If you're not moving, you're very easy to hit with any weapon within range... We've all seen heavyweight boxers that can't move for anything and they're the ones that usually get their ass beat unless they get lucky and connect. We've all seen shooting instructors that rely on standing still and phenomenal marksmanship to win fights. Now I'm not in any way suggesting that phenomenal marksmanship isn't a good thing in a gunfight, but standing still is ASKING "Hey, Mr. Felon will you shoot me please? I'll make it easy for you..." James Yeager is known for saying "MOVE: Motionless Operators Ventilate Easily" (among many other things, the vast majority of which I agree with) and he is very right to preach that...
I was told by my boxing coaches (Randy Ballard, a Joe Lewis Fighting Systems Black Belt and extremely talented kickboxing and boxing trainer, and Dale "Sunshine" Frye, former Lightweight Champion of the World kickboxer) that when a tree plants its roots, it's rigid and either falls over or snaps in a strong wind but a vine is flexible and flails in the breeze. So here I set, a cocky, 16 year old, Taekwondo 3rd Dan hearing this and thinking "What in the blue blazes of hell does that have to do with boxing?" Dale broke it down so even I could understand it... "When your heels touch the ground, your roots are planted you're a tree. Roll forward just slightly so your weight's on the balls of your feet and you're flexible."
Moral to the story: Keep your weight forward to stay light on your feet... Even when shooting.
Next lesson: DO NOT EVERY CROSS YOUR FEET!!! EVER! If your feet are crossed, you're off balance... If you need to move to a side then point your hips and walk (or run... or sprint) that direction. If you need to shoot, there are ways to do that that are easier than some feet crossing side step off-balance thing. That's another volume.
So how can you train footwork?
Three simple drills.
Linear Footwork Drill
Move Forward, Backwards, Sidestep Left, Sidestep Right. Repeat. Set a time and switch leads as appropriate and try and do an even number on each side. Feel free to add Level Changes, Penetration Steps, Sprawls, Drawing of Weapons, Striking Combinations, etc. as you please but make sure you work just the footwork beforehand and do several reps.
Circling Drill
Circle around an imagined opponent or a bag and reverse directions after each revolution. Switch leads after every couple direction shifts. Again, you can incorporate Level Changes, Penetration Steps, Sprawls, Drawing of Weapons, Striking Combinations, etc. as you like. Again, concentrate on the footwork itself and make sure you NEVER cross your feet!
Shuffle Step Drill
Bring the back foot up to near even with the lead foot... Then step off in the direction of travel.
Go forward
Forward and right
Step up, side step right
Step up, then rear and right
Step up, then back
Repeat until you've went all the way around.
Then repeat it shuffling rear.
This covers just about any angle one can cover moving by foot. This is best used concentrating on your Lead Hand Punch (JKD Straight Blast) or a Front Kick. Again, you can work any number of strikes, defensive maneuvers, or drawing any of your weapons after each step.
Try these and work on staying light on your feet... Questions, just hit us up with the contact form, EMail, or on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.
Stay Frosty, Stay In The Fight!
V/R
-CMI K. Smith