“Practice at home” Part 1

Everybody put a little extra effort right before an important exam. While you can study and memorize more within a 24 hour time slot, it is impossible to improve your physical baseline within 24 hours. If I tell you that self defense is like a survival exam that always comes unannounced, will you prepare yourself with more urgency? When I ask my students to “practice at home”, I really meant “meaningful practices of body and mind anytime and anywhere starting now” – but of course that is a mouthful.

Given that time is a limited resource, here are some ideas of what you can do to improve your baseline without necessarily taking more time:

• Stretch or maintain a posture or pose (Isometric exercises) as you are sitting watching TV, reading, playing electronic games
• Use your legs and whole body structure to lift something up even though it may be light enough to be lifted using just your arms
• Push the door without extending your arms – use body and stepping instead.
• Choose a spot at home where you will throw a few punches / palm strikes / knees / kicks every time you passes the spot (e.g. bedroom door)
• Try to brush your teeth in a stance or do a stretch during, before or after brushing your teeth. This is something hopefully you do at least once a day if not more.
• Park slightly further away and so you have to walk at a faster pace to get to where you want to go in the same amount of time? or walk up using open staircase instead of using the escalator (Personally, I am not a fan of walking up closed staircases between floors becomes of potential security problems. Be your own judge.)
• Incorporate some training into your daily regiment, for example, do some push ups, sit ups before a daily event (e.g. right before / after from school / work)
• When you wake up, get yourself to switch on 100% even before your coffee. It is hard initially but you will get better over time. When you go to bed, try to really switch it off and feel the muscles relaxing instead of letting your mind wander.
• On entering a restaurant, look at where the washroom, secondary exits are in relationship to where you will be sitting.
• When you are walking along the street, try to walk at a different pace than other pedestrian, extend your awareness of people and things around you (0 – 20 feet).
• Every now and then, check posture and balance. Are you tilted to one side, are your legs crossed together, are you leaning, shoulders raised, slouching, back stiff like a board, etc?
• Think through what you learn the last class, are there concepts and ideas that you can explain in 25 words or less? Try it. If you can’t explain it clearly, chances are that you don’t really understand it either
• Are you doing weight training or other sports already? Can you incorporate martial arts mentality and principles into part of those training

Exercise (you need to email me your response)-

• Can you pick or add onto the above list on what you can do so that this active mindset becomes part of you
• During the last couple of months, have you applied any of principles you learned into your training plans or changed how you interact with /react to other people and things surrounding you? Please describe.
• Email me your answers or simply use the blog’s comment area. I need to see that you are reading, thinking and involved.
• Do you understand nutrition and good eating habits in relationship to reaction time and physical well being? Write down everything you eat or drink this coming week – time of day, quantity, content, home prepared vs take-outs?