Modes & paces of locomotion

QM locomotion modes differ with the way the limbs are moving:

• in diagonal, moving successively diagonally opposed limbs in four steps: left leg, right arm, right leg, left arm.
• in synchronized diagonal, moving simultaenously the limbs in two steps: left leg and right arm, then right leg and left arm.
• in sides, moving limbs of the same side together in four steps: right leg, right arm, left leg left arm.
• hopping, i.e. moving the same type of limbs together in two steps: both arms, then both legs.
• galopping, which imitates the faster pace of most quadrupeds. The move is made of three steps: one leg, then one diagonal, then one arm.The same arm always goes in front, and there are two symmetrical galops: right-sided, where the right arm is always in front and the three steps are left leg, diagonal (right leg and left arm), right arm; left-sided, where the left arm is always in front and the steps are right leg, diagonal, left arm. The rhythm of these steps is not the same: the leg takes a longer step followed by two quick steps of the diagonal and the arm. This is because the first step of a galop is composed of two efforts: first to support the weight of the body at the end of the previous move, then to provide an impulse strating the new move. This is why that leg tires most rapidly.

Most animals only use certain modes in walking and others in running. Humans can use any of them walking or running, however the different modes have better or worse efficiency at different paces. Even for a more natural running mode such as the galop, it is good to learn first the walking version to better master the running one.

Quadrilocomotion

After the QM postures, we now turn to QM locomotion. As in bipedal locomotion, there are three main modes of displacement: walking, running and jumping. Although a single jump is a short and intense movement, as a series of horizontal jumps it becomes a remarkable mode of progression.

In QM, the movement is determined by the action of a single limb or of two limbs together: either arm and leg in diagonal, arm and leg on the same side, or as a "biped", i.e. both arms or legs together.

Walking consists in progressing by moving the limbs one or two at a time, while at least two of the limbs remain always in contact with the ground. The step as defined by the displacement of feet and hands separately or in relation to each other is the same when the walk is well coordinated.

Running consists in progressing by moving one or two limbs as in walking, but when running there is only one limb or biped in contact with the ground. There is no stable posture of the body between movements: running is really a series of small hops or jumps of regular amplitude.

Jumping consists in moving upward in the air either as a displacement or to go over a real obstacle, executed in length, in height or in depth. The jump up usually relies on the posterior limbs, while the landing uses the anterior limbs, sometimes both.

To these three principal modes we must add some secondary progressions in grouped or squatting posture, and a mode of progression with the body flat on the ground which deserves its own study: crawling.

QM locomotion can be executed in ventral, dorsal or lateral body posture, however the ventral posture is the most efficient and useful, thus the following descriptions will focus on the ventral posture.

It is of interest to note that human beings, once turned into quadrupeds, can use the modes of locomotion of various animals and even progress in dorsal or lateral posture, whereas the animals of a given species only practice the modes of progression they are naturally built for.

Although the quadrupedal locomotion is only an occasional mode of displacement compared to bipedal locomotion, it can be essential in practical situations (especially in defense and hiding against danger) as a short and fast move or as a long and slow one. It is necessary to practice its technique and build up the strength it requires to make it a natural ability. Finally, it is also an excellent exercise for developing the muscular system as a whole and increasing joint flexibility, yet another good reason to practice it.

Hand presses

Hand pressing consists in, from any QM squatting position, an effort of the arms in order to detach entirely the feet from the ground. It is a useful move to throw the body quickly forward, back or sideways or to get back on one's feet after a hold or a fall on the forelimbs. It requires a full development of the arms and torso and a great pressing power. To press in forward position, one starts with the hands behind the feet, sitting on the ground. Then the legs are taken up by pressing the arms down, and the legs and torso can be raised in various postures. For the backward position, one starts squatting down with the hands in front of and close to the feet. The arms start half or quarter flexed, to bring the shoulders forward of the hands. Keep at the same time the head in extension. Then, the body can be raised onto the arms by rotating the torso and grouping the legs in. The relative position of hands and shoulder must be adjusted to maintain balance, and the head should be kept extended. One can make the move easier by placing the knees out onto the arms or by pressing the head down from the start. The sideways press can be done similarly, either from a forward or backward starting position, and then leaning sideways. One can also squat with the hands forward and to the side, and raise the legs behind and sideways. One can also train the transition between forward and backward press, which is done by rotating the torso around the shoulders, moving the legs between the arms, and going back up in the other position. Finally, for the handstand press, we start squatting with the hands in front of the feet. Start like a backward press then, once the body is well balanced on the arms, extend progressively the legs up while extending the back at the hips. The balance of the body on the arms is essential to success. As in the backward press, the shoulders must start forward of the hands, arms partly flexed. During the upward rotation of the body, balance is maintained by the extension of the lower back and hips, minute changes in shoulders, arms and head posture, and small movements of the fingers. The extension upward can go toward a full stand, in which case the arms are straightened. To come back from the press, one can simply let the legs fall back down, flexed, making sure to bring the feet close to the hands (there are also other, more dynamic techniques explained later on). The handstand press as described here is done "in strength", without momentum, and should only be attempted after mastering a regular handstand. It is also important to know all the proper falls in case of a loss of balance. The press without momentum can be made easier by starting in forward press and swinging the legs between the arms to go up.

Groupings

When training QM postures, the work consists in taking all the possible postures with front, back or side toward the ground and in going from one posture to the next in the easiest and fastest way possible. This work can be done statically, or better as a progression, moving through the changes of postures.

For instance, one can start in QM squat, move into forward hold by moving the hands forward, then move the feet toward the hands, etc. Such progression can be done head or feet first, with various combinations of squatting and extended QM postures.

The straight holds are excellent flexibility exercises, and one must join smoothly the different movements between postures and avoid a mechanical or rigid execution. These exercises can be done during a march or a run: stopping with the feet together or apart, one can squat and get into various QM postures before standing up and continuing.

The groupings can be done first by walking the hands and feet in various combinations (Planche 29 and 30) from squats to straight holds and inversely. The work can be made more dynamic (and harder) by moving both hands or both feet together (Planche 31). Note that in many cases it is better to progress in two steps (it can be harder, for instance when moving the feet back from squat to front hold).

Further combinations can be built to move smoothly (but not necessarily in one jump or walk) from one hold to another (Planche 32 and 33). Finally, movements of the trunk are also important to help transition smoothly between postures, and can be trained separately lying down (Planche 34).

QM squats

In a QM squat ("accroupetonnement"), like in a bipedal squat, the body is lowered and the legs fully flexed. The main difference is that one or both hands are touching the ground. The legs still support most of the weight of the body, the arms providing mostly increased stability and sometimes additional support. The squat has several variants as seen on the illustrations, depending on the relative location of the hands and feet. QM squats with the hands behind or sideways are not very common, but should be trained to become natural. QM squats are mostly a starting posture for other exercises such as holds and jumps, or a transition posture between them. It is also a useful posture for hiding, resting and waiting.

For most civilized people, this position is quickly painful and hard to hold. On the contrary, many primitive peoples use QM squats as a regular resting pose. [Note: Georges Hébert, as a man of the early 20th century, saw the world as divided between "civilization" and "primitive" peoples. However, he was also very impressed by the natural fitness of those primitive peoples and very critical of the civilized world's view on physical activity. Although "primitive" has a negative connotation, it is seen here as a quality, so I kept those terms.]

The huddled QM squat ("blotissement") is a full QM squat, with round back, knees to the chest, often with the arms around the legs. Like in the regular QM squat, there are different variants based on the hand and feet position. To get into any of these, one must start by getting into the corresponding QM squat and then lowering and rounding the body into the huddled form. To stand up from the back and side huddle, it is possible to use a rocking of the body, kicking one or both legs out to increase momentum.

A quick overview

Before I start moving on to the various QM exercises, I thought I'd spend some time explaining a few details about this blog (not Georges Hébert talking, here. Not Georges Hébert either in the other posts, by the way. Keep that in mind).

The way I've worked so far is to provide a condensed summary of topics from the book along with pictures of some interesting drawings of my choice. I think that's pretty efficient, i.e. I don't spend hours laboring over the text and you still get a lot of information.

About the pictures, I made high resolution photographs so that you can read the text if you wish (try right-click and "view picture" or "open in other tab" or something like that: you should get the full resolution image). Most of the text should be straightforward via google translate or some other engine, once you have the context information from the summary (or so I hope).

Of course, there's many details missing, so if you have questions on any of the topics you can put a comment and I'll do my best to answer at least before I put the next post up.

Now, so far we have covered parts of the introduction, describing general aspects of QMs. Those are basically what to keep in mind when doing any form of QM exercise. Next come the exercise chapters, describing various modes of QMs and related exercises (the book covers QM static postures first, then walking, running and jumping, then crawling, and finally falling). In these, many of the actual exercises are described more in detail in the illustrations than in the main text, so I recommend you look closely at them if you're interested in the moves.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do!

QM vs. Climbing

In QM, the hands or forearms interact with the surface of contact through simple pressing, possibly with a light clawing to improve traction. When the hands start grabbing the surface they're on, the movement becomes a form of climbing. In a sense, climbing is just a specialized form of QM! In both, the arms are used as much if nt more than the legs, however in climbing the arms are pulling and pushing, while QM only involves pushing movements. Note that the pushing of the arms, using triceps and back shoulder muscles, is generally easier than the pulling, with biceps and deltoid.

When progressing on a slope, QM and climbing can sometimes merge. QM movements on a slope upward are made easier as the hips are lower, decreasing the effort of the arms. The body can be spread further. On downward slopes it is the opposite: one must shorten the distance between the limbs in order to maintain a vertical alignment of the joints and contact points. On steep slopes, it is much advantageous to turn around and progress backward, feet first. In general it is best to keep the head toward the upper part of the slope and the front of the body facing it. To avoid or slow down a fall, the quadrupedist can always drop to the ground and move by crawling, thus increasing the area of contact with the slope. Going sideways can be good to progress up and down a slope, either as a crab or using a sideways posture halfway between crawling and regular QM.