The J Step

The J Step Is Harder Than It Looks

Yesterday I had an operation and wasn’t allowed to go to training. But Sifu advised me to do footwork that day. So footwork I did. 

I practiced something we regularly do in our trainings: the J step. 
We start with the neutral stance, then open the right leg so that it’s facing our right side, and do a J „drawing“ on the floor with the left foot to land in the forward stance. 
This looks fairly straightforward. The left leg goes a bit behind the right leg to do the J and then change the stance. We move away the opponent’s center line to form our new one, without losing contact with that of the opponent. 

I did this with both legs, only to find that I still struggle with one side. You see, the two legs don’t end up parallel to each other, like they should in the forward stance. 
When I use the left foot, all good. But that right foot is a mess. The legs never end up parallel unless I look at them. 
Of course, if I repeat the exercise, it eventually works and both legs land parallel to each other. 
But every time I practice it, in the beginning the same thing happens. The left side works like a charm but the right side is a mess. 
I don’t see any other remedy than just repeating this until it no longer happens the first two or three times I try it. 

Lesson of the day: keep practicing until you get it right the first time. It will eventually land right.