The Footwork

Footwork is important.

I used to play basketball when I was younger. Back then, like now, I was short, the shortest in my team. But, unlike now, I was quite fast.

My trainer always advised me, „since you’re  short, you should be able to beat your opponents using your feet. Train your feet!“

Of course, basketball footwork is quite different from Wing Chun footwork. I wasn’t trying to move away from opponents nor use economy of motion. I was trying to be faster than them and move the ball around. So whatever I learned in basketball was, quite frankly, useless in Wing Chun.

There’s a lot of unlearning I need to do, but obsession is still obsession. I still somehow believe footwork is the most important thing in Wing Chun and Eskrima, too.

But I asked SiFu today if I should focus on that and that only and he said no. Everything needs its proper focus and attention. 

What I can do, instead, is choose to focus on the system I like the most. But I like them both, so much, so I’ll do both. Even though their footwork is different.

Eskrima seems a bit more straightforward to me. It doesn’t have that parallel feet stuff I learned in Wing Chun.

But that complexity that Wing Chun has intrigues me. And today we did a drill where we start with a Pak Da to the opponent, he blocks our punch with a pak sao and we use the force of that Pak Sao to move our feet away from his center line and and answer with a Tan Da. The opponent then defends himself with a Bong Sao while turning.

That footwork seems simple, but it’s so magic. I can’t explain it. I wanted to train it again and again. I can’t help it. I love repetition.

But I need to focus on everything. Not just footwork. I need to let go of my past obsession and just have patience and do what I’m told. Train what I’m told to train.

But boy. I love that dang footwork. 

I worked on it while looking for alcohol free beer at the supermarket. A security guy spotted me and immediately struck a conversation about Wing Chun. Loved it!

Lesson of the day: Don’t sweat it. Everything will come in time. Train what you can. Focus on everything.