Mobility and Basic Footwork in the IEAA
I was always taught that the long bladed knife or Bolo was the
primary fighting tool of a number of FMA systems. Modern Arnis, as taught by Professor Remy
Presas, is an example of this general bladed orientation. Sifu Don Zanghi, my first Kenpo-Arnis
instructor made sure that his students were aware of this orientation and
stressed that the rattan stick was a training tool and represented the bolo. As I read through the introductions of
Professor Presas' first 2 books, Modern Arnis: Filipino Martial Art: “Stick
Fighting” (1974) and The Practical Art of Eskrima: The Filipino Martial Art of
Attack and Defense with cane or bare hands otherwise known as Arnis (1975), it
was very clear to me that the blade was the weapon of choice in the Philippines
prior to the modern era of firearms. All
anyone needed to do was examine the number of blade types that Professor referred
to in his 1974 book on page 10, “...kris, bolo, kalis, laring, barong, gunong,
kampilan, gayang, pira, punal, itak banjal, bangkcon, lahot and the panabas”
and any doubts about the bladed orientation would be easily removed.
Given that array of bladed instruments, it seems to me that
effective defensive skills, beginning with footwork and mobility are absolutely
necessary if one is going to stay alive, healthy and retaining all of their
body parts intact. My first Asian
Martial Arts instructor, Sifu Don Zanghi, taught a self-defense style that
blended Tracy System Kenpo and Modern Arnis.
He placed a great deal of emphasis on good evasive footwork. Therefore I am going to follow his lead in
this booklet, as I have done over the past 30+ years. I will introduce the basic fighting stance of
the IEKA, the neutral stance and the footwork that drives our IEKA single stick
blocking methodology.
One of the benefits of stepping as you stick block or strike
is that you will naturally and very easily rotate your hips thereby adding
power to both motions. Since blocks are
in reality your first counter-strikes, you want to have both speed and power as
you execute your blocks. The smaller you
are in physical stature and muscle size, the more important it is for you to
generate as much power as you can from the smallest movements that you
make. This is a form of “economy of
motion” or the idea of making 2 or 3 positive things happen at the same time
with a single movement. The full economy
of motion concept is beyond the scope of this booklet, but the idea can be
found in many areas of movement within the FMA.
In the IEKA instructional format we use the “clock” system
to determine where a person is stepping as they are attacking or
defending. This system can also be
described in terms of compass directions.
The following schematic depicts the clock system:
12
10:30 1:30
9
+ 3:30
7:30 4:30
6
As the defender, you will begin your defensive actions from
the center (+) spot in the clock and it is assumed that you are always facing
12:00 at the beginning of any sequence of movements. Your opponent or opponents can be at any spot
on the perimeter of the clock, including being directly behind you. That latter situation will of course
necessitate that you take some sort of evasive action in order to turn and face
that person(s) as well as counter the opponent’s attack.
All of the directions for you, the defender, will be given
in terms of the starting position in the center of the clock and moving in the
direction toward one or more of the other positions listed above in the
schematic. Moving in a clockwise
progression the compass points would be North (12), Northeast (1:30), East (3),
Southeast (4:30), South (6), Southwest (7:30), West (9) and Northwest (10:30).
Neutral Stance:
The neutral stance is the key to our mobility training
within the IEAA Escrima Amis program. While the horse stance provides the
sturdiest foundation for the legs, the neutral stance allows us to move faster
and easier than the horse stance. The reasons are very simple and direct. The
horse stance is lower and wider. There is excellent side to side stability, but
virtually no front to back stability and it exposes our entire center line or
vital organs to attack. The neutral
stance corrects both of those defects although there is of course, a
trade-off. The neutral stance since it
is higher is not as stable or strong.
On the other hand the greater mobility that it affords us is a very
acceptable alternative benefit.
To establish a neutral stance, start with your feet
together, shoulders on the 3 – 9 axis line of the clock and facing 12:00. Take one (1) full step toward 12:00 with your
right foot (RF), pivot on the balls of both feet, turning toward the left or
counter-clockwise (CCW) so that you are now facing toward the 10:30
position. Your feet are pointed toward
10:30, your shoulders are now on the 7:30 – 1:30 axis line. Take a half-step or stride toward 10:30 with
your left foot (LF). Turn your head to
the right and look in the 12:00 direction.
You are now in the basic neutral stance position with your hands at your
sides. Bend your arms at your elbows to
raise your hands up on either side of the face in a guard position and bend
your knees slightly so that neither joint is in a locked position. Raise your left heel slightly off the
ground. This is your basic empty hand
neutral stance fighting position.
In this position, your hands can protect your face, your
elbows and upper arms protect your ribs, you right thigh is protecting your
groin from a frontal or 12:00 attack and can rotate your waist to your left in
order to further protect your groin from an opponent’s hooking attack originating
from the 10:30 quadrant. You can use
inward or outward forearm blocks to protect your chest and mid-section against
hooking attacks. Add a stick to your
right hand (RH) and you are in the right side (Rs) forward neutral ready stance
for stick fighting using strikes and/or blocks.
Reverse the directions of the feet and establish a left side
(Ls) neutral stance. If you keep the
stick in your right hand, place your stick against your raised left forearm, in
a horizontal plane and you will be in the left side (Ls) forward neutral ready
stance for stick striking or blocking from a backhand orientation. In
both the right and left side neutral stances, the elbows are kept down and
against your ribs thereby providing protection for the ribs.
Neutral Stance Basic
Transition Drills - Stepping Through:
1. Begin with a
right side (Rs) forward neutral stance.
Step forward with your left foot (LF) and assume a left side forward
neutral stance.
2. Step forward with
your right foot (RF) and assume a right side (Rs) forward neutral stance.
3. From the current
right side (Rs) forward stance, step back toward 6:00 with your right foot (RF)
and assume a left side (Ls) forward stance.
4. Step back with
your left foot (LF) and assume a right side (Rs) forward neutral stance.
These
"step-through" drills allow us to make the basic stance transitions
while maintaining the same type of stance, merely shifting from a right foot
lead to a left foot lead and then back to the original right foot lead. We can advance or retreat in a protected body
positioning sequence. One consideration
that must be kept in mind when using the
'step-through' transitions is the need for protecting your groin while moving
forward or backward and changing the lead sides. The legs must never be opened
too widely. A quick natural turning of
the hips must accompany the steps, so that your groin and bladder areas are not
facing forward and unprotected. Your shoulders and hips must always be
re-aligned along one of the lines of the "X" axis from 1:30 to 7:30
or 10:30 to 4:30, as quickly as possible in order to prevent a kick or punch to
those areas.
Push-step:
The push-step is a quick forward or reverse movement to
either close or open the distance or "gap" between yourself and your
opponent. Start from the Rs neutral
stance and push off with your rear foot, and step toward 12:00 with your Right
Foot. Your rear foot should land in
front of the spot vacated by your lead foot.
If the lead foot moved 6 inches, then the rear foot should move the same
distance forward. You should still be in
a balanced, Rs neutral stance. To move
back or retreat, push back with your lead or RF, as your rear or LF steps back
toward 6:00. You should still be in your RS neutral stance at the end of the
procedure. The push-step may also be
used on a forward angle toward 10:30 or 1:30 or on a retreating angle toward
7:30 or 4:30. This angled movement is
sometimes referred to as "Triangulation". It is a very important, yet basic, evasion
maneuver.
Shuffle:
A series of push-step maneuvers used to cover a greater
distance than can be accomplished with two or more push-steps in any
direction. The shuffle allows the user
to remained balanced and in a protective neutral stance while moving.
In-place Stepping:
This stepping method is used to establish a strong base for
blocking and striking by shifting your weight from one side of your body to the
other while maintaining a solid well balanced neutral stance. The transition from your Rs neutral stance to
the Ls neutral stance is accomplished by stepping forward with your LF to the
12:00 position next to your RF and stepping backward toward 6:00 with your
RF. Returning to the RS neutral stance
is completed by stepping forward to 12:00 with your RF, placing it next to your
LF, then stepping back to 6:00 with your LF, to establish the RS neutral
stance. In-place stepping is used to hold your position, without gaining or
losing ground. It is very effective and
useful on wet slippery surfaces, where there is a strong possibility of
slipping and falling as you try to
defend yourself against an attacker.
Lateral Shift Step:
This is a side to side variation of the in-place stepping
technique. Starting from a RS neutral stance, step toward 10:30 with your LF,
then step to 6:00 with your RF. You are now in the Ls neutral stance. Return to your Rs neutral stance is achieved
by stepping to 1:30 with your RF and to 6:00 with your LF. The lateral shift step allows you to change
your position to either side of your original starting point as you defend
yourself against an attack and set-up your counter-attack. It is a form of “triangulation”
V-Stepping:
The V-Step pattern is another angled stepping pattern. It utilizes the rear step of the in-place
pattern, however instead of stepping straight forward to change the lead foot,
the second step is angled. This pattern
also has the added element of shifting from one point to an entirely different
place or position that is not easily done with the lateral shift step movement. The major advantages of V-stepping are in the
positional changes that can be added to the initial rear step. With the V-steps you can easily add a step to
your left or right sides as well as a second rearward step of open a wider gap
with your opponent.
Side Stepping:
The side step is fairly easy to do since it involves both
feet moving in the same direction and maintaining your shoulder width placement and neutral
stance orientation without changing from the Rs to the Ls or vice-versa. The stepping rule is quite simple, if going
to your right, step first with your right foot, then move your left foot and
place it in position on the floor re-establishing your Rs neutral stance. If you side step to your left, move your left
foot first, then your right foot and re-establish your Rs neutral stance.
Cover and Turn:
In a street confrontation, where there are no judges,
referees or rules of sportsmanship being followed by your opponent(s). It is very important that you have mastered
some evasive movements and avoid being struck or cut so that you can
effectively counter-attack with speed, strength and power.
Cover and turn allows you to survey the area around you and
turn to either side or toward your rear quadrant, with relative safety and
maintaining good balance and using only a minimal amount of movement on your
part. Place yourself in the Rs neutral
stance and then assume that you want to turn so that you can face 6:00. To
accomplish this goal, you will step toward 10:30 with your RF, pivot on the balls
of both feet, with the toes of both feet pointing toward 7:30, your shoulders
on the 10;30 to 4:30 axis, you should be looking toward 6:00 in the Ls neutral
stance with your stick in front of your right shoulder. You have just completed a cover and turn
movement.
To return to the 12:00 position, step toward 7:30 with your
LF, pivot on the balls of both feet, with your toes pointing toward 10:30, your
shoulders will be on the 1:30 to 7:30 axis of your clock and your head is
turned toward 12:00 and you have reassumed your original Rs neutral
stance. (Please note that you will have
moved 2 steps to your left after you complete the return to your original Rs
Neutral stance. You have NOT done
anything incorrectly. The Cover and turn
maneuver takes you off the original 12 – 6 axis line and establishes a new 12 –
6 (or N – S) axis line with each turning movement.)
If your goal is to turn to face either 3:00 or 9:00 from
your Rs neutral stance, cover and turn will help you accomplish going to either
direction. To change and face 3:00, step toward 10:30 with your LF, pivot on
the balls of both feet, pointing your toes toward 1:30 and your shoulders will
be on the 4:30 to 10:30 axis and you can face 3:00, and you will still be in a
Rs neutral stance with your stick in front of your right shoulder.
To transition to face 9:00, from your Rs Neutral stance,
that is oriented toward 12:00, step toward 1:30 with your RF, pivot on the
balls of both feet and point your toes toward 10:30, placing your shoulders
along the 1:30 to 7:30 axis, you will be facing 9:00, and in a Ls neutral
stance with your stick in front of your right shoulder.
It is extremely important that you learn how to use the
"cover and turn" technique, because you should never assume that you
will always be faced by only one nasty person at a time whose intention is to
hurt you. The ability to quickly turn and change your body positioning,
correctly while covering yourself, is a vital skill that could be the
difference between escaping serious injury or death on the streets.
Neutral Stance Four
Directions Cover and Turn Drills:
The Right Side Orientation: The Left Side
Orientation:
12:00 Rs neutral stance 12:00 Ls
neutral stance
9:00 Ls neutral stance
3:00 Rs neutral stance
3:00 Rs neutral stance
9:00 Ls neutral stance
12:00 Ls neutral stance 12:00
Rs neutral stance
6:00 Rs neutral stance
6:00 Ls neutral stance
12:00 Ls neutral stance 12:00
Rs neutral stance
3:00 Rs neutral stance 9:00
Ls neutral stance
9:00 Ls neutral stance
3:00 Rs neutral stance
12:00 Rs neutral stance 12:00
Ls neutral stance
Close
Close
In the IEKA curriculum we train our students to utilize both
their right and left side movements. The
reality of combat confrontations is that you do not know what angle or
direction an opponent may choose to strike from, therefore, you must be
prepared to defend every angle or degree of the clock. You have to be comfortable moving to or from
both your strong (dominate hand) and weak sides. Therefore, above I have included the left
side orientation of the cover and turn drill.
Practice these drills on both
sides and never allow yourself to develop a “sugar side” or a one sided
orientation in the combat/self-defense arts.
Go back to earlier sections of the booklet and practice everything shown
on both the right and left sides of the body.
An attacker will never willingly or graciously attack you only on your
strong side and always after giving you ample warning that he/they are coming. Please keep in mind something that I post in
ALL of my curriculum handouts:
“Prior proper preparation prevents piss poor performance!”
Jerome Barber, Ed. D.GM and Mataw Guro,
Independent Escrima-Kenpo-Arnis Associates
