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8 Foot Moves

• Stepping (Bal Ohmkigi)

Karate trainees must acquire broad knowledge and training in free-fighting moves to enable them to understand their own moves as well as their opponents'. Free-fighting stepping is the method of body movement. The spirit of "Go get 'em" as it is taught in some schools may work once in a while but the mastery of stepping provides a bridge between knowledge and practical application. It can provide you with the ability to close in on your opponent and allows you to move into a position to create openings. Stepping should be practiced with the aim of making this free-fighting move, fast, strong, and natural.

Maintaining a correct and balanced free-fighting position is important whether you are stepping forward, backward, or sideway in both offense and defense. Unless you have mastered stepping, your offensive and defensive techniques can easily fail in application.

Simple Forward and Backward Stepping. This is one of the basic moves which must be practiced continuously for application in free fighting. You can practice stepping forward and backward in a single stance first. You can then vary this routine by practicing stepping from one stance into another. Drop your front-guarding arm slightly across your front-facing area until your rear foot passes the front foot. Then push your rear arm forward, simultaneously extending the rear foot forward. This step is made with a simple motion of body rotation. To step backward, you move in the same manner but reverse the procedure.

Straight Forward and Backward Stepping. When you step forward, first remove your body weight from your front foot and push your body forward with the rear foot. The front foot must be placed in the new stance as the rear foot pushes the body forward. When stepping backward, relieve your rear foot of weight by moving your center of gravity slightly forward and push your body backward with the front foot. The whole move must be executed as one simple stepping move whether it is to the front or rear.

Such a step does not have to cover a long distance. It is used to maintain the most advantageous distance for you, and you should always be ready to move either backward or forward. Continuous stepping can be used to adjust distance for both offense and defense.

Open Stepping. This movement is performed by extending the front foot outward in a 45- to 150-degree angle from the body line, with the position of the guarding arms switched while stepping in defense. If the new position after shifting is at a 90-degree angle from the original position, it is called "90-degree stepping"; 45-, 120-, or 150-degree stepping indicates the angle of the new position in relation to the original position. Since this type of stepping requires a big body maneuver, which opens your main target area, it should be executed rapidly. Whatever the direction or degree may be, the principles of stepping are the same, and your new position should be far enough away from the opponent so he cannot easily follow with another attack.

As illustrated above, guard your front-facing area with your front arm while stepping in a 135-degree angle. Also, move your rear foot in a line that faces the target directly or a safe place for your next move.

To make a 90-degree open step, lift your front foot and lean your upper body weight toward your new position. Then, push the entire body weight with the rear foot, drawing it up immediately. Both feet should land in the new position almost simultaneously, and a well-balanced and guarded free-fighting position should be assumed instantly. This way, you are prepared to block or move away from your opponent's combination attack.

Closed Stepping. The direction of this step is the opposite of open stepping. This step is made by moving the front foot inward across the body line and placing it at a 25-to 90-degree angle forward. The rear foot usually follows the front. This type of step is usually made when there is a short distance between you and your opponent. Characteristically. this movement is used for a fast counterattack after a short distance step away from the opponent's advance. Avoid the frequent application of this step in free fighting unless you become expert at it, since it can leave you in a vulnerable position with your back exposed to the opponent's continuous attack.

Bring your front foot across the body line, with your arms guarding your front-facing ribs and kidney. As soon as the foot lands on its new spot, follow with your rear foot so you face the opponent directly. While stepping with the front foot, you may make an arm block if necessary. This kind of step is particularly good against a thrusting attack from a side-facing position, and its use may put you into an advantageous position for fast counter moves.

Circle Stepping. This step is made by moving your rear foot outward in a circular direction while the front foot barely moves. Your arms must remain guarding the front-facing area of your body while stepping.

This type of step is primarily for defensive purposes. When you intend to make a fast counterattack or if you have no other choice against the opponent's unexpected attack, you can defend with circle stepping in order to hide the exposed area of your front body. However, this is an advanced movement that should only be applied in extreme circumstances, since it can result in a dangerous loss of balance. However, if it is performed with the front foot withdrawing slightly backward, this almost completely eliminates the possibility of destroyed balance, allowing you the proper position for a fast-following move.

Others. Some karate practitioners move around their opponents in a side direction by stepping to the side in order to create an opening. This type of step is sometimes advantageous because the opponent cannot easily detect one's intentions; therefore, he cannot easily score on the moving target. However, this can be a somewhat dangerous step if the direction is discovered, since one is in a very weak defensive position.