Hey, good-lookin'. Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts. They say you have to
learn how to walk before you can run. I say you have to learn how to walk before
you throw a punch or a kick. But I wonder how many martial arts students
have actually taken the time to break down the mechanics of how they walk. I
mean, have you? To be clear, I'm not just talking about how to walk as part of a
smart self-defense strategy. You probably already know you shouldn't
walk around town counting your money or wearing headphones so you can't hear
someone running up on you. You probably also know you shouldn't walk around too
small, looking weak or unsure of where you're going. You also don't want to walk
around too tall, looking cocky, like you're looking for trouble. Do any of
that and eventually you're gonna meet someone you don't want to meet. So, today
I just want to take one basic principle of martial arts movement and apply it to
how you walk. Then you can apply it to everything else. All right. You ready?
Let's take a walk.
Question-- why do people trip and fall? Answer-- because they're diving not
driving. When I say diving, I mean they're moving headfirst through space, like
diving into a pool. It starts with a lean, then a fall, then a catch with the foot.
But that's not really walking, that's falling! Especially if you're in a hurry
or you're texting, your mind takes the lead and tips your weight forward, then
if anything blocks your foot, you stumble and fall flat on your face. So how do you
solve that? Stop diving and start driving. This is exactly what you learn in many
traditional martial arts when you practice stances. When you practice
stances, you don't lean to start a movement. No, first you drop down. You sink
your weight with your head over your feet. Now,
instead of falling into a position, I can push off and drive where I want to go.
The benefit of that is that if something now blocks my foot, I can just stop. I
have better control over my body weight. Now I'm walking smoother and safer.
Here's a challenge for you-- practice walking around your house in slow motion.
This might feel like you're doing Tai Chi, but that's a good thing! By slowing
down, you'll have a chance to study the mechanics of how you move. Ask yourself,
am i leaning, falling, and diving, or am I dropping and driving with control? Of
course, when you build a habit of driving instead of diving, you're going to
improve all of your martial arts skills as well. When you see untrained fighters,
you see wild punches. You see an out-of-control mind diving ahead of an
out of control body.
Now, I'm not saying that leaning and falling behind a strike can't be
powerful or effective. Of course it can! But there's a trade-off. Leaning and
falling wastes a lot of energy. It also opens you up to counters. It also limits
your options to follow up with intelligent combinations. Heck, you might
even throw yourself off balance and fall on the ground without even getting hit.
That's just embarrassing. Hey-- speaking of embarrassing how do you feel about
decapitation? Did you ever notice in horror movies how the killer walks and
stalks very slowly, but the victim is always running around like a goofball?
And what happens? The victim trips and falls. The killer just walks up and cuts
off their head. Now, I'm not telling you to put on a hockey mask and stalk people
with a giant knife, but I do think we should be open-minded enough to learn
from a winning strategy. Let's face it, Jason and Michael and Freddy and
zombies have a very high success rate, they're legends, because they take their
time and stay in control. So, if you want to hold on to your head, hold on to your
head. Drive don't dive.
The big lesson here, on and off the mats, is to stop falling through your life
trying to catch yourself before you trip up. Instead, choose a direction, take a
breath, and drive step by step with control. This is something you can
practice all day, every day, every time you walk somewhere. Think of it as your
Walking Kata. Practice this, my friend, because when you walk like a martial
artist, there's a good chance you're gonna get where you want to go. If you
liked this video, thanks for subscribing to the channel and sharing with a friend.
Until next time, check under the bed and keep fighting
for a happy life.