Analyzing Martial Arts Footwork!

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter at Monster Martial Arts!

Recently had a question
about how I came up with my footwork,
specifically the Nine Square pattern.
It’s all geometry.

The foot only goes a couple of ways.
Right foot forward or back
Left foot forward or back.
Yet the possibilities are endless.
I started with a square,
‘cornerwork’ I called it.
I came up with 16 possibilities of motion
all based on the right/left forward or back.
I spent months exploring those 16 possibilities
through the various stances.
And explored the various arm movements
that could effectively be done.
A lot of work just there.

I put four corners together and came up with one pattern.
All other patterns were repeats and combinations
of the 16 cornerwork foot patterns.
That’s right, just one,
and it was cool.
It consisted of a cloverleaf,
and spinning and stepping over my front foot.
just those two steps to it, and that was all.

I put the four squares into nine squares.
It was a tic tac toe in a box.
It had eight points (not the corners)
which aligned with Pa Kya circle walking.
And there it was.

Why go further?
Why dance all around the room,
thinking I had created intricate patterns,
when the purpose was to explore the effective potentials
of either the right foot or the left foot
moving either forward or back.
And to drill the basics intensely.

So when you play with the nine square pattern,
especially in the books
Try working them on a simple square,
or on a foursquare.
You understand them better,
and you’ll see what I went through,
and you’ll be better.

The Last Martial Arts Book
(get the version with five hours of video links!)

and

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Came up with a little bit of advice,
here go…

If you train to fight, you’ll get in fights.
If you train to beat up people, you’ll beat up people.
If you train to teach people, then the world will listen.

Have a great work out!

Al

And thanks to everybody who picked up my book,

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Don’t forget to give me five stars.
Those ratings help my sales.

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find the book that works for you.

How to Fix Karate:
A Karate Training and Workout Book
(Two Volumes)