Step on the foot

[Bill Mattocks]

When sparring, advance and step on your opponent's lead foot.

Notice that they always react the same way. They pull back. Their attention is diverted.

Hijinx ensue.

This is one of my favorites.

If someone steps on my lead leg, I charge them. Cause I'm hip to that sneaky move.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

It is a great move and why you see it so much in South East Asian martial Arts. We definitely incorporate it into IRT!

 

[Pittsburgh Arnis]

When sparring, advance and step on your opponent's lead foot.

Notice that they always react the same way. They pull back. Their attention is diverted.

Hijinx ensue.

This is one of my favorites.

If someone steps on my lead leg, I charge them. Cause I'm hip to that sneaky move.

I really like the idea of stepping on the foot. Could you elaborate on your comment about charging someone who steps on your lead leg. Thanks!

 

[Touch Of Death]

When sparring, advance and step on your opponent's lead foot.

Notice that they always react the same way. They pull back. Their attention is diverted.

Hijinx ensue.

This is one of my favorites.

If someone steps on my lead leg, I charge them. Cause I'm hip to that sneaky move.

It is a dangerous habit. That is one of them Death Moves.

 

[geezer]

I prefer to see it as a case of turning a dreadful disability into an advantage. I can't dance to save my soul. And when I try, I always step on my partner's foot. On the other hand, in Wing Chun we work in close, and this peculiarity has served me well.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

When sparring, advance and step on your opponent's lead foot.

I like to hook my leading foot behind my opponent's ankle instead.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I really like the idea of stepping on the foot. Could you elaborate on your comment about charging someone who steps on your lead leg. Thanks!

The instinct is always to pull away from a trap. However, it is often better to move towards the trap instead of away. In the case of someone stepping on your foot, if you move directly towards them, they should step back, releasing your foot.

 

[Xue Sheng]

When sparring, advance and step on your opponent's lead foot.

Notice that they always react the same way. They pull back. Their attention is diverted.

Hijinx ensue.

This is one of my favorites.

If someone steps on my lead leg, I charge them. Cause I'm hip to that sneaky move.

I have messed up more people that way

 

[Buka]

I love the word "hijinx/hijinks. Only word in the English language with three dotted letters in a row.

Biggest danger concerning getting the foot stepped on (other than getting beaten like a drum) is getting knocked to the ground with the trapped leg extended, wrecks the ankle. We used to train in DT to sit with the butt right behind the heel if the situation called for it.

 

[JP3]

Same thought here as Bill's... they step on my foot, I fall into them - basically the same thing as Bill's charge. Cover up, lean/fall/step into the opponent and get yur grip (don't get punched in the face, that's a negative outcome) and go forward with ouchi, kouchi or kosota gari and land on them. Bet they don't step on your foot again.

 

[geezer]

Same thought here as Bill's... they step on my foot... go forward with ouchi

Go forward with ouchy? That does sound painful!

"Falling" forward, on the other hand, doesn't sound like the best response. Maybe we're just talking semantics though. Just pressing aggressively forward works well in my experience. I think that's what you and Bill are getting at.

In our WC, fighting is typically pretty close range, so stepping on your opponent's foot happens pretty often. If both parties are maintaining "forward intent" and "forward pressure" foot trapping is not a big deal.

My old Chinese sifu used to say not to worry if your opponent grabs your hand, since he has bound-up his hand a surely as yours. You both now have one hand free. In other words, if you don't panic and over-react, he has no net advantage. As Bill pointed out, the same can apply to feet.

...Except if you step on your opponent's foot as you unbalance him. Then it is hard for him to step and regain his balance. If your foot is on top, you can release at will. Your opponent cannot.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If you step on your opponent's foot, or grab on his wrist, you have temporary put him in defense mode. When and how you are going to release your foot or hand control will depend on you and not depend on your opponent.

 

[JP3]

Geezer's, "Go forward with ouchy? That sounds painful!"

Funny! I didn't even think about that when I was typing it out... Walked right into it, as sometimes happens.

By "falling into the opponent, that's meant in the judo/aikido method of movement, not in a crazed, Nestea Plunge, dive off a cliff sort of falling.... *snort* That also brings a hilarious mental image:

"So! You step on my foot! I jump on you!"

Nah, weight shifting forward, center dropping into the leading side of the body, under control to get control, like that.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

'Ouchi' has a variety of meanings in Okinawan and Japanese martial arts. For my style, it means an upper body exercise in which the karateka steps forward, blocks the middle of the body on the side of the forward leg, and then delivers two hook punches, right-left or left-right, depending on which hand performed the block. It would be an appropriate followup to stepping on a person's foot and advancing towards them.

An example definition is here:

Isshinryu Karate

14. Palm heel deflection/ 2 roundhouse punches (O-uchi)
​

And it is pronounced 'Oh-uu-chi', rather than 'ouchy'.

 

[punisher73]

I think that it is an often overlooked stepping concept from katas due to the larger sport style distances. Lots of "dirty" tactics when you close the distance to where the okinawan katas were designed for.

 

[JowGaWolf]

This doesn't work against a wide stance. A wide stance creates distance between you and your opponent, making you less likely to try and pull your foot back.

However this work really well against a person who has a high stance.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

This doesn't work against a wide stance. A wide stance creates distance between you and your opponent, making you less likely to try and pull your foot back.

However this work really well against a person who has a high stance.

I have yet to run into anyone who doesn't try to pull his or her foot away when I step on it. Granted that I train Isshin Ryu, which has a bit higher stance than most Okinawan styles; but I've used it sparring against Kung Fu guys and Kempo guys; always the same result. I think it's a natural response unless one trains to overcome it. It's like sticking your finger in a hot frying pan; you pull it back fast.

I will also say that when sparring, I don't run into many folks who use that deep wide stance they train in. They all seem to come up to a more natural 'high' stance, at least in my experience.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I have yet to run into anyone who doesn't try to pull his or her foot away when I step on it. Granted that I train Isshin Ryu, which has a bit higher stance than most Okinawan styles; but I've used it sparring against Kung Fu guys and Kempo guys; always the same result. I think it's a natural response unless one trains to overcome it. It's like sticking your finger in a hot frying pan; you pull it back fast.

I will also say that when sparring, I don't run into many folks who use that deep wide stance they train in. They all seem to come up to a more natural 'high' stance, at least in my experience.

Kung fu guys often fight in a high stance; very few use a low wide stance. The stance doesn't have to be super low.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I have yet to run into anyone who doesn't try to pull his or her foot away when I step on it.

I think the low stance puts me in a position where I don't feel the need to move my foot. Hopefully the image is large enough for you to see. The first picture shows him moving to step on my foot. The other 2 pictures show him standing on my foot. My opponent is still arm's length away from me so I feel no need to move away from him. He is still quite a distance away from being able to land a solid punch. He could land a solid punch if he moves in, but then he'll need to move his foot off my foot, which would allow me to move. The benefit that I have is that I don't need to see him move, I only need to feel the pressure on my foot to lighten to know that I can move. Even if he doesn't move, if that pressure gets lighter then I know that his root on that foot isn't there.

In the picture we were light sparring so he was able to camp out on my foot. In a more serious sparring match the time that he would be able to stay on my foot is much shorter. Everything moves faster when the intensity increases so in that situation he would try to hit me right after stepping on my foot and then he would have just as quickly moved after his punch comes up short. Depending on how much weight he puts on my foot, I may have enough time to land a long fist technique before he moves his foot off mine.
Sometimes I've been able to "pull the carpet" from that foot. If it feels that his foot is trying to take root on my foot then I will pull my foot. The result is that he temporary loses balance.

I think in my case, it's one of those advantages that comes directly from the stance and the counter punch option comes directly from the long fist technique. I'm not sure if there is a translation of this in your system.

I like to hook my leading foot behind my opponent's ankle instead.

That's very kung fu of you. I like that technique better than stepping on the foot as well, because it has a much bigger reward if you complete the other half of that technique and get it right.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I think the low stance puts me in a position where I don't feel the need to move my foot. Hopefully the image is large enough for you to see. The first picture shows him moving to step on my foot. The other 2 pictures show him standing on my foot. My opponent is still arm's length away from me so I feel no need to move away from him. He is still quite a distance away from being able to land a solid punch. He could land a solid punch if he moves in, but then he'll need to move his foot off my foot, which would allow me to move. The benefit that I have is that I don't need to see him move, I only need to feel the pressure on my foot to lighten to know that I can move. Even if he doesn't move, if that pressure gets lighter then I know that his root on that foot isn't there.

In the picture we were light sparring so he was able to camp out on my foot. In a more serious sparring match the time that he would be able to stay on my foot is much shorter. Everything moves faster when the intensity increases so in that situation he would try to hit me right after stepping on my foot and then he would have just as quickly moved after his punch comes up short. Depending on how much weight he puts on my foot, I may have enough time to land a long fist technique before he moves his foot off mine.
Sometimes I've been able to "pull the carpet" from that foot. If it feels that his foot is trying to take root on my foot then I will pull my foot. The result is that he temporary loses balance.

I think in my case, it's one of those advantages that comes directly from the stance and the counter punch option comes directly from the long fist technique. I'm not sure if there is a translation of this in your system.


That's very kung fu of you. I like that technique better than stepping on the foot as well, because it has a much bigger reward if you complete the other half of that technique and get it right.

Sweet! I love your response and thanks for the photos! And you are right, you have a wide stance - I'm not used to seeing that in sparring other people.

I know the world is full of 'could of and should of' but I have to say that looking at your photos, your opponent's leading knee and chest were a lot closer to you than his noggin, which you seem to have gone for. He's got reach on you; good thing you blocked, and nicely done, but I wonder if his knee might not have been a more easily-reached target in your circumstance.

What I like to do is step on the lead foot as your opponent did and then pivot in on it, delivering a back kick to the opponent. A bit harder to block than a punch to the head as your opponent tried to deliver.

Anyway, I'm back-seat driving. I really appreciate your photos, thank you!