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Leg Fencing (Tape 1): T.O.P. Tool Development
A Product Review by Phil Elmore
When
Scott Sonnon sent me
a copy his three-tape
Leg
Fencing set and asked that I do an honest review of it, I was a
little intimidated. I’ll admit it: I tend towards a weakness
that many in the martial arts have, and that is that I prefer striking
with my hands to kicking with my feet. This is a natural bias in
human beings, I think. We’re used to using our legs for little else
than walking around, whereas we use our hands and arms for just about
everything else.
Well, growth can be both painful and unsettling — but it is worth it.
If you’re looking to increase your leg flexibility, power, control, and
speed, the Leg Fencing series is one you should consider.
TAPE 1
The first tape in the series, T.O.P. Tool Development, focuses
on drills that help you build the foundation for Leg Fencing. Scott
makes the distinction several times between this and what he calls “foot
fighting.” Fighting with the legs as Scott teaches it is a
whole-body endeavor that uses your entire physical “architecture.”
Scott explains that the purpose of the tape’s exercises is to improve
your T.O.P. — your Threshold of Performance. He refers once again
to the definitions of “hard” work and “soft” work defined in his
Flow Fighting video. “Hard” work
is work that improves your threshold of pain, while “soft” work is work
that improves your threshold of what Scott calls “fear reactivity.”
Fear reactivity, he explains, expresses itself physically as tension.
A relaxed fighter has better focus. “If you can’t stay relaxed in a
force on force simulation,” Scott warns, “you won’t be able to stay
relaxed in a fight.”
The sound quality of instructional videos is almost universally
mediocre. This tape was not much different. I had to increase
the volume with each new segment in order to hear Scott, as the recording
levels seemed to decrease each time. Apart from that the track was
audible and I had no trouble understanding what was being said.
Video quality is okay too, though the cloth backdrop used is lighted
with different colored lights in a manner I found distracting and a little
dim. I did not notice as many intermittent recording lines as I did
in the Flow Fighting tape. Camera angles change as needed
without becoming spastic or unsettling, with frequent close-ups on Scott’s
feet and legs to illustrate techniques.
The first solo exercise on the tape is a four-corner balance drill.
Scott mentions the “visual search engine” and tells the viewer to imagine
that an invisible tether connects his or her eyes to a spot on the floor.
Looking around a lot will disrupt one’s balance, he explains — and
proceeds to run through a series of movements while standing on one leg
and moving or extending the other.
I was absolutely amazed at Scott’s balance and control. He moves
as if his body is on pulleys — though at the completion of the exercise
he admits that it isn’t as easy as he makes it look. “You should
feel an enormity of pain in your planted leg,” he says, smiling.
“It should feel like your foot’s on fire.”
Solo Exercise 2 is called “Leg Infinities.” It is intended to
build foot strength (though it will also enhance knee strength). “If
you want to excel at Leg Fencing,” Scott explains, “it has to come from
the foundation first.” Once again balancing on his planted leg, he
moves his mobile leg in a series of figure-eight patterns. “If there
are bumps in the movement,” he continues, seemingly taking no notice of
the exertion, “that’s where you have a limitation. That limitation
is fear reactivity in your tissues.” That fear reactivity, as
previously mentioned, is expressed as tension, which causes the
limitation.
If you can do only one of the exercises on this tape, Scott recommends
Solo Exercise 3, the “Rock-up Deck Squat with a Kick.” That’s kind
of a tongue twister, and I gather from the impish way Scott repeats it
that he knows it is. The exercise is designed to improve
your leg strength and flexibility while improving your ability to
coordinate your respiration with the motions.
The rock-up deck squat with a kick is not a Hindu Squat or a bar squat, but
something better seen than described here. Scott talks the viewer
through the exercise — but not before stating, “You will do them
with me.” Between the carrot and the stick, Scott explains, he
prefers the stick. I don’t imagine many of the athletes with whom he
works would want to argue with his training suggestions, either. He
has a way of being both incredibly friendly and undeniably motivating all
at the same time.
Making the transition from tool development to tool application, Scott
demonstrates two shock absorption exercises. Shock Absorption 1, the
“Battering Ram,” is “hard” work rather than “soft” work. Raising his
leg, Scott pulls his knee back into his chest, exhaling with each impact.
The battering ram exercise will improve your flexibility, your dynamic
range of motion, and your ability to absorb blows.
Throughout this exercise, as with all the exercises on the tape, Scott
explains what he’s doing as he’s doing it. He points out common
mistakes and problems, too, anticipating any difficulties the student may
experience. Rarely, if ever, does his calm and self-assured voice
waver, even when he’s explaining something in the midst of a strenuous
drill. He’s so relaxed that it’s easy to forget he’s doing things
that would have most of us howling over our sore muscles.
The second shock absorption exercise is “Shin Lifts,” in which the
battering ram exercise is applied to different ranges of motion.
Scott emphasizes one of the most important concepts in all fighting, not
to mention Leg Fencing: that of rooting into the ground to
maintain your balance (and thus your ability to fight). He also
stresses the importance of proper respiration. “Exhalation is the
trigger for you to keep your presence of mind in melee,” he says.
There are four different footwork exercises on the tape. In the
“Accordion” exercise, Scott shows you how to drill using your entire foot
for propulsion and balance. As always, he looks light on his feet
and in superb control as he rotates his feet and shifts his weight from
one to the other.
The second footwork exercise, “Fencer’s Advance,” looks like just
that — a means of advancing in a linear fashion. Scott builds on
the previous drills as he explains this one. This is not new.
Scott consistently builds on previous exercises as he explains new ones,
which lends a nice sense of continuity to the training regimen he is
outlining.
In the third footwork exercise, “Slingshot,” Scott demonstrates how to
store “elastic energy” in your rear leg. He withdraws his leg and
“loads” it with elastic energy that can be released forward.
One should make this movement habitual. “You don’t need a stance in
order to be in balance,” Scott says. “Your balance is in motion.
…Stability through mobility.”
The fourth and final footwork exercise brings the other drills together
in the “Box Step,” a balanced means of moving in which one foot steps
forward as the other steps behind it. The body turns and the legs
are constantly in motion, stepping through the pattern. The box step
is never stationary, Scott says. It is a means of hiding your
balance point through movement.
The box step is not, however, a fighting technique. It is an
exercise, and Scott threatens to hit you with the videotape if he ever
catches you trying to make it a technique. Use the box step
to develop rhythm, timing, and movement, he encourages.
Bringing in a pair of training partners, Scott explains 5 “games.”
These are partner drills that help one apply the skills developed through
the previous exercises. In the first, the “Back to Back Push,”
Scott’s assistants stand back to back and attempt to shove each other off
screen. Both men drop down as they push, attempting to lower their
centers of gravity for better leverage. Your ability to grip into
the ground determines your ability to make a supporting leg and a driving
leg, Scott points out. He refuses to reveal the secret of the
exercise — but explains that it’s at the beginning of the video.
In Game 2, “Arm-Lace Pull/Carry,” the two partners lace their arms and
stand back to back before attempting to pull the other off camera.
The drill repeatedly goes to the man who first lifts his partner off the
ground and carries him away. The secret, Scott again hints, is at
the beginning of the tape. “Rock-up deck squat with a kick,” he says
quietly.
The third game is a “Shoulder Push.” The opponents push on each
other’s shoulders, as you might expect. I noticed that each time one
of the men managed to push his partner off camera, the partner’s legs were
bent but parallel. The “winner” of the exercise, by contrast, had
his legs apart in a position similar to a simple Karate front stance.
The difference in leverage between the two configurations is obvious.
The fourth game is a “Wrist Pull,” in which the partners grab each
other’s wrists and attempt once again to pull each other off camera.
These exercises are fascinating to watch. You learn truly to
appreciate the difference that leg placement, weight distribution, and
body positioning make in one’s balance.
I was also reminded of a balance exercise my own teacher and I have
practiced that he calls “Indian Wrestling.” The drill teaches the
importance of learning to yield when pulled or pushed. If you
offer resistance, your partner has something against which to push to put
you off balance. If instead you learn to give when force is
offered, and to push or pull when tension is presented, you will
win every time.
In the fifth and last game, “One Leg cross-Wrist Pull,” each partner
holds one leg up and behind him while grabbing the other’s free arm.
The hopping tug-of-war that results is quite a sight — and makes one
appreciate the four-corner balance drill.
Scott concludes the tape by reminding the viewer that games should be
fun. If you can’t laugh, if you can’t enjoy what you are
doing, then you shouldn’t come back the next day. But fun does not
mean the absence of challenge, Scott explains. The lowest common
denominator in your training should be that all of the participants leave
feeling fulfilled.
This is a great cassette that will help you acquire and develop the
skills, flexibility, strength, and coordination necessary to fight
effectively with your legs. Scott is always enjoyable to watch and
has a great on-screen presence.
The material he imparts is clear, methodically presented, and
adequately explained. It is not, however, easy to do.
Work along with Scott while viewing this tape and your legs will be
screaming for mercy long before you’re even halfway through.
But, hey, you try telling him you won’t do it.