Walking the walk.
All of us have at some point struggled with the concepts of advancing, retreating, passing forward or back, and many other footwork gems. As frustrating as these movements can be, if you look at how complex something like walking is, you may be a bit more forgiving of yourself.
We take walking for granted. After all, its something we learn to do as toddlers. We also do it every day in varying amounts. Each time we decide on moving ourselves through space we engage in our own personal fight with gravity. Gravity loves nothing more than seeing us flat on our face, its a punk like that.
During this ongoing battle, our brain is firing commands to our feet to prepare to roll from heel to the ball absorbing shock and providing propulsion; our calves for shock absorption and push; ankles for support; knees for support and range of motion; thighs and hamstrings, for motion of the leg forward and back; hips for range of motion; torso for stability; head and neck for guidance; eyes for direction; and inner ears for balance.
That is just the bare basics of the mechanics! The brain also manages heart rate, breathing, blood flow, energy production and distribution, sensory awareness (surrounding smells, sounds, tastes, touches, sights), and we still maintain conscious thought (even if its day dreaming). Fortunately we do this automatically. If we had to think about all those processes we would either fall or look like stop motion automatons.
So, be easy on yourself. The physics and mental acrobatics involved with walking are overwhelming as it is. Trying to think, advance, and not kill your partner takes a long time to mesh together. As long as you cover the killing the partner part, time and practice will cover the rest.
Greg
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