Hey.
Ando again from SenseiAndo.com.
Balance. I get lots of questions about balance.
Usually from people having a hard time throwing high kicks.
Well, good news!
I've got an easy solution for this… stop throwing high kicks.
See you next time.
Yeah, I know.
High kicks are fun.
Besides, keeping your balance is important for every martial artist, whether you’re
a high kicker or not.
In self-defense, if you get pushed, pulled, knocked down, or you fall down on your
own, that usually makes a bad situation even worse.
So, today, I've got one simple exercise-- simple but a little crazy-- one simple, but crazy
exercise to help you improve your balance.
My first martial arts teacher was a guy named Bruce Lee.
Maybe you’ve heard of him.
In his collection of notebooks, the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, he wrote down this advice--
Unbalanced positions.
Hmm.
He also wrote this—
Now, I can’t be sure what Bruce Lee meant, but for me, the big idea was
you shouldn’t always practice your skills the right way, you should also practice them
the wrong way.
That’s because sometimes the best way to learn how to do something is to learn how
to not do something.
So, my advice-- if you want to get better at finding your balance, go throw yourself off-balance.
Seriously— try this.
Instead of losing your balance by accident, lose it on purpose.
Just throw your center of gravity around, chase it, and try to get it back.
The goal here is not to look cool, obviously, it’s just to get better at finding your center
and catching your balance.
Yes, I know... it looks crazy, but it works!
It works because instead of trying to hold your center, you’re actively finding your center.
Think of balance as a verb, not a noun.
Instead of trying to maintain a perfect, frozen state of being, keep moving and adapting.
Just like you would in a real fight.
Now, let’s change the drill up a little.
This time, pretend you’re in a real fight.
Take a big punch, give a big punch.
Too big.
Don’t worry about being perfect.
Take that pressure off yourself and just have some fun being imperfect on purpose.
Get hit, fall down, throw terrible techniques,
and be the worst fighter you can be.
Hey! Want to be even worse?
Close your eyes.
Closing your eyes helps in two different ways.
First, it makes recovering your balance more difficult.
Second, you won’t be able to see everybody laughing at you.
You’ll still hear them, yeah, but at least you won’t see them.
So, take Bruce Lee’s advice—or my interpretation of it anyway— find your balance by spending
some time losing your balance.
I think you’ll find there’s a lot to learn by being imperfect on purpose.
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Until next time, go knock yourself out, then get back up, and keep fighting for a happy life.