'Quadrupedal' locomotion: foundational patterns & conditioning
THE WHAT:
The practice of ‘quadrupedal-locomotion’ is most generally concerned with movement through space on “all-fours”, sharing weight between both the feet AND the hands. In comparison to BI-pedal patterns, then, this is certainly not a natural way for humans to locomote, and, in trying to locate our last ancestor who did so, we need go back some 7 million years. Regardless, from the perspective of developing movement “complexity” as with its bipedal counterpart, the practice of ‘quadrupedal locomotion’ serves initially to open-up and explore the potential which we have to move in different ways through space. This collection, then, aims to establish a foundational system of movement patterns initially serving as CONDITIONING tools, but then integrating with both developmental quadrupedal transitions & integrations and ultimately the wider ‘Floor-communication’ vocabulary at large.
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Myt5TGNQEo8TdjwVOyao5NTwK_rR2iw/view?usp=drive_link
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The Inch Worm
THE WHAT:
A conditioning locomotion pattern innately developing the range of the ankles in dorsiflexion (this comes from the intention working through a maximal extension & flexion each step which both loads in a stretched position, as well as strengthens through the concentric range), front-fold...
Extras
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Basic Quadrupedal Loocmotion Patterns
THE WHAT & HOW:
Foundational locomotion patterns both for physical conditioning and allowing for “linear” movement in space. They are fundamentally semi-/quadrupedal, meaning that the weight of the body is sustained and shifted over support from both the feet AND hands, and are “linear” in the se... -
Fundamental "Animal Box" transition
THE WHAT & HOW:
The '"Animal box" allows for a quick & simple transition between prone & supine quadrupedal positions. In incorporating with wider quadrupedal locomotion vocabulary, it most notably allows for seamless switching between variations of the 'Bear crawl' (prone) and the 'Crab/table wa... -
The 'Bear crawl' on "hot coals"
THE WHAT:
A quadrupedal locomotion texture practiced toward "unchaining" the fundamental 'Bear crawl' locomotion pattern. "Textures" of movement are as wide an ranging as your imagination. The visualisation here is of "hot coals" which promotes a locomotive gait with a light and bouncy texture....
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The fundamental 'Role'
THE WHAT:
The 'Role' (ho-lay) is a fundamental movement for transitioning into and over the floor. It comes from the world of the fight/dance discipline 'Capoeira', where it is used as an integral evasive and linking movement and expressed in a variety of forms and variations. For the purposes of... -
The fundamental 'Gallop' & transitions
THE WHAT:
A fundamental quadrupedal locomotion pattern for lateral (side-to-side) movement in space. In the initial variations of the basic pattern (without turns), it serves primarily as a CONDITIONING drill (namely overhead straight-arm strength/SAS pressing), as the hips are lifted as HIGH AS ... -
The Gallop 'step-through' (locomotion conditioning)
THE WHAT:
A variation of the fundamental 'Gallop' whereby the stepping pattern is led by the BACK-foot crossing the front-foot (stepping "through" the space between the hands and the feet), as opposed to leading more purely with the front-foot and the back-foot following.This ultimately opens u...
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The Gallop ‘insert’
THE WHAT:
A fundamental quadrupedal locomotion pattern revisited with added intention & quality. Note that, whilst travelling laterally, the pattern begins with a partial ROTATION into the direction of travel. This quality makes it more conducive to integration with other rotational quadrupedal p... -
The Gallop "cut-back" transition
THE WHAT:
A simple transition for the fundamental 'Gallop' quadrupedal locomotion pattern which allows for an immediate return in the direction from which one came. As it requires a swift, mid-air "cut-back" to execute, the practitioner should already have the patterning & capacity to experience ... -
The ‘AT-AT walker’
THE WHAT:
A "high-gait" quadrupedal locomotion pattern inspired by the giant machine ‘AT-AT's’ of the Star Wars universe. Whilst restrictions in posterior-chain mobility can be the main challenge in adhering to the one and only rule in this context, keeping the backside as HIGH as possible throug... -
The ‘Table Walk’ conditioning pattern
THE WHAT & HOW:
A fundamental, supine locomotion pattern which, whilst following the same coordination as the basic 'Crab walk', emphasises the range of shoulder-extension (i.e. arms behind the body's mid-line) used by keeping the hips as HIGH as possible. For this reason, in its isolated practic... -
Travelling Straddle (forward & back)
THE WHAT & HOW:
A quadrupedal locomotion pattern progressing from the 'Travelling Squat', toward functioning as both a straddle-conditioning (dynamic compression) and straight-arm scapular-strength/SASS (sustaining the weight of the body in the arms) development tool.LEARN MORE (subscriber-only...
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The 'Cross-step' (basic step)
THE WHAT:
A fundamental quadrupedal-locomotion pattern for lateral movement (i.e. side-to-side). The 'Cross-step' opens up potential for complexity as you step THROUGH and AROUND your structure, offering opportunities for twisting, turning, rotating... Toward this, a few variations are presented ... -
Fundamental 'Lizard-crawl' progressions
THE WHAT & HOW:
The 'lizard crawl' is a quadrupedal locomotion pattern which develops understanding of movement through space as close to the floor as possible, WITHOUT touching the body. Before entering these lower regions, however (i.e the 'Low-lizard'), coordination, structural-awareness, stre... -
Lizard-crawl step-under
THE WHAT:
A variation on the fundamental 'lizard-crawl' to widen the vocabulary & possibilities of close-floor, bent-arm strength (BAS) quadrupedal locomotion. Whilst the 'step-under' expresses greater transverse rotation of the body, most notably it serves to keep the HIPS as CLOSE to the floor ... -
Bridge walking (forward & back)
THE WHAT:
Whilst a simple conditioning context expressing capacities in the fundamental ‘High-bridge’ form, ‘Bridge-walking’ also challenges the practitioner’s structural-awareness & coordination. This is namely with regards to the SIMULTANEOUS stepping of the OPPOSITE hand/foot, making it a CONT...
