Martial Arts Training - Developing Better Balance For Maximum Performance And Power!

Almost daily, students ask me for suggestions in developing better techniques in their martial arts training

. To which I reply, "fix your balance and you will have better control, speed, and power.

And, while it's easy to quickly demonstrate something for a student in the dojo, conveying some of these ideas to a student who contacts me through email, especially if he or she is new to martial arts training, or their teacher does not incorporate these ideas into class - can be a bit more challenging.

One of the tools that I use to enhance and strengthen my own students' abilities, is what I call the "drill." These drills, or "skill development exercises," are a way to isolate a particular ability and, "drill" it again and again until the desired results are attained. Drills can be used to improve things like:

* Balance

* Speed

* Timing

* Reaction

* Strategic thinking under pressure

* Decision-making (choosing the right skill or technique to do next)

* etc.

In the case of this article, I'll be talking about ways to improve balance. But, you can feel free to substitute any other quality or ability. You will just have to come up with a drill or exercise where that quality is the primary skill needed to perform the exercise.

But, for now, it's about balance. Because, balance or, more more correctly, "balance control," is the one skill or ability that most human beings lack. And, for the martial artist focused on real-world self-protection, you're betting your life on what you can and cannot do in this area!

While anything can be "used" for balance training - what most people think of as martial arts training can be described as a technique or kata. I cannot speak for any particular school or "style," and what they do or don't do to help you to attain mastery. However, from my experience, research, and observation, most students are limited to step-by-step "technique" instruction, and the mock-fighting practice known generally as "sparring."

Regardless of the martial art, one way to look at a drill is an exercise that is NOT a self defense technique - but has everything to do with self defense. What I mean is that, it can be a single "piece" from a technique, or a completely different exercise that is "drilled" or practiced again and again to gain proficiency.

An example of this can be seen from the world of music. Perhaps I play an instrument. And when working on playing a particular song, there is a note combination that I'm having trouble with.

Instead of continuing to rehearse the entire song, "hoping" that I'll get the move/notes correct "this" time - I can isolate that string and just play that part. By practicing just this piece over and over until I gain proficiency with it, I do 2 things:

1) I fix that part of this particular song, and...

2) I fix and strengthen every other song that I'll ever play that has the same note combination.

So... the drill with the note combination is not about playing a song. But, it has everything to do with how well I play songs on my particular instrument.

Do you understand?

In the case of developing better balance for our martial arts/self defense training, I could do several types of drills or exercises to strengthen my balance. And remember, balance is about physically aligning the parts of the body, relative to each other and the body's own center - with the effects of gravity.

Here are a few ideas for practicing and developing better balance:

1) Stand on one leg (if your system has a single-legged stance or posture like the Ninja's Hicho no Kamae, use this). Take up and relax into this position so that you can do it for longer and longer periods without wavering or falling off of your base foot.

2) Do the above exercise and SLOWLY extend your raised leg as if kicking, and return the leg to it's resting position without falling off the base leg. You can also practice turning your torso with the leg extended, or extend the leg out in different directions.

3) Do head and hand-stands. (This puts your body in an inverted position relative to gravity and re-awakens your brain's awareness about the effects of gravity and the body's alignment - something it had to do when you were learning to stand and walk as a baby. Then, you can be more aware of this when you are standing normally. Remember - Balance is about "alignment" of body parts to center AND the effects of gravity!

4) Practice your rolling or other breakfalls as SLOWLY as possible. Rolling is an exercise in "balance-control" - not agility. You will be more capable of not only faster rolls when you find the balance line that your body is supposed to be on, but you will also be able to change speeds and directions - in the middle of a roll - when you can do this.

5) Use aids like balance-beams (both horizontal and on rising and declining angles), K-Boards (boards with a fixed or moving fulcrum underneath that you will stand on and practice holding and shifting your weight so that the edges of the board do not touch the floor), etc.

As you can see, the above suggestions are not self defense techniques. But, like the analogy that I gave about music, they have EVERYTHING to do with how effective and how much power you'll be able to generate with your body as you move THROUGH your techniques - ANY techniques.

by: Jeffrey Miller

POST COMMENT

Martial Arts Training - The Benefits Of Training On Your Own Tips For Delivering Top Notch Training Advanced Ninja Training - The 3 Levels Of Mastery In The Ninja's Life Ways Of "ninpo" 1z0-259 exam training 1z1-052 Training Training Credentials Benefits Of 220-702 Training Tools Cardiovascular and Weight Training - How Often Should We Exercise? Hypnosis Training - Everything You Need to Know Vertical Training - Why You Should Be Measuring Your Depth Jumps Vertical Training - The Difference Between Depth, Drop, And Box Jumps The Advantages of an American Accent Training Program Making Strength Training Your Priority