5 Ways to Immediately Improve Your Footwork For Martial Arts

Starting out learning hand to hand combat techniques or fighting techniques, if you have never practised any before, is unlike any other sport. Hand to hand combat against an opponent requires the liveliest reflexes and nowhere is this more important than in your footwork.

Where your feet go, the rest of you follows and the right moves can mean victory or defeat, pass or fail, applause or just a sympathetic slap on the back. Developing balance is critical in order to get the most out of your martial art style and make the best of your ability. Getting better at footwork doesn’t come easily and involves persistence and determination. There are a number of easy to implement strategies to start working this area of your training.

Here are 5 ways to immediately improve your footwork:

1. Cardio fitness – Work to increase your cardiovascular fitness at all times. Raise your heartbeat and make yourself sweat. This is the king of all strategies and has numerous knock on effects in your training and life in general.

2. Skipping rope – The classic exercise for good reason. It builds coordination, footwork confidence, poise and balance.

3. Shadow or mirror boxing – Train like a boxer and use your own reflection to gauge your weak points and target them.

4. Stretching – If you don’t already, do a quick warm-up and then practise stretching your muscles with precise movements. There are plenty of on-line guides to stretching and muscle contraction. Signing up for a yoga class is a good idea for personal instruction and long term benefits.

5. Use rope work – This involves tying a rope about two feet long between your ankles when practising your movement. The aim is to reach a point where you can move without the rope becoming taught. It shouldn’t ever become tight. This is a great training technique but of course at first it will seem difficult but it is worth persevering with. To challenge yourself even more you can decrease the distance of the rope in small increments.

If you want more options to choose from how about dance classes? These are great ways to improve coordination, rhythm and balance and by using such a different discipline from your normal one you are fooling the body by performing moves that are quite alien from what it expects. Just make sure it is structured dance with set moves as opposed to something freestyle. Like muscle training the body will quickly adapt to a familiar routine and that routine will become less effective over time, so keep it guessing. Follow any or all of these tips and you will find your footwork and coordination improving along with progression in your overall training.

How to choose martial arts footwear

So you have taken the decision to learn a martial art. With that decision there is a new commitment to a new path of physical and mental discipline. At times walking this path will be easy and at other times it will be hard and like most of life's goals it is worth putting in the effort in order to draw out every benefit from your art.

A number of the martial art disciplines particularly those from Japan, require no footwear to participate. The use of the two piece "Gi" in Karate, Aikido, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu is accompanied by bare feet as most of the work will take place on a Tatami mat. As part of the respectful atmosphere inside the dojo, it is frowned upon to wear of any kind of shoe. Indeed it is common in Japanese culture to remove your shoes when entering your own and other people's homes as it is in most other places of high regard such as temples.

For other styles you will be investing in a good pair of shoes to see you through your training sessions. You may often be training on wooden floors and polished gym surfaces which will need more than bare feet. There is an argument for always training in bare feet no matter what the style but to counter this how often do you walk around without shoes anyway? If ever you do find yourself in a desperate situation where you need to use your skills, you are most likely to be wearing shoes, so why not train in them?

The type of shoes will vary greatly depending on the particular physical demands of the martial art in question. The footwear you need for something like Taekwondo or Hapkido will have to be strong and light at the same time to withstand the frenetic pace of bag work and kicks.

If you are studying a traditional kung-fu style then the classic kung fu slipper with its canvas upper part and bottom rubber sole will probably be all you need. Theses shoes simulate a feeling of being barefoot and are very light and durable.

Whatever the type of shoe you need to buy always scrutinise the make and check for these qualities: 

• Ergonomic design - new designs are often the slip-on type for a snug fit and greater accessibility.
• Good quality leather - durable for movement and flexible at the same time.
• Robust stitching /joining - strong enough to withstand the high impact and contact aspect of martial arts without falling apart.
• Good quality soles - for spinning into kicks, turns and so on.  

When looking for clothing and footwear to start your training, you should always go for good workmanship and comfort above all else. Don't buy a trainer because it looks stylish and fancy; this is not a good reason to purchase. It is though, worth spending a few extra pennies more for quality when it comes to this vital piece of training equipment.