THE DRIVE—PART TWO

In sport fencing, the movement is called a lunge. In helper work, we call it the skip drive. Like many athletic moves, often there are movements in different sports that translate into another sport. The skip drive is no different. The idea is, using only the lower body, to drive forward powerfully and quickly with only one leg, using the other leg as a point of balance. Of course, the biggest difference is that a fencer carries a foil that weighs only a few pounds, while a protection helper must carry a dog of 80 pounds or more. This is an important point that distinguishes the use of the skip drive from the running drive, discussed in the last installment.

The skip drive is all about putting maximum power into the drive, when sheer athletic ability or speed can't get the job done. Figure #1 shows the same helper in the last installment doing a running drive, now doing a skip drive. The positions in stop action don't seem that much different. So, what is the difference?

In the skip drive, the helper positions the back leg and foot (trailing leg) perpendicularly and close to the front foot as shown in Figure #2. When the stride starts, the trailing foot pushes forward while still in a perpendicular position. The other food (lead leg) thrusts forward at the same time, but no power is given in the lead leg; its purpose is purely to maintain balance. This foot position is shown in Figure #3. As the lead leg comes to rest, the helper pulls the trailing leg back into the close perpendicular position next to the lead foot to repeat the pattern. It is no more than a series of quick thrusting movements forward.

By comparison, the running drive requires the helper to use both legs and run or quickly jog, while pulling the dog up into the body. We started with teaching the running drive because it is the easiest for a starting helper to learn. But the skip drive is another valuable tool to the helper, intended to supplement the helper's skills, not replace the running drive. What are the situations where the skip drive works better than the running drive?

The running drive requires more upper body strength to perform than the skip drive. In the running drive, the helper is, effectively, picking up the dog and running with it. On the other hand, the skip drive requires less upper and more lower body strength. The helper is not picking up the dog, but driving it straight forward with more power than the dog can counter against. Let's look at a couple of examples.

* Some shorter people and especially women have more lower body strength than upper body strength. It isn't about gender, but about the ability to pick up a dog as the helper must do in the running drive. Generally, taller men have more strength in their upper body and women more in the lower body. Also, a shorter person often has problem getting the dog high enough during the running drive to pick its front feet off the ground. The skip drive is a perfect solution for this issue.

* Even the best and strongest helpers, no matter what sex or strength, eventually face a dog that just won't cooperate. Most notorious are big Rottweilers, who love to pull down and work into the helper's body. While it can be any breed, any big dog that pulls down or tries to outmuscle the helper during the drive is capable of twisting or slowing down the drive so the dog slowly gains the advantage.

The best helpers we know use both techniques interchangeably. If they use the skip drive primarily, they are capable of shifting into the running drive if a quick dog, like a Malinois or Dutch Shepherd, starts to move out of the pocket. If they use the running drive primarily, they will similarly shift into a skip drive when the dog tries to manhandle them.

The rules for the skip drive aren't that much different from those of the running drive.

Whether you are doing a running or skip drive, the upper body and hips are always in the same basic position. The upper body and hips always face the direction of the drive and are never allowed to turn sideways into the pocket as we discussed in the last installment.

The helper still maintains a platform by keeping both feet under the body and not extended them too far in front or back. This is an easy rule to break in the skip drive as the tendency is to thrust the lead leg too far in front of the body, creating a stability problem.

The legs are still relaxed, but the trailing leg will straighten more during the thrust of the drive.

The real difference is in the legs and how they move. Instead of the up and down movements of running, everything goes forward.

At the beginning of the skip, the feet are set close to each other as shown in Figure #2. The lead leg is thrust forward at the same time the trailing leg pushes powerfully in the direction of the drive.

When the lead leg moves forward, the foot doesn't touch the ground, but is set on the heel to provide a balance point for the whole body. It is the best technique to not use anything other than the heel of the lead foot to make the initial step and then allow the foot to roll forward.

As soon as the lead foot is set, the trailing leg moves off the ground and repositions itself behind and perpendicular to the lead food, for a repeat of the cycle.

There are only a few problems associated with the skip drive.

The most common is the helper tending to twist back into the dog, effectively allowing the side drive. There are several reasons for this, but the mechanics of the differences are often responsible for this problem. The helper in the running drive is pulling the dog up and running with his legs mostly under the dog. In the skip drive, the dog may be positioned high or low on the helper's body, but the helper isn't running under the dog, instead pushing it forward. This loss of upper body advantage naturally results in the dog's power pulling the helper around.

Another reason is that the skip drive may be used on only the most powerful dogs, so this added power pulls the helper into the dog.

The answer to this problem is to remember the rule of keeping the upper body and sleeve pointed in the direction of the drive. It may require more effort with the skip drive, but the solution is the same as with the running drive: counter rotate the body away from the dog while driving.

The only other common problem is a less stable drive where the helper is struggling to keep balance. Inevitably this problem results from the helper extending the lead leg too far forward in front of the body. As previously shown, this destabilizes the platform and allows the helper to rock around while trying to go forward. The lead foot should be no more than 12 to 16 inches in front of the helper's body. Going back to fencing, one of the exercises is to never let the lead foot extend beyond the knee as a longer stride doesn't increase the length and quickness of the lunge. While the helper might have to extend the lead foot a few inches further than a fencer, the point is good advice!

One last tip. Notice in Figures #4 and #5 that the arm position on the right arm changes. The arm comes up on the lunge forward, giving some additional impetus to the power of the forward movement. As soon as the trailing leg starts to advance forward to reset itself, the helper brings the arm back down. It is a minor point but helps in establishing a rhythm and giving additional push forward.

Over the years, we have heard many criticisms of the running drive by those who rely on the skip drive. These suggest that the skip drive is more powerful and intimidating to the dog. Frankly, the idea is no more than a myth. Instead, we believe that power and intimidation come from the physical skills, experience and attitude of the helper. The fact that each good helper might use a different technique isn't relevant to a good dog.

Another myth is that a helper can't run as fast doing the skip drive as with the running drive. We suspect this opinion results from those whose technique isn't very solid. Frankly, we believed this idea for years until one very good helper had me time him on both running and skip drives while he went all out. The times were the same. Many helpers, when using a skip drive, will tend to over stride, throwing the lead leg too far forward. This just naturally slows them down. The answer, like the running drive, is in foot speed, not the length of stride.

Once the helper learns the running drive, start introducing the skip technique with a lighter dog at first. When you are comfortable with the technique, use bigger dogs and see the difference. To finish out the training, try starting with a running drive and shift to a skip drive during the same drive. Shift back and forth and see how each can complement the other. The value of this exercise is that you may have to do it in training or a trial, especially if you don't know the dog.

In the next installment, we look at one of the most risky of all helper movements, the escape. As simple as it appears, it is fraught with surprises that can put a helper on his backside.