New Footwork Drill

Here's a neat drill for working on the distance half of timing. Or the timing half of distance. Or something like that.

The attacker begins by launching any attack, preferrably in slow motion to start. The defender then blocks, parries, or checks the attack while taking a step. Against some attacks, though, the defender may be able to defend solely by stepping out of the way. After the defender moves, he should then launch one slow-motion attack to verify that he's in range, shifting his weight but not moving his feet. Then, the attacker should launch a second attack, shifting his weight but not moving his feet, which the defender should not block, only attempt to lean out of.

This is an amazing drill for developing distancing, and it feels like a miracle when it works. The secret is in the degree of weight that can be shifted. If the attacker over-commits, he has no additional way to shift any further weight forwards when the defender leans back. If the defender does not shift enough weight backwards during the attack, he'll be too close to lean away from the second attack.

Most importantly, as always, is to have fun with it.

Today's drill is courtesy Michael Giles.