Have you thought about the surface you train on? Do you practice in a dojo? Are the floors made of wood or concrete? Do you practice barefoot or with shoes? Do they slide across the floor? Let’s make the training more practical …
Martial arts movement: do you slide or bounce?
For the most part, seasoned martial artists glide their moves down the floor. Heads don’t move up and down. The head remains level while moving.
This applies to moving forward, backward, or to either side.
So are you practicing on a surface where it’s easy to learn to slide without bouncing, or are your feet skidding and avoiding easy movement?
At first, try smooth surfaces, such as in a dojo or garage where you train.
Eventually, it hampers your training. Add the realism of different surfaces.
The common surface offers martial problems
My garage where I train full of … things. treadmills, bean bag chairs, book boxes, vinyl records, etc. This forced us to move to the next room to train.
Our new “training center” is carpeted.
And I have never seen my students present a problem like smooth movement across the carpet from wall to wall. It is as if they have lost their efficiency in one fell swoop. Who would have thought that the rugs would be the kryptonite of one or two of my students.
The solution was to get moving again, practice shooting forward, backing up, and taking quick steps sideways, all without moving your head up and down. All about carpet.
You should try it. It is worth practicing.
Another challenge for smooth martial movement
If you are going to kick, shoes that offer grip are preferred. Sure, you can slide forward better in leather-soled shoes, but you can also slide quite easily on your butt.
So many martial artists prefer rubber soled shoes. It makes sense.
The problem is that on a smooth floor they tend to stick. And it’s the grip of the rubber tread that … makes the head start rocking again.
You should make practice on different surfaces and wearing different shoes (barefoot too) a part of your regular training. Learn to move like a martial artist. There are several reasons for not bouncing while moving.
To your efficient martial movement!