'Footloose' Footwork

We worked on footwork last week in class. It reminded me of something back in 2014 when I attended a weekend of seminars with Okano-kancho in Perry, FL. Among the workouts, he wanted to lead us through some footwork drills, commenting that he uses a ladder on the ground for these exercises. I knew his father, Okano-soke, had some extreme training measures. Since I did not use exercise ladders or was exposed to them, I thought he meant an actual wooden or aluminum ladder on the floor, with 4 inch side rails and thick rungs, which could do tremendous damage if you misstep.

Anyway, Kancho had us work a step-over drill moving up and down the mats. I used to cover Saturday Judo classes in the 1980s for my buddy Jimmy Zoubantes. I would lead his class through the same drill Kancho had us do, and others even more complex. I guess my muscle memory was still there, as I flew up and down the mats. Well, ‘flew’ for a then-60 year old man, but I moved much faster than many participants much younger than me.

It was after the seminars that I learned about agility ladders: nylon struts with thin plastic rungs that lay flat to the ground. Oh, so there’s really nothing to trip over or harm you if you step out of bounds? You’re playing hopscotch.

Then I related it to kata. There are martial artists who don’t like kata. It’s useless; they’d never use a kata move in a fight; it’s a waste of their time. They’d use a basic punch, kick, or simple combination. They’re right – and wrong. They don’t understand what kata is all about. Basics do come out automatically because we practice them so often. Kata builds muscle memory on moves and combinations not normally used every day. Kata practice allows you to employ a technique in kumite or actual self-defense, should the situation present itself.

My Judo footwork drills from the 1980s kicked in muscle memory 30 years later. We’ve had former students return after many years’ absence and regain their former skills rapidly due to muscle memory. Work the process. Trust the process. The process works!