Howdy.
Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts.
Welcome to Lesson #4 in your Self-Defense Basics Course.
Let’s get started.
In Lesson #2, we talked about sprinting.
Even a short sprint, maybe 6-10 feet, is a great way to train making a decision and taking
immediate action.
But now, maybe after you warm up with a few of those quick starts, I’m going to challenge
you to take that sprint a little bit farther.
Maybe 50 feet or 50 yards.
Now, hold on.
Before you say, "PFF!
Come on, man!
I wanna learn me some Kung Fu, not track and field!!” let me give you three reasons why
I think sprinting is so important.
First—sprinting is powerful.
It’s one of the most explosive movements you can perform with your body.
I want you to feel that power.
Not just for a split-second, but for few seconds.
Once you feel your body moving through space in one, committed burst of energy, you can
funnel that feeling into any other movement you want to.
And don’t worry about being fastest or strongest person on the planet.
Just hit the gas and see what you can do.
Second reason—sprinting forces your whole body to unite into one coordinated action.
Getting your arms, and your core, and your legs to work together is the foundation for
every self-defense technique you’re ever going to learn.
For example, if you need to punch somebody but you're only using your arm muscles, well,
you’re going to die.
Or if you need to push somebody out of your way but yore doing that just by flapping your
wrists at them—yeah, they’re going to put your head up on the wall.
Next to a moose.
Listen—one of the secrets of martial arts is recruiting your whole body to help you
do whatever it is you need to do—punch, push, or smash somebody over the head with
a pizza box.
So, don’t waste your time practicing a bunch of fancy moves that you’ve seen on TV if
you can’t even sprint across the room without tripping.
Third reason—sprinting is practical.
If someone pulls a knife, run.
If someone starts shooting a gun in a bar, run.
Fire?
Run.
Bomb?
Run.
Lion?
Well, actually, they say you shouldn’t run from a lion.
They say you should make noise and try to appear as large as you can.
But I’m pretty sure I would run anyway.
The point is self-defense doesn’t have to be any fancier than a 50-yard dash.
So, make sprinting a technique that you master.
Make sense?
Great.
Then find a way to work a few sprints into your weekly or daily routine.
And look—if you feel silly going outside and running sprints in front of your neighbors,
no problem—just run in place.
Like this.
Just go for 5 to 15 seconds.
That’s it.
I just want you to feel how focused and powerful you can be.
One quick teaching point.
I know it’s tempting to practice punching and kicking before you practice moving around,
but I think that’s backwards.
It’s backwards because running behind a car, or out the door, or down the street is
a whole lot simpler and safer than going toe-to-toe with an attacker if you don’t have to.
Plus, consider this—position determines everything.
A bad guy can’t hit you if you’re not in the spot they want you to be in.
It’s also true that you can’t hit a bad guy if they’re not in a spot that you want
them to be in.
Whoever can move their feet to the spot they want has the chance to do what they want.
So, again, before you think about punching, or kicking, or choking, let’s get better
at moving.
Okay.
In Lesson #3, we practiced stepping into a stable stance.
When we talk about shuffling, all we’re talking about is moving that stance around
without losing it.
Now, sure—if you’re dealing with just one drunken idiot, you might be able to break
some rules and get away with some funky footwork.
But what if you’re dealing with that drunken idiot and his moron friend hits you from behind
with a pipe?
Or what if you’re at a concert and the crowd turns ugly and suddenly you’re getting hit
and shoved from every direction?
Remember, self-defense is a larger project than just dealing with one loud mouth.
You might find yourself dealing with mayhem on a global scale.
That’s why we should practice habits that will keep us on our feet in any situation.
And for me, that means one foot forward, one foot back, one foot to the left, one foot
to the right… and then being able to move those feet in any direction.
Here’s a quick drill to help get you ready for shuffling.
Now, you might have seen some football players or soccer players doing this drill, but I’m
going to pretend it’s an ancient martial arts secret whispered to me by the ghost of
a warrior monk named Felix.
Start with your feet in a natural stance.
Now just pick up your feet as fast as you can.
Don’t worry about pumping your arms right now, just see how fast you can move your feet.
You can make it harder by widening your feet a little past your shoulders.
This will definitely wake up your thighs and make them cry.
If you want to widen out even farther, go for it.
Okay?
You got that?
Now, let’s apply that to our stance.
This is going to feel awkward at first, particularly the back leg, but keep going.
Don’t forget to keep your chin down and hands up at all times.
Once you have that, let’s move it around.
Move those feet.
Take fast, little steps forward, backward, left and right, circle around…
whatever you want.
Just make sure you stay in your stance.
Hey—want to have some fun?
I shot a video on how to improve your balance and in that video, I suggested throwing yourself
off-balance just so you could practice recovering it.
It looked like this.
Yeah, I know.
That looks crazy.
But I’d rather look a little crazy now, than end up on the ground getting my head
stomped later.
So, after you practice your shuffle with control, try practicing it a little out of control.
Use your imagination.
Pretend you’re working your way through a rowdy crowd to get to the exit, but you’re
getting knocked around like a pinball.
No matter what, stay on your feet.
If you have a friend or two who can push and pull you around a bit, well, that’s even
better.
I don’t, so I don’t have any footage of that.
Another teaching point here.
Many martial art styles practice footwork drills that follow very specific patterns
on the floor.
Maybe an X, or a triangle, or an octagon, or the diagram of a plum blossom.
I respect all of that.
But for right now, I don’t want you to overthink it.
The goal is simply to be able to move anywhere anytime.
When it comes to your footwork, I want you to focus on freedom.
Ah, freedom.
That’s what this whole self-defense project is really about, you know.
Some people think if you train in self-defense, you must be scared or paranoid.
They think training in the martial arts forces you to live in this little box, where you’re
limited in where you go and what you do.
But it’s actually the opposite.
When you’re brave enough to face what frightens, when your’e tough enough to prepare for
what frightens you, then all those fears and worries lose their grip on your mind.
A martial artist should feel free.
Not just because they think outside the box, but because they live outside the box.
Hey—if you’re finding value in this series of videos, please share them with someone
you love.
I’ll see you again in lesson #5.
Until then, keep it moving and keep fighting for a happy life.