This will be my first attempt at using google draw for diagrams... so bear with my ineptitude.
Primer
I've always thought that the best way to build a fighter is from the ground up. If a person isn't standing in the right place it doesn't matter what shots they can throw. If a person's footwork leaves them in a place where their back is exposed, no amount of passive guard will save them. So, I start with footwork. It is my opinion that footwork is meant to accomplish 4 things.
1) Keep your legs from getting hit, by either keeping them out of reach or by keeping them mobile enough that you can dodge with them when they are swung at. This means that generally speaking you should not have to ever guard your legs. That's what footwork is for.
2) Footwork should allow you to dictate the angles of your engagement. This means that you move in such a way that your break your opponents line (and therefore their guard) to allow you ease of access for certain shots like wrap shots. It also means that you move in such a way that you deny your opponent equivalent strikes that would be advantageous to them by making sure they can't get a good angle on you.
3) Footwork should allow you to dictate the distance at which you fight. See rock, paper, scissors for more on ranges and where you optimally want to be fighting. But long story short, if you're a close range fighter footwork is what allows you to stay out of your opponents reach until you choose to close. If you're a long range fighter footwork is what keeps your opponents away from you while you swing at them. If you're a mid range fighter footwork is what allows you to maintain range, denying your opponent the ability to either close or escape.
4) Footwork should allow you to always maintain your balance. This is important both for throwing shots at crazy angles without falling over, and also for absorbing hits; whether those are red swings to your shield, or a shieldsman charging you. If you have good footwork (and your legs) you should be able to avoid being bowled over.
The basic stance that I teach is front foot lined up with your opponents centerline, back foot at approximately 45 degrees. Front foot holds about 40% of your weight, back foot holds about 60% of your weight. Here are the drills I use to teach that stance with the above 4 things in mind.
Reflex Training
[covers point 1]
Reflex training is pretty simple. I get a person into the right stance and then after I've let them know I'm going to swing aim at their front foot between the knee and the ankle in a steady, evenly timed leg sweep. I also use this as a chance to teach them about feints, occasionally faking a shot by pumping my arm without swinging. Each time they dodge successfully, they do so by taking a step backwards. After they've had a chance to reset into the proper stance the drill continues. I usually repeat this drill until they dodge the majority of shots and can do so consistently. The aim is mostly to make sure they dodge, but also to make sure they're using proper body mechanics so that between one dodge and the next their form has not degraded. Success in this drill is determined by being able to do 5 dodges in a row without having their form get completely mangled. Generally speaking, once a person's form gets mangled they'll stop being able to dodge in between 1 and 3 steps.
Tempo Training
[covers points 2, 3]
Tempo training is the next step up from reflex training. It's the same drill, except that I don't give them a long time to reset their stance between one swing and the next. The goal here is less about speed and more about matching my motion. I'll take a step forward and take a leg sweep, causing them to have to dodge by taking a step back. After we've both landed completely, I repeat this step, slowly increasing the speed at which I step so they have a chance to pair their motion to mine. I find that doing it this way is a much more natural way for some people to learn how to dodge because it's not in a vacuum. If the person is successful in this their dodge rate should be 100%, success is more dictated by their ability to match my pace.
Body Mechanics Training
[covers point 4]
Often a person will have trouble really understanding how to execute on the dodge. They'll take too big a step, they'll dodge erratically, they'll dodge without then landing in the proper footwork, etc. When I notice that they aren't learning anything from reflex training, it's time to take a step backwards and slow it down. This is where the body mechanics training comes in. For this drill neither person can be holding weapons. The student crosses their arms over their chest and takes basic stance. The teacher then takes both hands and braces them on the students shoulders. The teacher then shoves the student with enough force to cause them to lose balance. This should cause the student to have to take one step back. As the teacher it's important that you don't use too little force, since this will mean that the student has to use their own momentum to step, or too much force, because then they can't land well with one step. Generally speaking, when I go over this drill as the teacher, I let the student know that they should try to move as little as possible and brace themselves against the push I will be giving. This push can be performed on all 4 steps that I teach. If you are giving a person a push from the side, then simply brace both hands on one shoulder and push, causing the student to rotate. Make sure that as the teacher whenever you perform this push you do so at a right angle relative to your student's center line (0, 90, 180, 270 degrees).
4 Steps Training
[covers point 3]
I teach 4 basic steps that I feel will give my students all the tools they need to start off with. Since teaching this particular set of 4, I've realized there's an equivalent set of 4 steps at 45 degree angles. Since I don't usually teach those until much later I don't include them in the basic footwork exercises. So, onward to the first 4.
1) Step backwards. This is performed as part of reflex, tempo and body mechanics training. The idea here is to simulate evading an opponent swinging for your legs. To execute this step draw the front leg backwards in a straight line, keeping it close to the ground so that it's a fast move. The goal here is speed rather then distance. As your front leg comes back, put your weight onto the ball (not the heel) of your back foot. This should allow it to rotate so that when you come to a rest your stance has flipped. If you started right foot forward, then you'll have right foot back at 45 degrees and left foot forward point directly at your opponent.
Start:
End:
3) Pivot. This is performed on it's own but can be done using body mechanics training. The idea here is to simulate reacting to a person closing on your side. Instead of drawing your foot back in a straight line, this goes in an arc. Assuming your left foot is your front foot and your right foot is your back foot the idea is to spin on your front foot so that you go from 0 degrees to 90 degrees in the direction that you had your back foot. When the pivot is completed your front foot should be pointed to the right. The pivot can be done in both directions, so if you flip your feet you can still execute a pivot, you'll just end up facing left relative to where you started rather then to the right.
Start:
End:
4) Evade. This is performed on it's own because it's essentially two steps that need to be executed before it's complete. The evade happens when the foot that is forward matches the side that your opponent comes in at you from. For instance, if your right foot is forward, then this is done when an opponent engages you from the right side. First pivot so that your back is facing your new opponent. This will give your legs time to get away from the perceived leg shot by rotating away from, and out of the opponents swing. Next, spin. After the initial leg swing as missed rotate until your front foot is facing your new opponent. This is a tool in the toolbox. It is the worst step you can take. If you have time to react it's better to simply switch your feet and pivot. But it's better to know then to not know.
Start:
First Step:
Last Step:
With A Weapon
Sweep
All of the above drills can be done with the student having a weapon in hand. As the student steps they simply sweep the weapon in front of their legs in a slow arc. The sword arm and arc always follows the students footsteps. So if they're stepping in with their right foot and their sword arm is their right arm, then their leg sweep should go be a U shape which goes from right to left. In the same setup if they're stepping backwards you throw the same leg sweep, but this time from left to right. This isn't really about using the sword to swing. It's more about memorizing the leg sweep. If they move their feet to the right place then the leg sweep will land. If they are out of range and have to bend over or reach with their arms to get it to connect then the student is doing it wrong and needs to adjust their footwork appropriately.
Snap
The other iteration that you can do is a quick snap to the opponents shoulder. From whichever hand is the sword arm (let's do the right for an example) take a straight shot directly across into your opponents shoulder (in this case their right shoulder). This particular maneuver is usually taught as part of the reflex or tempo training, but you could do it with any of the above drills.
Once both of these two sword techniques are learned in combination with footwork you can theoretically, close and aggress or retreat and snipe without knowing how to do anything other then stand in the right place.
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