If you have never learned martial arts and you see it from outside, it seems martial art is all about kicking and punching. It is not just kicking and punching. It is way more than that.

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You need to understand different things when you fight in a fighting competition or fight for self defense. You might miss something that can change the whole fight. We are talking about footwork in martial arts.

You might not notice footwork in martial arts and you think kicking and punching are everything. If you know how to punch and kick, you cannot make it work for you in a fight unless you are good at footwork.

No matter which moves you make, you cannot hit the attacker if you do not get close to the attacker. Distance is a very important factor and you have to understand the distance before making any move.

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When you understand the distance and you are able to control the distance, you can find it useful to strike and defend yourself. You cannot think of controlling the distance without footwork. You can just move back or step to the side as a defense.

You do not even need to block the attacker's strike. Again you can get in quickly to attack and stay in a distance where you can strike and hit, but the attacker finds it difficult to do that.

First, learn the basic footwork. Step forward and step backward. You can practice stepping to the left and right. Then you can combine this. Step to the right and move forward and step to the left and move forward to strike.

Let's practice this with your training partner and do some sparring. When you are good at footwork, you will see the difference in the fight. So what do you think of footwork in martial arts? Please feel free to share your opinions.

Thank you so much for reading this post. Stay safe. Always be happy!