Wing Chun Footwork: Triangle Stepping

Below are excerpts of a thread from Kung Fu Magazine's Forum. Although some of the terms are different, I thought it was a good read.

First of all, different Wing Chun lineages use somewhat different terminology sometimes, so here goes my take on "triangle stepping":

To visualize it, superimpose a triangle parallel to the floor in between you and your opponent. You stand at the point, he stands at the base.

As he moves his body forward, either to step to gain position or to launch an attack, you make one step right down the angle of the triangle (which simultaneously moves you out of the way of the line of force AND bridges the gap). The leg you use to step with depends on which direction you move: if you go left - step with the left leg, if you go right - step with the right leg (easy, right?).

After the first step you IMMEDIATELY cross your back leg through and step right toward the opponent's center. This brings you in on an angle allowing you to trap his closest limbs while his other limbs are too far out of range to be applied in the fight.

The two steps should be chained together and made rapid. From the opponent's perspective it seems as though you quickly weave out of his line of fire and come right into his blind side where he can't defend himself.

This stepping comes from Biu Tze's huen bo ("circling leg") motions, and you see the whole process applied in the second section of the Bot Cham Do.

As far as the footwork stances and names from your forms, this is Ip Ching terminology:

Siu Lim Tao: "Siu Lim Tao Ma" or "Yee Chee Kim Yeung Ma" (Character Two Adduction Stance) or "Ding Ma" (frontal stance)....all names for the same thing.

Chum Kiu: "Chum Kiu Ma", which is the turned position, also could be called the "sidling stance". The process to move into that stance is also called "Cho Ma" or "shifting stance". From Chum Kiu Ma you've got the moving stances of "Toh Ma" or "Chasing Stance" and "Biu Ma" or "shooting stance."

Biu Tze: you've got "Huen Bo" or circling leg movements.

Every piece of footwork in Wing Chun can be found in application in the 1st section of the Mook Yan Chong. Using the aforementioned stances in footwork you have learned in the hand forms see the following principles of footwork applied into an opponent:

1) "Ding Ma" forward stance - any application of hand/arm power while using your Yee Chee Kim Yeung Ma to root.

2) "Cho Ma" shifting/turning stance - redirecting force and/or simultaneously using your "Yiu Ma", or waist power, to add power to your striking.

3) "Toh Ma" chasing stance - stepping to gain position.

4) "Jeet Ma" intercepting stance - here's your triangle stepping applied on the wooden dummy that uses the Huen Bo movements from Biu Tze to simultaneously sidestep your opponent and to gain superior position.

5) "Toi Ma" dissipating stance - yielding under pressure by circling your leg back and simultaneously shifting your weight to redirect a trap or to preserve your balance.

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Toh Ma is used when you have already bridged the gap and are in contact with your opponent. It is applied in relatively small motions to gain superior position and utilize the root off your back leg to apply power in order to redirect the opponent's movements and to get him trapped. To do it, you stretch forward your lead leg a bit, then use your adduction power to slide yourself forward as you pick up your feet. Sort of like a really tight, compact fencing shuffle. An analogy that will help make sense of the way the steps are used is kind of the way you use an auto jack to ratchet up your car. Each little step ratchets in your power and holds it secure. Also, the term "chasing stance" is there because the stance is used to continually reposition yourself relative to where your opponent's center is going. Kind of like a compass needle always moving to point north. Therefore, you are "chasing" the other guy's center.

Biu Ma is the king of stepping motions! It's your "whole body power move". Biu Ma is utilized in two different aspects. 1) to bridge the gap, and 2) to bring down the Wrath of God in your striking once you've found your opening with Toh Ma. To perform it, you use the same body mechanics as Toh Ma, but you begin by sinking your weight a bit into your back leg and generate your power by pushing (or "shooting") off the weighted ankle and knee to propell yourself forward. You can see that it will get you across the gap a lot faster than using Toh Ma's shuffling movements. Also, you break out your Biu Ma when you've got an opening through positioning/trapping/ etc. to lay in your striking power by generating the force from your supporting leg and "shooting" forward. It's like the difference between hitting the guy with a brick....or hitting him with the whole **** brick wall.

Seen in this light, Toh Ma and Biu Ma should be used interchangably. To use an example:

I face my opponent. I "shoot" to bridge the gap and make contact with him. Two quick "chases" trap his arms and discharge his power. Now that I have him under control and open to destroy, I "shoot" again through his defenses to tear his head off.

Also, sometimes you never have to use Toh Ma to ratchet in your power because you are so clean in your stepping and the other guy has no clue how to protect his center. Like, if someone tries to lay in a power strike toward you and you shoot your triangle stepping in with Biu Ma (since nearly ever time you would ever triangle step it's done by utilizing Biu Ma's power), and he doesn't shift his position to follow you very well, you will nail him on his umprotected side and it's game over.

Footwork is pretty much the driving factor to everything. All that fancy hand stuff we all like to practice so much doesn't do you a whole lot of good if you can't get into the right place at the right time with the right power.

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Here's are some beneficial solo footwork drills that my Sifu gave me:

Find a "runway" somewhere where you can draw a chalk line, lay down some masking tape, or use an existing reference point like a painted line, crack in your garage floor, etc. Start on one end in a forward facing stance (Chum Kiu Ma) pointing down the line.

The drill works like this -- shoot forward with Biu Ma (pressing off the back leg) using two steps to build momentum, and as soon as your lead leg touches the ground on the second step you immediately perform a 180 degree shift to face back the opposite direction...without throwing yourself off the line. The trick is using the drill to learn to control the placement of your center of gravity by rotating your hips properly and sinking. Once you've shifted, take a sec to relax, then shoot forward two steps again to shift 180 degrees.

The drill also doubles as an excellent plyometric exercise that will smoke you pretty fast and get that blood pumping.

Another drill is to use the same "runway" and line as above, but draw a shorter line intersecting the runway line (the lines will look like a "T").

Stand in your stance on the shorter intersecting line facing down the long one. First, shift your weight over to the right foot as you turn your hips 45 degrees (just like in Chum Kiu) so your balance is completely on one side of the runway line.

As soon as your stance goes 100/0 you immiately transfer your weight forward onto your unweighted leg without turning your hips (Biu Tze/Bot Cham Do) until your balance is all the over on the other side of the runway line.

Then, as soon as your weight goes 100/0 you immediately circle your back unweighted leg in toward you and then out forward to the runway line as you simultaneously shift your hips and turn your body to face the direction your foot is moving (Huen Bo from Biu Tze).

As soon as your circling leg reaches out and touches the runway line you use your adductor muscles to suck your back leg in underneath you and onto the runway line so your body and legs are facing completely down the line. When you get here you drop back to the starting position and begin it all again on the opposite side.

Once you get the hang of it you can start speeding up the shifting and stepping so you can work on your full-body timing and power development.

If the above description is confusing, or doesn't make any sense at all, I'll dig through my office and try and find some pictures that illustrate what you're trying to accomplish.

[Note: the above drill trains the Ip Ching Wing Chun 50/50 to 100/0 to 50/50 footwork structure. In addition, it illustrates that the "100/0 Stances" aren't really "stances" like they are commonly referred to. The 100/0 footwork transitions are just that - transitions. When done properly the transitions have a "bobbing/slipping" effect which is sort of analagous to a boxer's "bobbing & weaving" (i.e. when a punch is thrown at me while I'm 50/50 I can shift sharply into 100/0 while I simultaneously circle and step into the opponent to counter-attack).]

In addition, if your instructor has a Mui Fa Chong (Plum Blossom Poles) at your shcool ask him for some stepping drills (or you can go buy some short posts and bolt them to a sheet of plywood in order to practice at home).

Having to maintain your balance and weight distribution when you can't just slide your feet across the floor really works the principles. There are also some two-man stepping drills for the Mui Fa Chong wherin you alternatingly apply pressure into your partner's arms while he's stepping and vice versa. This teaches you to maintain your balance and fighting structure while under pressure -- which is exactly what you need to learn for fighting because your opponent isn't usually going to stop his attacks to watch your fancy footwork.

If you get into learning the Bot Cham Do you'll find some amazing things you can do with your footwork using your "knife-stepping" (the half-step and cross-through full-step) along with Huen Bo. It's incredibly fast and works angles that make it extremely hard for the opponent to respond to (which is a big benefit in knife fighting :D ).

WCFish,

Sorry for not answering your question on the other post.

"Adduction power" is a pressure in your stance you create using your adductor muscles (on the inside top of your legs) by slightly squeezing your legs with a three-dimensional pressure that goes in, down and forward all at the same time (you'll have to experiment with the pressure to get it down).

When you activate the adduction power in your stance it makes your Yee Chee Kim Yeung Ma "alive" because the self-induced pressure locks in your legs with your hips - which means every time you use your hips to move or turn (like you should always do) the adduction power keeps your legs immediately underneath you.

When you do this it gets your entire body moving together as one unit, which translates into funneling the momentum and power of your entire body into each hand movement and attacking motion. I used the phrase before, but it's like the difference between hitting someone with a brick versus hitting them with the entire brick wall.

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The circling motion of the feet in the Biu Tze set itself is there to teach the priciple of "shortcutting" the weight distribution of your body and stepping:

It's a "shortcut" because in Chum Kiu you are taught to fully shift the weight onto one leg (Chum Kiu Ma) before stepping. The Huen Bo in Biu Tze makes the balance shift and the step happen simultaneously (exactly like in the first section of the Mook Yan Chong where you circle step from bong sau position to tan sau and strike -- the step is also called "Jeet Ma" or "intercepting stance" when you are attacking with it in this manner; and also the same step as in the second section of the Bot Cham Do).

The "triangle stepping" that I described in my very first post on this thread is also considered an application of Huen Bo.

Huen Bo can also be used in extreme close quarters (like the clinch) to set up standing leg locks and attacks into your opponent's balance base using your shin and the twisting effect of the circling motion to tear into the opponent's knee inside or outside.

Huen Bo can also be used to set up throws and slams - especially when Jut Gerk (Jerking Leg) is combined with the motion to sweep the opponent's legs out from underneath him (one of my favorite moves to use on people trying to clinch with me - especially when they try to keep a hold on you because they invariably end up pulling you right down on top of them where you land full force with your elbows and knees into their body, pancaking them into the floor :D ).

Seen in this light, Huen Bo footwork has everything to do with fighting. It is the "shortcut" to Chum Kiu's stepping - making your body movement faster and more powerful. You can see a really cool effect Huen Bo has that is illustrated in the 7th section of the Mook Yan Chong (Ip Ching Wing Chun) where you slide one foot into the other to set up the mid-level kick.

When people fight you at close quarters (boxers, Muay Thai fighters trying to clinch, etc.) you can use that "foot slide" to instantly and quickly shift your balance and positiong and simultaneously step forward with your circle step (Huen Bo) which will bring you into your opponent on a tight off-angle. The effect these kinds of movements have is akin to a boxer's bob-and-weave, only your whole body is moving instead of just your upper body.

You footwork should be seen in layers: SLT gives you your foundational stance structure and power; CK gives you your shifting power (Yiu Ma), your ability to fight from a shortened balance base (Chum Kiu Ma - your "one-legged" position) - which involves all of your stepping and kicking, and gives you your mobile power base in the form of Toh Ma (pursuing stance) and Biu Ma (shooting stance); Biu Tze gives you the additional layer on top of Chum Kiu in the form of Huen Bo (Circling Leg) which shortcuts and speeds up all of Chum Kiu's footwork; and the Mook Yan Chong is the icing on your empty hand Wing Chun cake giving you the patterns and footwork principles that combine all the footwork found in both Chum Kiu and Biu Tze in the form of the "5 Stances" - which are Ding Ma (Frontal Stance), Cho Ma (Shifting Stance), Toh Ma (Pursuing Stance), Jeet Ma (Intercepting Stance), and Toi Ma (dissipating stance).

The 5 Stances of the Mook Yan Chong teach you how all your footwork flows together into one mobile, powerful base.

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The original thread can be found at http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-2986.html