Moving Backwards

Once students have learned to move forward the next direction I'll begin showing them how to move in is backwards. This is usually a bit trickier, so much so that I've even met some instructors who struggle with it themselves.

To begin adopt an empty or insubstantial stance (known as Xubu). For this example we'll assume the front leg is the left and the rear leg is the right. The rear knee should be bent and the rear foot turned out slightly (about 45 degrees). The front knee is also bent with the front foot in front of the back foot. The front foot will only touch down with the ball of the foot. It is important to put no weight on the front foot and to keep this leg very relaxed. The front foot is kept empty of any weight (hence the name of the stance). All of the weight should be on the rear leg and the torso should be facing completely towards the same side as the rear leg (i.e. if your rear leg is your right leg your torso should be facing to the right).

From this stance bring the front leg back smoothly until it's slightly behind the right leg. How far back you bring the leg depends on personal preference and the conditions you are in, however it must be farther back than your huiyin cavity. I usually have my students take a normal step back the way they regularly would while walking and then have them use that distance as their measurement. Having brought the left foot back it is important that just as that leg was only touching down with the ball of the foot in front it again lands with only the ball of the foot behind us (still with no weight on it).

Now for the tricky part, push down with the right foot while twisting the hips to the left. This will make your torso move from facing to the right it will now face to the left. However as your hips twist shift your weight from the right leg to the left leg (which is now behind the right). To be able to shift the weight smoothly you must lift up the right heel (so that only the ball of the right foot is on the ground) while simultaneously allowing the left heel touch down. You're essentially rocking the weight from one leg to the other on the balls of your feet and slowly transferring all the weight to the left leg as the heel comes down. It's very important that during this twisting movement you pay attention to the bending of the knees, making sure that you maintain the same height throughout the movement. You should now have all the weight on the left leg with the right empty so that you are once again in an empty stance, but on the opposite side. To continue moving backwards repeat the process on the other side.