Low-Impact Substitutions And Approaches
To save on wear and tear of your joints or if your body is not amenable to jumping and hard impacts, try these substitutions or approaches to higher impact tap steps:
1. Replace hops with heels. You get the same exact sound with half the effort and even less of the impact. If you want to build your strength so you can do hops, you can lift the heel higher into the air when you make the heel sound.
2. Replace jumps with heels. Instead of jumping up and down you can simply lift both heels off the ground and drop them back down.
3. "Walk" flaps instead of "running" or "jumping" them. To "walk" your flaps simply keep the opposite foot on the floor while you flap. You can also make sure you transfer your weight to the flapping foot smoothly instead of harshly and all at once (like you would if "running" the flaps).
4. Keep both feet on the floor for shuffle steps instead of jumping from one to the other. You can also minimize the weight change each time you step by putting your foot down gently and also by only shifting your weight to the stepping foot as much as necessary - the further you lean the more stress on your legs.
5. For the buffalo use the same strategy as the shuffle step above. Also, for the first step, don't lift the opposite foot and minimize weight transfer.
To practice applying these, I've created a short practice combination. The bold steps are the ones you'll replace.
Summer Tappin' 1:15
1&2 3&4 5&6&7&8 - [toe-tip HOP step]2, [jump clap clap]2 jump
1&2 3&4 5&6&7&8 - [toe-tip HOP step]2, [jump clap clap]2 jump
a1 a2 3&a4 5&a6&a7&a8 - [flap]2 buffalo, step [SHUFFLE STEP]3