Footwork

Last night I was struggling with several moves in the broadsword form. There was one particular sequence that combined some light steps with turns and sword motions that I just couldn't seem to pick up on. Shifu told me, this particular sequence was a critical one, in that ANY or ALL Kung Fu systems would have this type of footwork pattern. He called it, "Bu Fa." That is my understanding of the pronunciation, but it translates to footwork.

We did a number of different footwork patterns to try to help me understand what it was I needed to understand and learn. Rarely, Shifu told me is the footwork straight forward or back, but rather, i'd be circling in or circling out with my step, AND he was showing me the importance of toes up or down, and most importantly the application of these different footwork motions.

I usually am pretty proud of my footwork, having grown up in the disco era, and not being shy back in the day about dancing, but Man! I gotta tell you, I was frustrating myself and Shifu to no end last night.

Bu Fa, or footwork, is just one of those basic fundamentals that need to be worked on and given time to develop. Without good footwork, our skill level truly is NOT very high or skilled; having the footwork and being able to direct our intention appropriately is important to developing our Kung Fu skill.

Oh, yeah, I still don't have it, lol... this broadsword form is a terrific challenge!
J