dancing and the Martial Arts...

[GQchris]

So Bruce Lee was a champion dancer too I believe, he won some kind of competition.

Anyway what correlation does dancing have with the martial arts? Is it the footwork, or coordination, the rythm, the timing? Obviously footwork is extremely important in arts like Western Boxing.

discuss

[Garland]

I know that many great martial artists were also exceptional dancers, including Sonny Umpad and Sigung Bruce Lee.

I think all the factors you listed were dead on...

I know that taking dancing classes along with my muay thai helped when I was still training actively and fighting. I certainly felt more graceful, had more control, my timing and rythm were spot on, and my flexibility and balance were better...footwork became easier, and everything was more fluid and natural.

I know that more and more athletes cross train with some form of dance these days...
If you spend hours doing male and female triangles, hourglass patterns, and tapi tapi type stuff for FMAs and advanced boxing footwork...hell, box pattern stepping is essentially ballroom dancing at a very rudimentary level.

The dialectic between a standup fight and a dance can be similar, know intuitively how far you are away from your partner/opponent, be able to tune into their rhythm, know where their feet are going...and make sure that you're the one leading! lol...
maybe even step on their feet or break the timing and rhythm up when it suits you...