Maybe it has something to do with the fighters having the shoot and take down so prominently on their minds. The striker is worried about defending against the shoot and has his sprawl all set to go. So he doesn't want to be caught in the middle of a footwork pattern or with his feet close together. The grappler is looking for a gap in the striker's defense so he can shoot in suddenly. So he isn't moving around a lot as he stalks his prey.
Keith
I saw little footwork in most of the fights tonight. The most footwork I saw was with Tony DeSouza Vs. Thiago Alves with Thiago having some sound skills. I question the "let's stand here and trade blows" mentality we saw for most of the night. Check was the only one I saw who was feinting and trying to bait Tito with his footwork.
Thoughts?
Gruhn
i was actually trying to work on an mma type sawtooth. if anyone's got ideas i'd love to hear it.
I think it also helps me that I do The Dune in Manhattan Beach barefoot. I think this really helps the muscles of the feet..
Hit him harder with meaner sticks until he becomes motivated to evolve. :lol:
I am a bigger fighter than most, and my footwork is still evolving. That said, I would second what Guro says above. I would also make a point training the footwork from any number of the DVDs that are on the website, including the FW DVD from RCSF series 1 and the Combining Stick and Footwork from series 2. And repeat. And repeat again. Perfect practice makes perfect.The guy used to play hockey and he's done BJJ. When I say big, think rugby player. He's an athletic guy. Also his instructor just gave him his black belt in Arnis/Kali/Escrima after 2 yrs this last Monday so he's familiar with stick. Unfortunately his instructor is the typical stand in medio/corto range and do hubad etc @ half speed while you do cool martial arty things. So he's never really worked the snake range or for that matter- things you can do under real contact in real time. He comes to a sparring group I run where we try out the techniques and I'm trying to help him not just stand there but respect the stick. Right now we're hammering the attacking blocks material but I now wonder if we should shift more to combining stick and footwork since his game is to close. Except his game is to take hits to close.
Does he have an athletic background? If so, use the footwork he has developed in his prior experiences help him. I wrestled and played OLine. That footwork has helped me. I would also encourage him to develop a game based on his assets. Size does matter. Trying to make him move like a small man will only serve to frustrate both of you, and probably harm him more than help him.
My 2cents.
Some other things that may open him up a bit for footwork and moving his stick are trying
two on one scenarios/sparring or three on one scenrarios
the prison riot drill
target his hand while sparring or just spar only using the hand(s) as a target
you spar with a stick and knife which will discourage him from closing, force him to work something other than the close
i can try to think of some other things, i'm sure several people may have ideas. I think the above can help him recognize his gaps, and then return to combining stick and footwork. Or show him some of the fight footage from the DVDs and see if he can emulate one of the fighters.
woof!
porn*
In DBMA the foundational DVD for applied fighting footwork is "Dos Triques". (Do we have a thread on the Dos Triques DVD?)
BTW, that's Porn Star Dog you see in most of the fight footage showing the DT material applied.