Footwork drills

Advanced Footwork Drills

Getting faster feet

This is a list of drills that you can incorporate into your training. They are to get you to move better and faster. Note that you might have to work up to them. Some of these are bona fide hard and it is better to start slow with control. Speed will come gradually. A few things to remember.

Don't put a premium on speed initially. Although you will get very fast as time goes on, you should start out slowly so you get it right.
Always have your hands up. It is very, very easy to start using your hands as counterbalances (and natural too, e.g. while running) but unless you are careful, this will train you to drop your guard as soon as you start moving fast -- the last thing you want. If you really have a problem with this, a nice trick is to grab your lapels or collar while you do the drill. This will take your hands out of the system and keep them occupied. Once you are able to move this way, then practice putting them back where they belong.
Keep facing in the right direction for the drill. When you are learning, it is fine to look at your feet until you start to get the pattern (if you must always look at your feet, your are substituting eyes for balance, hint, hint. Slow down). However, you do not want to practice taking your eyes off your target when you have to move.
You should not just go for broke on these drills until you have very solid squats (all types) and lunges -- which are the best conditioning to protect your knees from torque and shear. Especially if you have a history of knee trouble or if you do not have much sports background, do your conditioning and add these drills in slowly at first.
Efficiency is your goal. That is to say, conserve momentum as you move. In practice part of moving well is knowing how to bleed off extra energy in the right way with your footwork so you can move fast when needed and slow down when needed. If you find that your drills are "bumpy" this means that you are arresting your momentum too much. Figure out how to make it smooth and effortless.

The most common type of knee injury is caused by someone who is out of shape trying to do some explosive change of direction. You can work up to it with no trouble, just take your time. It is a skill just like any other.

Line drills

By a "line drill" I mean an exercise where you straddle a line. The advantage is that you can practice moving around it so you can learn how to control your body along your main axis of movement. Make sure you look straight down the line no matter which way your body turns

Hop down the line, alternating sides, feet together. Do it forward and backwards.
Ditto the last one, but turn your hips so you land at 45 degrees to the line
Ditto the first, but now turn a full 90 degrees (so each time you land your back is to the line)
Ditto previous, have your feet wider. Also practice squatting with the landing
Walk down the line, feet crossing over, e.g., left foot on right side, right on left side etc.
Carioca (named for a dance from Brazil where the movement is prominent). This is a lateral movement. Just alternate stepping in front and behind. As you do this, you can also rotate 180 degrees. Do this upon occaision (but not constantly or you'll hurl).
Start standing on the line in a wide stance. Move exactly down the line pivoting 180 degrees each time. In particular, do while bobbing.
Straddling the line, twist your hips as if throwing a reverse punch, step. Add a squat on the step. This does double duty as strike + evasion as well as a hip throw.

Box drills

These require a small box. A couple of inches high is all that is needed, a foot would be the absolute upper limit for someone very tall. You are not practicing step-ups or some type of lunge.

Step across: Start beside the box. Step up with one foot, bring the other up (so feet are together), step down, bring the other foot. Reverse. Repeat until you can do this very fast. Works side to side, forward and backwards (although backwards is tricky to get as fast as lateral).
Ditto previous, just do not have your feet together, viz., at most there is on foot on the box or the floor.
Stand in front of the box. Start lightly jogging in place and tap the box with your toes when your feet come up. Work your stance a bit wider then return it to being normal. If your box is not wide enough, do it against a wall.
Hop over the box, front and back, side to side with both feet. Also do tucking knees up and being in as tight a ball as possible.
Repeat, but have the path of one foot over the box, the other not. This gets you used to obstacles.
Now you are going to hop over the box with your hands behind your back, keeping your legs straight and folding in the middle. This is a lot harder than it sounds, so you probably want to begin this with no box and work up to it. This is a calf exercise.

Lunge/squat drills

There are various squats and lunges. A lunge is really just a step + a squat. The difference is the the body's momemtum must be arrested. Therefore, one normally starts with the various squats: standard, splits (going to one knee), side and rotation then starts stepping. These are the basis of all ducking, bobbing and weaving as well as many dynamic throws so it is always a good idea to incorporate them. These are the best way to condition your legs for general sporting activities.

Essentially any footwork drill can have a lunge or a squat added to it and I heartily encourage you to do so.

Shuffling for fun and profit

Shuffling aka tsugi/okuri ashi is one basic way of moving. To shuffle well you need an appropriate stance to start with

Stance: This is the position you should feel comfortable with. You will be square to your opponent with your lead shin oriented on his center line and your trailing foot at approximately a 45 degree angle (to permit pivoting on it for power). Weight is distributed evenly between the feet. This is, in effect a very shallow front stance. Hand should cover your mid-line. Generally you would want to mirror an opponent's position. If his/her left leg is forward, e.g., your right leg is forward. This allows you to more easily pivot away from their power hand.
Basic movements will be tsugi/okuri ashi. What are the advantages of this type of movement? It is quick and, unlike walking, you have a limb bracing you so if your opponent advances as you do and you meet in the middle it is less likely you will lose your balance.

Again, taisabaki are body movements and there are 3, irimi, kaiten, tenkan = irimi+kaiten. (viz., enter, turn, enter+turn/turn+enter). These, however are side-effects of footwork rather than the footwork itself. Said more plainly, of the half dozen or so footwork patterns I have ennunciated, all of them can be used to do each of the basic taisabaki. So for example, you can do irimi by walking, shuffling, pivoting, turning etc. I don't know how many times I've seen people confuse the footwork with its effect. If you do not have a clear understanding of how your feet are working you will likely always "start off on the wrong foot" for doing your techniques. Then you will lack balance, power and general effectiveness.

We start with shuffling and combos. Since shuffling is linear, it must be combines with some movement to allow for changing direction. The pivot serves this role well. Ducking and lunges are incorporated. Remember to keep your back straight when you duck or lunge or you might be off balance and fall over.

Shuffle forward and back
Hop forwards and back
Shuffle or hop forward and back ducking and with a lunge.
Double shuffle forward and back, also ducking
Double shuffle one way with a single shuffle back. E.g., shuffle back twice, then immediately reverse and come forward (this practices evade + counter attack).
Shuffle forward and back with a 90 degree pivot aka a quarter turn. Also turn with a hop. With left leg forward, it is easy to pivot CW. To turn CCW will require a step with the right foot to 3 o'clock or a long step, so this is slower.
Shuffle side to side (lateral). Do double shuffle. Add ducking (these will be either squats or lateral lunges)
Shuffle back and turn, covering with elbows (important drill!) Teaches you to recover after retreating.
Shuffle back and to the right (if in left lead) and switch feet then step back to left lead.
Start with a quarter turn to move in on your opponent.
hop back then immediately fire a jab. Can also advance on the jab.
With left leg forward, move to the right by step with the right to 3 o'clock, step back to 6 with left foot then to 3 o'clock with the right and back to 12 with the left. This lets you move back and to the right (idea is to move up on someone's power hand and not get hit).

Mixing and matching

Now that we have a lot of basic types of movement, here is a good list of combos. You can add squats, lunges etc. to these at any point. You can add falling as well.

step forward or back and pivot.
move laterally and pivot
do a twist, dropping to one knee, step forward
shuffle forward twice, then back and do a shoulder roll (in various directions). Face other way, repeat. This drill should keep you more or less in one place.
back roll, lateral lunge, pivot as you rise (emulates getting knocked over, coming up, ducking something then off-lining)