About the Author: Keep Light on Your Feet
Welcome to the Arrowhead Martial Arts Studios blog. We're located in Salt Lake City, Utah and exclusively teach adults the martial art of AMERICAN KENPO. If you want to be notified the next time I write something, sign up for email alerts or subscribe to the RSS feed. Be sure to also sign up for our monthly newsletter and our free trial program. Thanks for reading! -- Ryan
The foot maneuvers we practiced last night hopefully opened your eyes to the importance of not resting on your heels. If you want to be explosive with your footwork, it is important to stay on the balls of your feet.
If you’re caught in stance where your heels are flat on the ground, you’re just not going to have the same maneuverability and explosiveness in your footwork. This became readily apparent watching everyone last night when we did the back switch push drag drill to start things off.
Stances are the foundation to the art of Kenpo and something that needs to be practiced on a regular basis. They are the vehicles to transition you from neutral bow to neutral bow.
Examples of the footwork you should be practicing:
1) Front switch
2) Back switch
3) Side switch
4) Hop switch
5) Push drag
6) Pull drag
7) Drag step
Step drag
9) Step through
10) Rear crossover
11) Front crossover
These should be practiced to all points of the compass – moving forward, in reverse, to the side, on the angles – as well as in multiple combinations and sequences.
Start with one foot maneuver then move into adding then rearranging the sequence like we did last night. Be sure you’re taking the time to get these down. If your art isn’t built from a solid foundation, everything else you do just won’t be as effective as it could be.
