Quadrupedal Jumps (part 1)

QM jumps must be considered from three perspectives:

1. as a means of locomotion, jumping from hind to fore limbs like a rabbit or jumping from all four limbs like a frog,
2. as a jumping technique to go over obstacles as quadrupeds do,
3. as a safety mechanism in a failed bipedal jump, a hard landing or a landing on a slope.

QM jumps usually happen in frontal posture, and only exceptionally sideways or with the back to the ground. Both arms and legs are used in the impulse and in the landing, although the legs are preferrably used for jumping and the arms for landing. There is a moment where the body is fully detached from the ground, otherwise it is just a change of posture as described earlier. The simplest jump, from the feet to the hands, is just a grouping exercise done in "piqué" [ndt: with an explosive beat added to the move, a concept very central to George Hébert's works, but hard to translate accurately].

The teaching of QM jumps must indeed start with the grouping and extension exercises in frontal posture, moving simultaneously both hands or both feet. We can slowly increase the distance between where the hands and feet land, then start lifting the feet off just before landing on the hands. Finally, we can increase the width and height of the jump. During the entire time the body is airborne, the head must remain in extension.

We must distinguish two modes, corresponding to bipedal jumping modes:

• the flexed jump, with the legs kept under the hips,
• the extended jump, with the legs extending more or less straight from the trunk.

Only the extended jumps allow a great amplitude in height or length, but they are not feasible for beginners. A large amount of training is required in order to master them.

Exercises follow [ndt: more or less ordered by increasing difficulty, more to come in next post]:

1. Forward jump: squat down with the hands on the ground in front of the feet, with the weight of the body on the legs. From this starting posture, throw the body forward by pushing on the legs strongly enough to lift the feet off the ground while bringing the arms forward. Extend more or less the body and land on both hands, arms flexed. Then, bring the feet close to the hands as in the starting posture. The body is ready for a new jump if needed.
2. Backward jump: the execution of a backward jump is the opposite of that of a forward jump; the impulse comes from the arms and the landing is done on the feet. Squat down with the hands in front of the feet on the ground, the weight of the body being on the flexed arms. Then, without a pause, push back vigorously with the arms so as to extend the body backward, feet off the ground. Land on the feet after the hands have left the ground in order to execute a proper jump. As soon as the feet touch the ground, bring the hands closer to the feet to squat again in the starting posture.
3. Sideways jump: the sideways jump consists in throwing the body sideways or at an angle, right or left, by moving successively the hands and the feet. It can be done in two ways:
   • jumping from the feet to the hands as in a forward jump, except that the hands and then the feet are placed sideways from the body.
   • jumping from the hands to the feet as in a backward jump, going sideways again.
   During the impulse, it is important to throw the body sideways and not straight. In the landing, one must resist the fall to avoid collapsing on one leg or one arm, as the landing limb on the side of the motion has a stronger shock to absorb.

QM running exercises

Running in QM consists in using one of the previously described modes at variable running paces and modes, as in bipedal running. Depending on circumstances, one's training level and the exercise difficulty, a given mode of progression might be more or less adequate, thus a preferred mode is not always specified in the exercises. Training is performed in the frontal posture, which can be used to attain significant speed and can be sustained for some time. Some exercises can be performed with the back or the side to the ground over short distances, but it does not constitute proper running.

Exercises are as follows:

1. Study of the following running modes: trot in simultaneous diagonal, trot in simultaneous same side, galop.
2. Study of the hopping mode of running.
3. Smooth transition between the different running modes. Inversely, sudden transitions from one to another.
4. Special work of paces: slow, medium, fast with the different modes. Transitions smooth or sudden between paces.
5. Racing in straight line.
6. Race with sudden stop and go.
7. Race with alternating backward and forward bursts.
8. Race with a U-turn. The turn is done by stopping the anterior limbs and hopping with the hands or feet as pivot.
9. Race with a full turn or two successive U-turns.
10. Race with a sudden turn right or left.
11. Race sideways like a crab, right or left, moving the limbs either by bringing them together or by crossing them.
12. Race with curves and eight patterns.
13. Race with a stop into one of the quadrupedal postures: squatting, kneeling, sitting, lying down front or back, etc.
14. Race with long or high jumps.
15. Race on three limbs, keping one hand or one foot always off the ground.
16. Race with one arm and one leg, by little hops.
17. Race in low posture, with arms and legs fully flexed.
18. Race with unsynchronized limbs.
19. Race on straight slopes up or down.
20. Race on stairs up or down.

Quadrupedal Walk

QM walking consists in using one of the modes previously described (diagonal, side to side, galoping, hopping), trained at different paces either in active or passive mode as in bipedal walking. The training is mostly performed in frontal posture; the dorsal or side postures require smaller speed and amplitude, when at all possible. [Pilou's note: the following is a list of exercises more or less organized as a skill progression]

1. Study the various walking modes.
2. Transition between the different modes, either sudden or progressive.
3. Work on the walking pace, from slow to fast, and the transitions between them.
4. Walk in a straight line.
5. Walk with sudden stops and starts.
6. Walk alternatively forward and backward.
7. Walk with U-turn left or right. The U-turn can use the arm or the leg as pivot.
8. Walk with 360 degrees turns.
9. Walk with hook turns right or left, changing direction by 90 degrees or less suddenly.
10. Walk sideways or like a crab.
11. Walk following curves or a figure 8.
12. Walk with a stop in any of the static QM posture: squatting, kneeling, sitting, in plank, etc.
13. Walk with long strides in length or in height.
    
14. Walk on three limbs, keeping an arm or a leg always above the ground.
15. Walk with one arm and the opposite leg.
16. Walk with additional contact of the knees (frontal posture) or the hips (dorsal posture). In frontal posture, bring the knee on the ground just after the foot; in dorsal posture sit on the butt between the step with the hands and with the feet. This kind of walk is useful to provide a rest, to move on slanted ground or without an arm, and to move while pushing an object.
17. Walk with one or both forearms. On slopes or to provide some rest, one can use the forearms instead of the hands as a basis.
18. Low walk: the limbs are flexed in order to bring the body closest to but off the ground. In such case the speed is very limited and the move tiring, so it should be kept for small distances and can be made easier by using knees or forearms.
19. Walks where both pairs of limbs work separately, for instance moving the hands one after the other then the feet, etc.
20. Walk on slopes.
21. Walk on stairs.