Saturday, April 11, 2009

Kumite Tips #10...Use Your Peripheral Vision for lightning fast reaction time...

Learn to develop your peripheral vision.

The first thing you have to do is to become "aware" that your peripheral vision can be used to enhance, not your minds, but your body's reaction to your opponents movements.

As mentioned in earlier Kumite Tips, your thinking mind is your worst enemy, when sparring, even more so than a real opponent.

Your true friend is your body and so by enlarging its field of view through peripheral training, you can literally see things happening that your normal vision and thinking mind would miss completely.

By utilizing your peripheral vision, your body will react twice as fast to movement than your normal visual perception could ever hope to achieve. Faster perception of movement means faster analysis and response to your opponents attack.

There are many ways to enhance your peripheral vision, simply Google it and you will have more than enough information to get you started. You'll find different focal points for your gaze from various martial artists, everything from your opponents eyes, to his neck to looking into the distance. Try them all and see which gives you the best overall perception.

The key is to be able to see your opponent from head to toe from a certain distance, of course when you are sparring in close, your perceptual field will be smaller.

This ability to see everything that your opponent is doing will improve your Kumite sparring skills by at least 100%, guaranteed.

Once you've mastered that you've only got your posture, stance, distancing and the correct time to execute a technique left to master...

...more on those aspects of freestyle sparring later.


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RJF

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Foot Blisters from Martial Arts...

This is a great tip for Martial Artists of all kinds that get foot blisters.

I just discovered this great product called "new skin-liquid bandage".
It's really a flexible antiseptic bandage that protects and heals your blisters once you get one.

The cool part is that, if your prone to blisters, like I am, especially on my big toe and pad of my foot, you can apply "new skin" before you train.


If you apply it a couple of times before you hit the Dojo floor, it literally gives you 2 extra layers of skin. That's 2 extra layers of skin that will get worn off before you start to wear your own skin out.


I don't get any residuals from the makers of "new skin", but if they wanted to send me some bucks for endorsing their product, I wouldn't turn them down.


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RJF

Monday, May 12, 2008

Kumite Strategy # 3...The "Way of the Warrior" is resolute acceptance of death....

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Kumite Strategies # 1/Kumite Strategies # 2/


Don Juan spoke about the "mood" of a Warrior, as having "death" beside you, as your companion and your adviser.

Musashi stated that it is the resolute acceptance of death.


It seems like a somber and harsh reality to experience, but it is the most indispensable ingredient needed, if a martial artist wants to win.

In Don Juan's world, as well as Musashi's, it's all about power. In particular the power to overcome men.

It's easy to see that in a battle, the warrior that has already accepted death, has a distinct advantage over the warrior who is trying not to be killed.

Let's translate this idea over to a Kumite match. Since we are not fighting to the death, do we really need to cultivate this mood? The answer is yes.

If you are not afraid to die, then you will not be afraid to attack with total commitment and abandonment.

It's only a matter of inches between winning and losing a Kumite match, so practice and experience the "Mood" of a Warrior".

Once you can feel and experience the mood of a warrior for yourself, you'll be ready and better able to understand "Mae Geri" and it's devastating penetrating affect...

Don't forget to check out all the exciting books and dvd's on Karate, Martial Arts, Zen, Weapons, Nutrition and Health from the Indulgent Samurai Store...(Amazon.com)


RJF




Saturday, March 29, 2008

Kumite Strategy # 2..Know Yourself and Know your Opponent. Part One

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Kumite Strategy #1/


Sun Tzu, said that you must "know yourself and know your opponent"...


It's not always necessary to study an opponents physical tendencies before hand, but if you get the chance, especially in a tournament, you should definitely take it.

Here's the thing, human nature, when studied properly, offers up all you will ever need to know about your opponent, and yourself, for that matter. You see, it's not just about knowing how to spot your opponents tendencies, but it's about covering up and disguising your own tendencies.

The first place to start when accessing an opponent, is his or her eyes. Does the opponents eyes foretell the area that is going to be attacked? Vice versa, do you look down when attempting a sweep and up, when attempting a round house kick to the head? If you do, you are giving your opponent ample time to defend and retaliate.

Try this for example next time your sparring, look down at your opponents hips, to get proper positioning and then use your round house kick to their head. If you score with it and your opponent seemed surprised, he or she is watching your eyes. With your particular opponents strategy revealed and they know it's been revealed, you can now either look at the target to be attacked or not, because your opponent now knows that your eyes can't be trusted as an indicator of your attacks.

More human tendencies in Kumite revealed in Part Two...

Don't forget to check out all the exciting books and dvd's on Karate, Martial Arts, Zen, Weapons, Nutrition and Health from the Indulgent Samurai Store...(Amazon.com)


RJF




Monday, January 14, 2008

Kumite Strategy # 1

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Kumite Strategy #1/

The Time and Place to do battle...

You can't always choose the time and place when it comes to a fight, especially if your suddenly attacked out of nowhere.

Even more so in the dojo, but it's still possible to use the space to your advantage. The main point being that you should try to maneuver your opponent into an undesirable position.
In the dojo, that might mean crowding him into the walls or other kumite partners. Perhaps the dojo floor is dirty or slippery, moisten your feet slightly before sparring for better grip and take advantage of your partner when they slip, or don't move in fear of slipping.

If outdoors or indoors, try to familiarize yourself with your surroundings wherever you might find yourself. Evaluate the ground or floor conditions, as well as obstacles, stairways, or hallways that you might be able to maneuver your opponent into. You've probably heard the one of fighting with the sun to your back.

If possible, be in control of the time that the confrontation occurs. If your opponent is raring to go, that might not be the best time for a fight. If it can't be avoided, you may have to resort to throwing him off his game by getting him angry, or confused.

In the dojo, it's always better to choose an opponent who's tired or disinterested in sparring than one who's fresh and itching to get it on.

It's not always possible to choose the time and place for a confrontation, but make sure it's to your advantage and not your opponents.

Don't forget to check out all the exciting books and dvd's on Karate, Martial Arts, Zen, Weapons, Nutrition and Health from the Indulgent Samurai Store...(Amazon.com)


RJF