Hey, Ando here from Sensei Ando.com. Look, I don’t care what style of martial arts
you practice, there’s one big mistake you can see people making everywhere, and that’s
letting the head either whip or tip for no good reason. You know, like a bobblehead.
Yes, I know, those are extreme examples. I mean, you don’t move like that, do you?
Not so fast. Don’t get cocky. Because if you’re letting your head whip and tip even
a little bit, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. It’s like having a loose wheel
on your car. You may not notice when you’re driving slow speeds and straight ahead, but
once you punch that gas and start making sharp turns, well, that wheel’s going to wobble,
it’s going to pop off, you’re going to wind up flipping over and dying in a fireball.
Not so cocky now, are you?
So, my advice-- tighten the wheel. Don’t let your head wobble. And how do you do that?
Well, you have to attack the root of the problem, but this is where things get tricky. Most
problems in the martial arts stem from either fear, ignorance, or laziness, but in the case
of bobbleheading, I think the problem is different. I think the root cause is delusion. And I’ll
be right back to e xplain what I mean.
Okay, try this experiment. Sit up very straight or even better, stand up straight. Now turn
your head from side to side. A little bit faster. Now, what do you feel? You have a
sensation of motion, right? Of course, your body is not moving at all, but you feel like
you’re moving. Now move your head more quickly. Feels like you’re pretty fast. Now whip
your head and start and stop. That feels pretty strong. It feels like you’re powerful. Of
course, none of this is true. It’s all an illusion. And if you believe in this illusion
of speed ad power, well, then it becomes a delusion.
Here’s how this delusion slips its way into your training. Maybe you’re practicing punches,
right? But you’re feeling like, that’s not fast enough. These aren’t strong enough.
So, what do you do? Shake your head. Now it feels fast. Now it feels strong. Or maybe
you’re throwing front kicks. You’re thinking, it’s pretty good, but that’s not going
to get me my next belt. So, what can I do to make this faster and stronger? Well, I
can rock my head. Sure feels faster and stronger. Maybe you’re trying to win a trophy at your
next tournament. So, you’re thinking, I can’t win with that. That’s not good enough.
So, what do you do? You shake your head around. I know it feels so real. You really do feel
like you’re working harder. You’re faster, you’re stronger. But that’s all an illusion.
It’s all in your head. Literally. The only thing you’re actually accomplishing is beating
yourself up.
Think about it—when a bad guy attacks you, what does he want? He wants to knock you out.
He wants to shake your brain around and disorient you. He wants to bounce your brain around
inside your skull so you get a concussion. Well, when you whip and tip your own head,
when you’re a bobblehead, you’re doing all the work for him! You’re helping him!
You’re shaking and bouncing your own brain. That’s got to stop right now.
To be clear here, I’m not talking about slipping and fading, or bobbing and weaving—those
are all practiced head movements that you should be doing on purpose. I’m talking
about tipping and whipping your head around just because it makes you feel faster and
stronger. Look, instead of moving your head around, you should be focused on improving
your technique. Challenge yourself to develop your speed and your power without moving your
head.
Remember— when you’re training in the martial arts and self-defense, your number
one priority should be your head. I mean, you can take a shot to the leg and still fight
back. You can take a shot to the arm and still fight back. But take one good shot to the
head and that might be it. So, use your head--don’t use your head. Make your techniques better
instead. If you liked that tip and you don’t want to miss the next one, make sure you hit
subscribe. Even better, find the link to sign up for my free email updates. Until next time,
heads up, my friend, and keep fighting for a happy life.