Which one do you, folks prefer? I am personally a fan of the flat-footed, walk around in circles approach. However, my instructor has been getting on my case to do more ball-of-the-feet footwork and standing my ground. I can see the benefits of both, because when I bounce, I am definitely a lot faster. However, I get less tired when I am flat-footed (not a big difference) and I look really bad-ass when I land a cool kick/attack from my flat-footed stance. What are your opinions on that?
If you're going to be competing in TKD tournaments go with whatever your coach recommends. If you're going to fight other people try not to bounce. It is just so bad on so many levels that it doesn't bear thinking about. If you are going to fight me, then by all means, please bounce up and down a lot. It will make you ever so much easier to time and markedly cut down on the your effectiveness
When I say bouncing, I don't mean leaving the ground completely like you see in some lame sport TKD tournaments. We are a very self-defense oriented school, and we never go to tournaments as a team. Some guys do as individuals and do pretty well, because no one there expects people coming out with the guard up etc. When I say bouncing, I mean it more like these two guys. I doub't their bouncing is a hindrance to them. http://s32.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3I8NUCY64MNZY2EDDBP6HXWOP2 And when I say flat-footed, I mean like CroCop. The guy is, basically, as lethal as it gets and he has 0% of wasted movements.
yeah, staying on the balls of your feet and "bouncing" sucks so much that most of the best professional fighters do it. Who stays flat-footed again ? edit: Cro Cop isn't really flat-footed. He just plants his feet when he kicks to get more power.
"Man who always prance like pony or take root like willow can never find fortuitous outcome." I too could make up fake Chinese proverbs. Well, they'd be real because I'm Chinese and write them in Chinese, but you get the darn point. You don't need to be a frog, and you don't need to be a brick, move around, be more mobile. But don't be leaping about and expect not to get knocked off balance, that's really not a pretty thing to have done to you. Trust me, my first San Shou sparring session I got swept badly when I kept too much in the air. On the reverse side, moving too close to the ground all the time really hampers your ability to keep up with your opponent and you'll find yourself in trouble in no time. So, strike the balance between having a base and mobility and it's not something that I can explain remotely so much to you but it's certainly something you'll experience. When you get it right you'll have one of those "Aaahhhh, so that's how it's done," moments. As for tiring you out quicker, hit the treadmill or the eliptical machine or the spinning class and get yerself some cardio, boy!
I prefer to teach it as ball and heel. It looks like you are flat footed but you aren't. It allows for pivoting more on the ball of the foot at times and at other times pivoting more on the heel as necessary for your footwork. When "bouncing" and using ball and heel, your heel will lightly touch the ground as you bounce mainly on the ball of your foot. I don't like to teach staying on the ball of your foot and not allowing your heels to touch the ground. It is very hard to generate any power that way with punches or kicks UNLESS you jump into the air with the technique.
You're more likely to see them flat footed than rhythmically jumping up and down so that their feet leave the floor - which is what it sounded like the original query was about. It seems he was talking about something else.
Good thread. Like LiaoRouxin said, mix it up a little and also change it depending on your opponent. A faster opponent will require more nimble footwork so get on the balls of your feet. In UK fencing comps you'll often see the top fencers (not me I hasten to add) being fairly flat footed in the early rounds when the fights are easier for them and more on the balls of their feet later on as the fights get harder. Although bouncing slightly allows you to move quicker it requires a bit more effort to keep it going so it's used when needed.
depends on your style. against bigger guys i like to stay light and move more. against guys my size i prefer to stay a bit more planted because i can take their shots without having to move
I know that way back when I was still getting fencing lessons from a good coach (as opposed to these days where I fence to keep my hand in but haven't really had a decent coached session in -ages-) I was always told not to get myself into the habit of bouncing, mostly because it wastes energy. Also, though, as I had explained to me, especially in the case of inexperienced fencers, the more they get into the habit of bouncing the more they tend to stick to a single rhythm, the easier they are to wrongfoot because everything they do ends up being timed to the end of the bounce. Kind of *bounce-bounce-I'll attack and draw back-bounce-bounce-bounce-same again-bounce-bounce-bou-oops I've been tagged* Though I'll admit that with proper distance and not letting yourself get drawn into a rhythm, the speed increase might be worth it in the right situation.
In the earlier UFC's, most of the people "bounced" around. Making it much easier for Gracie to grapple them down.
Damn. I actually liked that one. Way to ruin my day, girl. :cry: Agreed. Experiment, figure out the balance that works well for you, and run with it, tweaking it where necessary. But as an aside, the Frog Hopping... really amusing. I enjoy when people do it, they get tired quickly and are easier to hit.
I like to stay flat-footed during sparring. I think I lose a bit of speed, but its worth it when you land something real solid. I've also found people who bounce to be more predictable then those who don't. I think it sets a rhythm. However, I think that boxers etc would disagree with me.
I would have though the point of bouncing is to get your opponent locked into your rhythm which you then break rather than the other way round. I personally don't bounce much coz I'm too lazy but I can see it's effectiveness if you know when to use it.
Where the blazes did you get that from the original post? Slavist says: "When I say bouncing, I don't mean leaving the ground completely" in his 2nd post as well.
