Move with the shadows

Flow with the shadows: How to move silently.
By: Supreme
Well to start off with… most importantly, make sure your bones are cracked. Get all the kinks out now. You don’t want to be in the shadows with your own body making noises.
Do not wear pants that’ll swish together or make a creasing sound. Ordinary jeans tend to be silent and move without hassle. Take it from me… do not, I repeat, do not wear leather pants or motorcycle pants. They are so damn noisy. Granted the moto pants give great protection.
Use malleable soft style knee pads. Don’t wear hard shell knee pads. They clank when you kneel and they give off a shine. Also you might want to wear them under your jeans to deflect any shine it may have.
An all black Under Armour ‘rash guard’ style shirt is very silent and moves well with the muscles. Don’t wear a shirt that has buttons or any metallic style threads.
Don’t wear a leather or pleather jacket for they also tend to make a creasing sound.
Your boots should be comfortable in a crouching position. This is important. You don’t want them to make a sound when you kneel forward from the crouching position.
An all black uniform is desired. Remember, you’re going for stealth and you need to move with the shadows not against the shadows.
Also, you may want to use a hydration pack when you are only doing recon work. It’s just a suggestion. You may be in one spot for some time. Be prepared to wait. Have extreme patience. If you’re going to live in the shadows and remain stealthy, I suggest you try it out several times before officially using it in patrol.
Good luck!
– Supreme
Below are the steps to moving silently. The art of stealth doesn’t have to be followed exact because you will need to fight and you shouldn’t wear soft shoes when fighting.
1: Get soft footwear. The harder your footwear, the louder the noise. The best type of footwear is socks or leather moccasins. When at all possible, avoid bare feet (feet generally sweat and on flat surfaces, this creates lots of noise, as they stick to the floor) and hard-soled boots (because of their bulk and material, boots are more difficult to walk quietly in).
2: Wear sparse, tight clothing. When walking, one’s legs and clothes rub together creating noise. Minimizing your gear will prevent this
3: Unless congested, take slow and measured breaths from the nose. If congested open your mouth wide and take deep controlled breaths
4: Watch the next place you will take a step. Be mindful of objects you are stepping on.

• • Outside, try to walk on bare dirt or live grass. Dead foliage creates a perceptible “crunch” even when lightly stepped on. If you encounter an area where forced to walk through foliage, then pick the clearest path and proceed slowly, possibly bending over and removing obstructions from the location of the next step.
  • Inside, stick to carpet or other flooring with padding underneath.

5: Match the cadence of the person you are following (i.e. when the person steps with his or her left foot, you use your left foot). This will help mask any noise your feet may make. Remember that sound travels at 340 meters per second (1116 ft/sec), so you might need to adjust your walk accordingly: Note the delay between the visual step and the sound of the step from the one you are following, and try to use the same delay for your steps, only the other way around – you must step slightly before the person you are following.
6: Place the heel or toes of your foot down first and roll your foot slowly and gently onto the ground. If moving swiftly, run/leap from location to location. Avoid landing flatfooted. For moving backwards, this is reversed, so that the ball of the foot is placed down first, and then the heel lowered to the ground.
7: Be sure your footwear fits properly; if your foot slides at all in your footwear it can produce a squeaking noise, especially if your feet are sweaty.
8: Walk on the outer edge of your feet, rolling your foot from heel to pinky toe, if you want to get very close to the target. Though very silent, this technique is also uncomfortable and should only be used for short distances. The hips can be rotated slightly to make this technique easier.
9: Stand 90 degrees to the direction you want to go with your feet spread slightly, then take the foot on the other side of where you want to go, and while balancing on your other foot, move it across, making an X with your legs. Take your other foot and swing it out from behind to the start position. This method allows you to walk with some speed silently, even when wearing jeans which usually make lots of noise.
10: Bend low at the knees. The first part of your foot to hit the ground should be the heel. “Roll” forward on that foot until you’re on the ball of your foot (the padded part just behind the toes). Just before you’ve rolled all the way onto the ball of your foot, put your other foot down, heel first, directly in front of the first foot, almost touching it. You should be able to smoothly roll from the first foot to the second. Continue by rolling on the second foot, until you’re almost at the ball, and repeat by putting the first foot in front of the second. This should all be done fluidly.
TIPS:

• Running on the balls of one’s feet (‘digitigrade’) helps with speed and quietness, but be careful; this requires more strength in the feet and lower legs, and greater flexibility in the ankle and foot joints. It also requires better balance than normal movement, and creates a greater impression on softer surfaces (due to the weight being spread over a decreased surface area).
• When climbing items such as trees and cliffs, be mindful of where your foot lands. Try to place the toes and front padding of the foot in between branches and on crevices of the cliff. If you are forced to step in the middle of a branch or push up the side of the cliff, do it slowly and proceed with caution. A little force may dislodge a shower of debris or break a twig alerting watchers.
• When walking through a house with wood floors, stick close to the wall to minimize creaking floorboards. The same is true for staircases.
• Avoid shifting your weight until your forward foot is quietly and firmly on the ground. This will require a considerable degree of balance and practice.
• When opening doors, apply pressure upwards on the handle to avoid squeaks. Also turn handle so the bolt is completely withdrawn before applying any pressure to the door. Keep the handle pushed down while passing through the door, close the door, push it against the frame so the bolt will fit without snapping, then quietly release the handle.
• If unable to wear tight clothes, try to step without your pants rubbing together or rubbing against your skin as this can create noticeable noise in quiet situations. Wool clothing is quietest.
• Make sure your footwear is completely dry, not only can it squeak, damp spots on the floor can alert someone to your presence.
• If you have problems with dragging your feet, then try walking around slowly with your shoelaces untied and dangling to create noise if you don’t raise and lower your feet. Warning: Do not attempt to do this quickly or carelessly, as you could trip and fall. Keep it slow, steady and measured.
• You don’t just walk with your foot; your whole body is involved, from arms and head for balance, to hips and torso for driving the leg movements, to the legs themselves for creating the distance. ‘Play around’ with your movements so that you build a picture of what works for you and what doesn’t.
• Try Zig-Zagging as you walk: step with one foot then step forward and to the side. Step the other direction. Repeat. This way you keep more of your balance.
• Start on the outside of your heel and roll your foot diagonally, but don’t overdo it and roll it just from the outside in.
• Before you start your walking, roll both of your feet around at the ankles a few times. This will make sure to get any ‘pops’ from your ankles out of the way. These ‘pops’ are the result of synovial fluid moving under the joints, similar to the action and sound that your knuckles make when you crack them. If you don’t make sure to crack your ankles first, you may end up making some noise later on when you need silence.
• If you must make noise, perhaps because of loose clothing, try to make it as “natural” as possible. Short, sharp, or repetitious noises that characterize human movement can be broken into unrecognizable segments by varying your cadence or by dragging out the noise, making it more fluid and less human. This may be more applicable in urban environments where frequent background noise can mask your movements, allowing you to, in-effect, hide in the “shadows” of ambient noise.
• If your clothes make noise that cannot be helped, wait a moment before you walk, and try to take advantage of another distracting noise. Choose to move when another sound is more present, to mask your own noise.
• Though not noise-related, if you are walking up directly behind someone be mindful of the shadow you cast. If there is a light-source behind you, your shadow will lead you, and be perceived instinctively. Using the crouched walking position will greatly minimize this.

Be safe out there!
– Supreme
Flow with the shadows: How to move silently.
By: Supreme
Well to start off with… most importantly, make sure your bones are cracked. Get all the kinks out now. You don’t want to be in the shadows with your own body making noises.
Do not wear pants that’ll swish together or make a creasing sound. Ordinary jeans tend to be silent and move without hassle. Take it from me… do not, I repeat, do not wear leather pants or motorcycle pants. They are so damn noisy. Granted the moto pants give great protection.
Use malleable soft style knee pads. Don’t wear hard shell knee pads. They clank when you kneel and they give off a shine. Also you might want to wear them under your jeans to deflect any shine it may have.
An all black Under Armour ‘rash guard’ style shirt is very silent and moves well with the muscles. Don’t wear a shirt that has buttons or any metallic style threads.
Don’t wear a leather or pleather jacket for they also tend to make a creasing sound.
Your boots should be comfortable in a crouching position. This is important. You don’t want them to make a sound when you kneel forward from the crouching position.
An all black uniform is desired. Remember, you’re going for stealth and you need to move with the shadows not against the shadows.
Also, you may want to use a hydration pack when you are only doing recon work. It’s just a suggestion. You may be in one spot for some time. Be prepared to wait. Have extreme patience. If you’re going to live in the shadows and remain stealthy, I suggest you try it out several times before officially using it in patrol.
Good luck!
– Supreme
Below are the steps to moving silently. The art of stealth doesn’t have to be followed exact because you will need to fight and you shouldn’t wear soft shoes when fighting.
1: Get soft footwear. The harder your footwear, the louder the noise. The best type of footwear is socks or leather moccasins. When at all possible, avoid bare feet (feet generally sweat and on flat surfaces, this creates lots of noise, as they stick to the floor) and hard-soled boots (because of their bulk and material, boots are more difficult to walk quietly in).
2: Wear sparse, tight clothing. When walking, one’s legs and clothes rub together creating noise. Minimizing your gear will prevent this
3: Unless congested, take slow and measured breaths from the nose. If congested open your mouth wide and take deep controlled breaths
4: Watch the next place you will take a step. Be mindful of objects you are stepping on.

• • Outside, try to walk on bare dirt or live grass. Dead foliage creates a perceptible “crunch” even when lightly stepped on. If you encounter an area where forced to walk through foliage, then pick the clearest path and proceed slowly, possibly bending over and removing obstructions from the location of the next step.
  • Inside, stick to carpet or other flooring with padding underneath.

5: Match the cadence of the person you are following (i.e. when the person steps with his or her left foot, you use your left foot). This will help mask any noise your feet may make. Remember that sound travels at 340 meters per second (1116 ft/sec), so you might need to adjust your walk accordingly: Note the delay between the visual step and the sound of the step from the one you are following, and try to use the same delay for your steps, only the other way around – you must step slightly before the person you are following.
6: Place the heel or toes of your foot down first and roll your foot slowly and gently onto the ground. If moving swiftly, run/leap from location to location. Avoid landing flatfooted. For moving backwards, this is reversed, so that the ball of the foot is placed down first, and then the heel lowered to the ground.
7: Be sure your footwear fits properly; if your foot slides at all in your footwear it can produce a squeaking noise, especially if your feet are sweaty.
8: Walk on the outer edge of your feet, rolling your foot from heel to pinky toe, if you want to get very close to the target. Though very silent, this technique is also uncomfortable and should only be used for short distances. The hips can be rotated slightly to make this technique easier.
9: Stand 90 degrees to the direction you want to go with your feet spread slightly, then take the foot on the other side of where you want to go, and while balancing on your other foot, move it across, making an X with your legs. Take your other foot and swing it out from behind to the start position. This method allows you to walk with some speed silently, even when wearing jeans which usually make lots of noise.
10: Bend low at the knees. The first part of your foot to hit the ground should be the heel. “Roll” forward on that foot until you’re on the ball of your foot (the padded part just behind the toes). Just before you’ve rolled all the way onto the ball of your foot, put your other foot down, heel first, directly in front of the first foot, almost touching it. You should be able to smoothly roll from the first foot to the second. Continue by rolling on the second foot, until you’re almost at the ball, and repeat by putting the first foot in front of the second. This should all be done fluidly.
TIPS:

• Running on the balls of one’s feet (‘digitigrade’) helps with speed and quietness, but be careful; this requires more strength in the feet and lower legs, and greater flexibility in the ankle and foot joints. It also requires better balance than normal movement, and creates a greater impression on softer surfaces (due to the weight being spread over a decreased surface area).
• When climbing items such as trees and cliffs, be mindful of where your foot lands. Try to place the toes and front padding of the foot in between branches and on crevices of the cliff. If you are forced to step in the middle of a branch or push up the side of the cliff, do it slowly and proceed with caution. A little force may dislodge a shower of debris or break a twig alerting watchers.
• When walking through a house with wood floors, stick close to the wall to minimize creaking floorboards. The same is true for staircases.
• Avoid shifting your weight until your forward foot is quietly and firmly on the ground. This will require a considerable degree of balance and practice.
• When opening doors, apply pressure upwards on the handle to avoid squeaks. Also turn handle so the bolt is completely withdrawn before applying any pressure to the door. Keep the handle pushed down while passing through the door, close the door, push it against the frame so the bolt will fit without snapping, then quietly release the handle.
• If unable to wear tight clothes, try to step without your pants rubbing together or rubbing against your skin as this can create noticeable noise in quiet situations. Wool clothing is quietest.
• Make sure your footwear is completely dry, not only can it squeak, damp spots on the floor can alert someone to your presence.
• If you have problems with dragging your feet, then try walking around slowly with your shoelaces untied and dangling to create noise if you don’t raise and lower your feet. Warning: Do not attempt to do this quickly or carelessly, as you could trip and fall. Keep it slow, steady and measured.
• You don’t just walk with your foot; your whole body is involved, from arms and head for balance, to hips and torso for driving the leg movements, to the legs themselves for creating the distance. ‘Play around’ with your movements so that you build a picture of what works for you and what doesn’t.
• Try Zig-Zagging as you walk: step with one foot then step forward and to the side. Step the other direction. Repeat. This way you keep more of your balance.
• Start on the outside of your heel and roll your foot diagonally, but don’t overdo it and roll it just from the outside in.
• Before you start your walking, roll both of your feet around at the ankles a few times. This will make sure to get any ‘pops’ from your ankles out of the way. These ‘pops’ are the result of synovial fluid moving under the joints, similar to the action and sound that your knuckles make when you crack them. If you don’t make sure to crack your ankles first, you may end up making some noise later on when you need silence.
• If you must make noise, perhaps because of loose clothing, try to make it as “natural” as possible. Short, sharp, or repetitious noises that characterize human movement can be broken into unrecognizable segments by varying your cadence or by dragging out the noise, making it more fluid and less human. This may be more applicable in urban environments where frequent background noise can mask your movements, allowing you to, in-effect, hide in the “shadows” of ambient noise.
• If your clothes make noise that cannot be helped, wait a moment before you walk, and try to take advantage of another distracting noise. Choose to move when another sound is more present, to mask your own noise.
• Though not noise-related, if you are walking up directly behind someone be mindful of the shadow you cast. If there is a light-source behind you, your shadow will lead you, and be perceived instinctively. Using the crouched walking position will greatly minimize this.

Be safe out there!
– Supreme