherwise your opponent would be off center and you would need to pivot after the step off.

Footwork is one of my favorite things to practice and there are no wrong steps, only wrong steps for the situation. The back leg roll off that he is setting up, is quite effective regardless of point or continuous fighting.

I can't argue with that. Granted I'm not a fan of the move since it can leave you very vulnerable if you get caught out. I wouldn't really call it a step anyway so much as a stance shift and then a step(as you say "setting up" for the step). If you just plain step you would cover more distance in one step, that cross behind step is kind of two steps if you want to count the stance shift as a step.

I do agree there is nothing "wrong" with it per se but you really need to know why you are doing it and the risks involved. Many people move like that habitually and it causes problems cause they get jammed up and don't know why. So I call it a bad habit and a wrong step for beginners and intermediates to be purged but then reintroduced as a situational move for the advanced.

I will defer to your judgement if you think Bill should be working this step into his routine.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Here's my videos, try to laugh too hard. I usually wear blue headgear, and I'm the fat guy.

Some background. I'm an Isshin-Ryu student. San-kyu (3rd degree brown belt). Been training 3-years. Perhaps another 2 to 3 years to go to sho-dan (1st degree black belt). I'm 50 years old. Our dojo doesn't really *do* tournaments or point-sparring. We used to - long before my time - but no one had gone for a long time when I started going to tournaments. So I'm kind of pulling dojomates along with me, trying to get them to join in the fun. Some like it, some don't. Most of us have day jobs and not a lot of spare time.

Early this year, I set a goal for myself for my 50th birthday (July). I wanted to compete at the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame Tournament in Chattanooga, TN. Since I had never competed, I decided to start competing at some local tournaments.

You may notice my first few tournaments, I am holding both hands up, as I was originally trained in the Marine Corps, years ago. However, I keep getting kicked in my belly. Later, you'll see I've adopted my stance so that I hold one arm lower, to cover my belly. Now I'm stopping kicks - blocking them or catching them pretty regularly. Sometimes my opponent still gets the point - it's hard for the judges to see that I've blocked the kick if I block it near my body and not out front. Sometimes I lose a point even if I catch a kick cleanly; but that's the way it goes. Judges can only call what they see.

Forgive the lower quality of the IHOF tournament; it was shot with a cell phone by a 10-year-old student at my dojo, who re-recorded it off his laptop and even titled it and set it to music - but it's a bit dizzying!

No video from my most recent bout - I could not get anyone from my dojo to go with me, so no one to hold the video camera. I consider my best bouts the ones from the IWKA tournament, even though I got hurt trying to block a front snap kick with an open hand (jammed all my fingers, they still hurt). It got a little violent; our matches were stopped because we were getting out of hand; the video opens with us being chewed out for rocking and rolling too much. I won third place when my opponent (a great guy, by the way) got DQ'd for another heavy hit - my ribs hurt for a month from that shot!

Now that I've reached my goal - to spar at age 50 in the IHOF tournament; I have a new goal; to not suck quite so much. I know I can carry my own water now. I know I can step into the ring with anybody; I'll lose, but I have the stones to take whatever they can give. Now I want to learn to win at this point-sparring game. I realize it's not karate, not real martial arts, and definitely not Isshin-Ryu, but I do enjoy it. I just want to do it better. So that's where I'm at.

First tournament ever; January, 2011

Second tournament, May, 2011

Third tournament, June, 2011

Fourth tournament, July, 2011

Fifth tournament, August, 2011
[no video]

Thanks for watching all that. Hope it wasn't too painful!

 

[ATC]

Here's my videos, try to laugh too hard. I usually wear blue headgear, and I'm the fat guy.

Some background. I'm an Isshin-Ryu student. San-kyu (3rd degree brown belt). Been training 3-years. Perhaps another 2 to 3 years to go to sho-dan (1st degree black belt). I'm 50 years old. Our dojo doesn't really *do* tournaments or point-sparring. We used to - long before my time - but no one had gone for a long time when I started going to tournaments. So I'm kind of pulling dojomates along with me, trying to get them to join in the fun. Some like it, some don't. Most of us have day jobs and not a lot of spare time.

Early this year, I set a goal for myself for my 50th birthday (July). I wanted to compete at the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame Tournament in Chattanooga, TN. Since I had never competed, I decided to start competing at some local tournaments.

You may notice my first few tournaments, I am holding both hands up, as I was originally trained in the Marine Corps, years ago. However, I keep getting kicked in my belly. Later, you'll see I've adopted my stance so that I hold one arm lower, to cover my belly. Now I'm stopping kicks - blocking them or catching them pretty regularly. Sometimes my opponent still gets the point - it's hard for the judges to see that I've blocked the kick if I block it near my body and not out front. Sometimes I lose a point even if I catch a kick cleanly; but that's the way it goes. Judges can only call what they see.

Forgive the lower quality of the IHOF tournament; it was shot with a cell phone by a 10-year-old student at my dojo, who re-recorded it off his laptop and even titled it and set it to music - but it's a bit dizzying!

No video from my most recent bout - I could not get anyone from my dojo to go with me, so no one to hold the video camera. I consider my best bouts the ones from the IWKA tournament, even though I got hurt trying to block a front snap kick with an open hand (jammed all my fingers, they still hurt). It got a little violent; our matches were stopped because we were getting out of hand; the video opens with us being chewed out for rocking and rolling too much. I won third place when my opponent (a great guy, by the way) got DQ'd for another heavy hit - my ribs hurt for a month from that shot!

Now that I've reached my goal - to spar at age 50 in the IHOF tournament; I have a new goal; to not suck quite so much. I know I can carry my own water now. I know I can step into the ring with anybody; I'll lose, but I have the stones to take whatever they can give. Now I want to learn to win at this point-sparring game. I realize it's not karate, not real martial arts, and definitely not Isshin-Ryu, but I do enjoy it. I just want to do it better. So that's where I'm at.

First tournament ever; January, 2011

Second tournament, May, 2011

Third tournament, June, 2011

Fourth tournament, July, 2011

Fifth tournament, August, 2011
[no video]

Thanks for watching all that. Hope it wasn't too painful!

Thanks for sharing Bill I commend you. It is not easy to put yourself out there for all to see. You will most likely get a ton of advice and what I call advice overload. I will start with just two things for you to work on.

1. Be first. You need to be the one to attack first and then always follow up that first attack. From what I see you move forward but throw no techniques. Try this at your next tourney. A simple step (just like walking) followed with a jab then a back leg round kick or a side kick. This is a bang bang combo. You should make this your signature open.

2. Learn to guard closer to your body. You tend to go after (chase or swing for) the punch or kick. Let the strikes come to you. You open yourself up when you chase a technique.

That is all from me. Keep up the training and good luck to you at your next tournament.

 

[Stealthy]

...reintroduced as a situational move for the advanced.

I will defer to your judgement if you think Bill should be working this step into his routine.

Hi Bill, I just wanted to clear this up a bit incase you got the wrong impression(I was in a hurry to get out the door for a meeting) in no way do I think you are not ready for this level of complexity rather I think it should viewed as a niche move and not mainstay, I personally think you should do it so long as you treat it as a specialised technique and don't overlook basic footwork drills.

This is in fact a very good video representation of a similar move I recommended to you earlier.

If you want him to attack so you can crank out that sideways movement and then counterstrike try this...Shuffle into striking distance, fake jab and shuffle back out into your groovy stance(with most of your weight on one leg). As soon as he steps forward with what he thinks is his counterstrike he unwittingly breaches the distance giving you heaps of time to flick yourself over to the side and drill him while he punches the air where you were.

....Shuffle into striking distance, fake jab....3:59sec (3)....
....shuffle back out....4:04sec (4)....
....into your groovy stance(the one from Shinto kata)....4:06sec(1)....
....flick yourself over to the side(either side will do you can go left or right...he goes right)....4:15sec (2) he doesn't make much of a step to the right with his right foot, he just moves from a very wide super groovy stance back into his normal fighting stance.

So in no way am I saying I don't think you can handle it, in fact from watching your fights I think this move would suit you well. I just want you to understand this is very advanced stuff and more akin to stance shifting than stepping.

[yt]Nfe2tqid96k[/yt]

There is some really good stuff to focus on....0:35sec...4:45sec....5:20sec....5:58sec....6:20sec(this is really pro stuff, not a stance dance, he definately works it as a step and to great effect)....8:48(he slips an extra micro step in here)....etc

 

[Stealthy]

With much deliberation and analysis I have decided to eat my words. The aformentioned step can be quite useful, especially so if you only fight with the same facing all the time orthodox or south paw.

Since I train both Orthodox and Southpaw equally I already have 8 basic steps(excluding pivot, it's a half step not a step, I will not yield on that one) so adding in this step both orthodox moving left and southpaw moving right brings it up to 10.

Figured I'd speak up since if martial arts is meant to teach anything it is to have the strength come clean about our mistakes and shortcomings.