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Hi guys. I’m new to this forum and new to Krav Maga, only having taken about 3 classes. Our class is continuously ongoing, and people of various levels all train together, but aside from a few who do karate most of us are pretty much beginners.
My question is how I can improve my footwork. Are there any kind of rules about where you should place your feet for blocks, punches, throws and head/arm locks. I find that sometimes I will accidentally move in to block an outside attack with the wrong foot, and that will mess up the continuation, which is along the lines of grabbing the opponent’s head, kneeing him in the stomach and twisting his head in a way that causes him to fall.
We do some basic stuff like blocking outside attacks and countering with a punch to the stomach or a knee, but when it comes to more advanced stuff like moving your arm in under his arm and then applying a lock to cause him to go down, or twisting his head to cause him to go down, I find my feet in all the wrong places! With the one headlock we had to swing our front foot behind our back foot, while twisting our hips and bending our knees, making a kind of corkscrew effect with our bodies. This was supposed to force the opponent to fall on the ground (or suffer nasty injuries to his neck should he be so stupid to resist). But I found myself hanging on to my opponent’s head and just stringing it along, not causing him to fall at all! Same with the arm lock, it ended up with me looking like I was hugging my best buddy!!
Any advice on where I can learn foot positioning would be greatly appreciated. And yes our instructor does try to show us but I just never seem to understand it well enough to apply it myself, no matter how many times I watch. My opponent is very good at this stuff and he makes me fall very easily, but his idea of explaining what I’m doing wrong generally is “Let me show you again” and once again I get my arm or neck twisted up!!
Re: Fancy Footwork
Welcome! Please feel free to post over on the Welcome Thread when you get a chance 😀
May I ask what school this is? I was curious about your statement that all levels train together? We have that also at my school (i.e. 1/2, 2/3, 3/4) but also classes are held for specific levels only.
I highly recommend the new KM book. It’s broken down by level, great pictures and information. Between that and what you can get from the members here, I think you’ll do just fine! Don’t be afraid to ask questions thumbsup. I know the feeling – the spirit is willing but the body AINT. I STILL can’t do a forward roll to save my life – drives me nuts:tantrum:
Thanks for coming:wav:
Re: Fancy Footwork
A good way to practice footwork is on your own, in front of the mirror, or just moving through the room. You could either replicate the move you recently learned, thinking of an imaginary attacker grabbing you and then slowly going through the motions. Once you’re getting it, you can go faster, then next time you are in class, you can try it with a partner and it should go a lot better.
You can also work on simply moving in a fighting stance. Just go forward, backward, sideways, also switch stance on occasion and do the same thing. Add in stepping and punching, or throwing kicks, then getting back into position, also bobbing and weaving. Just go slowly at first, get a feel for it, then increase speed once you’re getting the hang of it. Should help you with your overall footwork.
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GiantkillerRe: Fancy Footwork
One way of getting good at foot work:repetition, repetition, repetition.
Nike has it down pretty well: “just do it”
Re: Fancy Footwork
One of the things we do in class is bounce between exercises. As Said before bob and weave, step and punch, step and kick, etc. The whole time bouncing, it keeps you light on your feet. thumbsup
Re: Fancy Footwork
I’m not the only one who’s footwork is reminicent of a kid dancing for the first time at his Jr. Highschool homecoming dance? Maybe we could start a club! 😛
J-
Re: Fancy Footwork
Also, consider jumping rope some. It gets you lighter on your feet (that’s why boxers spend so much time doing it. )
Re: Fancy Footwork
My problem is not really that I’m heavy on my feet or anything…my problem is just a lack of knowledge of WHERE to put my feet, especially for any move which require manoeuvering my opponent to the mat. I lack a basic knowledge of what I’m expected to do with my feet!
Re: Fancy Footwork
Well, the instructor should be able to explain it clearly. Then just do the move several times, until you get a good idea of how it works. Make sure your partner doesn’t resist, so you can get a better feel for it. Then just do as many repetitions as possible, maybe even after class, or go through the motions on your own. Most moves take thousands of repetitions to get them perfectly right, so don’t worry if you don’t learn it all in a single class. Just keep coming and doing and stepping! thumbsup
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Giantkiller
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