Muay Thai Footwork Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "The March: How Muay Thai Footwork Actually Works." Print it. The article teaches the march as the art's engine. This book specifies the rhythm step, ladders every direction, builds the check into the rhythm, and grades shadow rounds on the feet alone.

Name: ______________________________ Gym: ______________________________ Stance: ______________ Coach: ______________

BEFORE ANYTHING: SAFETY AND PARTNER AGREEMENTS ☐ Footwork drills are movement work, not conditioning punishment. A drill that continues after a student's ankle rolls, knee complains, or steps turn sloppy is stopped and reset. Fresh feet learn; tired feet rehearse falls. Pass/fail. ☐ Partner movement drills in this book start with no strikes. A strike is added only at the part that names it, at the power that part prints. Nobody upgrades a drill on their own. ☐ Checking drills use pulled kicks to the leg and body until Part 9's stages say otherwise. The checker never has to prove toughness by eating a full kick. ☐ Sparring games in Part 24 keep the gym's normal protective equipment and power agreements. A game that scores feet does not license harder contact. ☐ Floor checks come first: a wet, torn, or cluttered surface ends sliding and angle work until it is fixed. Say so out loud when you see it.

Part 1: The Rhythm Step, Specified

The rhythm step is a small alternating step in place that keeps the stance at its working length and the weight ready to move to either leg.

Pass standard. Two minutes of rhythm stepping with the stance length held within a hand's width, no crossed feet, no beat where both feet leave the floor, and the freeze test passed three times in the round.

Fail signs. The steps shrink until the fighter is vibrating in place, the stance creeps longer with each minute, or the guard slides down as the rhythm speeds up.