walk with your right hand and right foot (2025)

ewie said:

It sounds like marching

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Don't Mancunians march with the right hand swinging backwards while the right foot moves forwards?

panjandrum said:

Don't Mancunians march with the right hand swinging backwards while the right foot moves forwards?

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Hmmm ... not sure. I'll try it when I go out later.

jesusguime said:

Hi,
How do you describe when someone is walking with the right foot and right hand swinging forwards and backwards at the same direction? So do the left foot and left hand. Thanks for your reply in advance.

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Hi.
In Japan, we well know the walking. In movies and animes, when a person gets very nervous, he walks in that way.
But we don't have a special naming about the walk, either.

We say like this;
Hey, you're nervous, aren't you?
Your hands and feet are reversely synchronized.
(Of course in Japanese. I don't know this literal translation works or not.)
Wishfull

Wishfull said:

Your hands and feet are reversely synchronized.

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I wouldn't have a clue what you meant, Wishfull

ewie said:

I wouldn't have a clue what you meant, Wishfull

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I tried to express the walking of the original poster in a different way.
Usually, when we walk, right foot movement and left hand movement are synchronized. When right foot goes ahead, left hand goes ahead, too.
Reversely, when right foot movement and right foot movement are synchronized, the walk seems very odd.
Would you have a clue what I meant?

Thanks anyway, ewie.
According to your reply, I've learned that mine couldn't work to native English speakers.

Wishfull said:

Would you have a clue what I meant?

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Oh I'd know what you meant if you explained the theory behind it to me, W

But if I was just walking along minding my own business and you approached me and said that out of the blue, I would think to myself, "My hands and feet are doing what?"

I would not be so literal. I would write that his hands and legs were swinging rhythmically. (Or I would attach a video clip--anything else would seem too difficult to describe.)

I do see an occasional walker or runner with arms swinging "cross body" instead of along side the body.

I take strong disagreement here with two comments here. Well, as strong a disagreement as you can have over such a topic. ;-)

First, such an unusual walk should not be called "marching". I was in a marching band AND in the US military. We never marched that way, nor have I have ever seen a military march style like that. I may have seen performance marching bands do something like that for artistic impression. (I believe Phil Collins walks like that in his musical video "I can't dance".)

Second, I would not say "swinging rhythmically" to identify such an unusual walking style. One can walk normally and maintain a rhythm that matches any music you might be listening to. I have heard the words "walk" and "rhythm" used to describe exactly such a normal activity. Think of the lyrics to "Walking in Rhythm" (walking in rhythm, movin' in sound) and you probably don't picture such a dorky walk style in your mind!

I think this topic presents a great opportunity for someone to invent a word for this. How about 'gwalk'? Sort of a combination of 'geek' and 'walk'. Or 'gawk' (for the people staring at such an activity) and 'walk'.

I would also like to hear some superhypercomplex description such as 'isobrachipodiambulation'. Go to it, readers.

SwingDaddy said:

I take strong disagreement here with two comments here. Well, as strong a disagreement as you can have over such a topic. ;-)

...Second, I would not say "swinging rhythmically" to identify such an unusual walking style. One can walk normally and maintain a rhythm that matches any music you might be listening to. I have heard the words "walk" and "rhythm" used to describe exactly such a normal activity. Think of the lyrics to "Walking in Rhythm" (walking in rhythm, movin' in sound) and you probably don't picture such a dorky walk style in your mind!

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OK, then "syncopated". (Rhythmically to the minor beat).

His stride was syncopated to his arm movement; in place of the the more normal contrapuntal arm swing he used an arm swing that would pendulate in unison with the leg movement.

(I know what it means, but I would wonder if others would too.)

Nunty said:

Getting back to the question, I think this is a sterotypical "zombie walk", or at least the way the zombies walk in the Thriller video.

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"Zombie walk" already has a clear meaning in reference to gathering of "zombies". See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_walk

I would suggest Anarchic Walk or antipodal arm swing.

If you are writing for an audience that is familiar with horses, you could adapt horse gait terminology. I believe the equivalent in four-legged animals is called 'pacing'. (Though, of course, you have to make the connection to horse gaits explicit since 'pacing' can also refer to an entirely different activity.)

According to Wikipedia, there actually is a term for this, though I've never heard it before.

Bear walk
Also known as tick-tock, the bear walk is the only non-practical walk. It is essentially a walk or a march (bear march), where each arm is brought up with the leg on the same side rather than the opposite side. This twists the body, and is inefficient and less comfortable; however it has some rhythm and so does not automatically switch to phase with the opposite leg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gait_(human)#Bear_walk

ewie said:

I'd suggest the very lovely isobrachipodiambulation, if SwingDaddy hadn't already suggested it.

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I can't find it in the dictionary though.

In animals, this would be called an ipsilateral gait.

You could say "ipsilateral arm and leg movement", or something similar. It would still require a gloss, but I think it would be easy to learn. Many people would recognize "lateral" as meaning "side". "Ipsi" (=the same) is less familiar, I suspect.

Ipsilateral gait? Isobrachipodiambulation?

Both are

excellent - how could one choose betwen them?

Jesusguime, I fear you need to accept that there is no (normal) word in English for what you describe

Franzi said:

If you are writing for an audience that is familiar with horses, you could adapt horse gait terminology. I believe the equivalent in four-legged animals is called 'pacing'. (Though, of course, you have to make the connection to horse gaits explicit since 'pacing' can also refer to an entirely different activity.)

According to Wikipedia, there actually is a term for this, though I've never heard it before.

Bear walk
Also known as tick-tock, the bear walk is the only non-practical walk. It is essentially a walk or a march (bear march), where each arm is brought up with the leg on the same side rather than the opposite side. This twists the body, and is inefficient and less comfortable; however it has some rhythm and so does not automatically switch to phase with the opposite leg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gait_(human)#Bear_walk

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Thank you all for your enthusiastic searches and suggestions.

I guess "bear walk" is closest to our counterpart--same hand, same foot.

Yes, maybe.

Although I've never heard it before, either

SwingDaddy said:

Thanks, Jesusguime. That was an interesting question, and I had some chuckles with the answers. (In hindsight, my two objections, even though qualified, were a bit brusque.) That's all - time to go out now for my daily ipsilateral bear walk. ;-)

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Ipsilateral, ipse dixit.

Franzi said:

I don't think of zombies walking exactly this way. I think I'd use 'bear walk' (from wikipedia) and then modify it depending on what the walk is supposed to symbolize in Chinese culture. ("A zombie-like bear walk", "a nervous bear walk", etc.)

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I appreciate "bear walk" as you mentioned. I watched the clip from youtube and it did show the movement as people described above, just one thing is different. That is the person doing the bear walk doesn't bend down and touch the ground with hands.
Thanks, @Wishfull