387 - Survival fighting footwork: A primer
S.I./H - A complete template for building basic to freeform survival footwork drills - both solo and with a partner.
Copyright © 2023 by Jeth Randolph
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.
Contents:
Intro
Basic stance
The three deadly sins of survival footwork
Three foot patterns
Drill Description
Version one: Static
Version two: Dynamic
Awareness of the fighting surface
Developing the basic drill
Develop the drill with a partner
Further reading and links
Intro
We’ll start with a simple drill that teaches good basic footwork habits.
Most systems have some sort of variation on this, the advice on stances and certain other minutia will vary but this is the nuts and bolts of it.
I take this basic idea and then build on it using variations and partner work to get beginners confident in understanding and mastering good footwork habits specifically for the survival fighting context.
Basic stance
Here I’ll be using a basic athletic type of stance - feet are hip to shoulder width distance apart.
Have your hands up at all times as you would do if faced by someone threatening you. As beginners progress, they learn that the hands are a separate area of consideration in terms of variations, but here I am looking purely at footwork and we will be focusing on that.