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Martial Arts Article
Challenge the Distance ... Just a Little (Masterying Your Techniques)
     by Keith Pascal
 

 

I am sure you have exercises, where you and a partner face off and get ready to perform the interactive drill.

Maybe you are practicing kicking stomachs, like in the ebook "Kick My Tummy: Getting the Most From this Exercise."

Or you could be practicing a punching exercise.

This idea even works while practicing your wrist locks and joint locks.

You face your partner. You begin the drill (at a normal distance).

Doesn't it feel good? Comfortable?

Something you have done thousands of times before.

Great.

Now, force yourself to be uncomfortable.

While you are doing the drill, take one step closer to your partner.

Do you feel scrunched?

Good. Keep practicing.

When you take a step closer, your partner may respond in one of several ways:

* stop the exercise and complain, "Hey, dude. You're invading my space. You are ruining the drill."

* take a step back, to maintain the "proper" distance.

* continue the same drill without adjustment. The exercise falls apart.

* either adjust the technique, or change techniques, to make the new distance work.

 

You can see the benefits of practicing at different distances, right?

Even a slight adjustment can help you learn to make your techniques work when conditions aren't perfect.

 

 

End Note:

I really like to play with distance when practicing patterns.

For example, if you are learning to flow from one joint lock to another using the patterns in 'Wrist Locks: From Protecting Yourself to Becoming an Expert,' then you really should try taking steps forward and backwards while practicing.

Better yet, have your partner step in while you are flowing from one lock to the next.

I have found that taking a step back when I have the lock effected can often cause more pain on the 'lockee.' Stepping in can have the reverse effect -- it sometimes releases the pressure, which forces me to adjust the angle of the lock.

Good stuff. And oh so necessary for learning to adjust in real-life situations.


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I am not trying to be mean, just honest.

Knife against knife is a whole different kettle of fish from an empty-hand attack. You need an efficient, automatic way to respond. Here's the answer ... Read More about 10 Days to Better Knife Fighting ...