making a pankar footwork pattern

[rshively]

I was wondering if anyone has ever been successful in designing/making a workable pankar footwork pattern for home use.I was thinking of using a large canvas tarp with the design printed/stained in the fabric.Do any of you have any questions, comments, or ideas with regards to how I can start.Thank YouRon Shively

[Mas Jonty]

I haven't tried it with the footwork of this system, but I have had experience with Serak pantjars.Canvas would work well, but you will probably have to figure out how to tie the corners down, or it will shift and rumple up.Rugs work really well, except they are heavy, expensive, and tend to be too small unless you are willing to shell out the bucks.I once made one out of those cheap blue tarps, but it was a nightmare. It stuck to my feet, and it blew away once while I was trying to film a training video outside in the park. It blew across a couple of streets before I caught up with it. It was lucky no one was hurt.Right now I have an unfinished basement of a barn, so I am using chalk on concrete. It works surprisingly well.

[Sihing73]

Hello,I would be interested in any pics or designs which could be used. I am unfamiliar with "pankars" coming from a Wing Chun background. I have used, and am using, a Triangle on a Blue Tarp for doing Triangles and some basic footwork orientation, so far it seems to be working okay. Fortunately, I have a rather large living room area so I do not need to worry about it blowing away. I would love to see more details about this type of training.

[Mas Jonty]

Coming from a Chinese MA background myself, I found the use of footwork diagrams to be a real eye-opener. The Chinese styles I study deliberately avoid teaching you exact angles and positions so you have to learn them through sensitivity, but I find it's easier to teach structure first and then move on to sensitivity. It has completely changed my approach to teaching.I'm still waiting for my training tapes to arrive, so I haven't seen the particular footwork patterns for this system. I'm all set up to produce electronic documentation, so maybe we can all get together and produce a set of pantjar diagrams.

[Anonymous]

Great discussion

[Tim Nichols]

Greetings all, I've made a couple over the years.

[Steve]

Good answer Tim.The large triangles are two steps, the small ones one.

[Anonymous]

Yeah!

[Mas Jonty]

That's a nicely formatted pantjar.There are also companies that make custom floor mats with any design you could want. Unfortunately, they are horribly expensive and they don't make them big enough for the pantjars.

[Anonymous]

I think one of the reasons that Sigung always used remnants is that they don't last for long.

[Tim Nichols]

I have a recurring fantasy of a dark hardwood floor with an inlaid pantjar in a lighter wood.

[rshively]

one additional comment about the footwork pattern…I have a background in the tibetan systems where the use of plum flower stumps were common training aids. The usual pattern of a square having 5 stumps (4 at each corner, and one in the middle) was expanded to some 14+ stumps. Different geometric patterns were used as well.I was wondering if the different pantjar footwork patterns are derived from earlier plum flower stump drills. It seems logical that where the lines crossed was where a stump or rock would be placed, allowing the student to step or jump from one to another.I'm probably wrong in my guess, but it seems that with the chinese influence in indonesian/filipino arts that some form of stump training would have been adopted-modified to local footwork training methods.

[Mas Jonty]

Oh, and the best advice I wish someone had given me: If you are using duct tape, don't stretch it. If you do, it will contract, pulling your carpet into uneven bumps.

[Tim Nichols]

Thank you Sigung Steve and Art.

[Travis C]

Tim,The floor sounds incredible! Count me in on that.

[Travis C]

Rshively,I have a background in some of the Chinese systems both Taoist and Budhist and we too used plum blossom training. The plum blossom poles were great for balance as well as form. They are used in Indonesia as well. The foot patterns in Silat are used to ingrain proper movement in a Silatist. I would tell any silat practitioner to train with poles though just to strengthen and hone movement.

[Author]

Posts