  In recent years, an increasing number of proper motions have been measured
for Galactic X-ray binaries. When supplemented with accurate determinations of
the component masses, orbital period, and donor luminosity and effective
temperature, these kinematical constraints harbor a wealth of information on
the systems' past evolution. The constraints on compact object progenitors and
kicks derived from this are of immense value for understanding compact object
formation and exposing common threads and fundamental differences between black
hole and neutron star formation. Here, we present the results of such an
analysis for the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1118+480. We present results from
modeling the mass transfer phase, following the motion in the Galaxy back to
the birth site of the black hole, and examining the dynamics of symmetric and
asymmetric core-collapses of the black hole progenitor.
