Howdy. Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts. In my video "Don't Be a Bobble Head,"
we talked about the bad habit of moving your head when you don't need to. Today,
let's talk about another bad habit in the martial arts-- not moving your head when you should.
You see this all the time-- people hitting pads, or working the
bag, or even sparring, with their heads stuck in place like a stop sign.
Now, if you've got an iron chin and you're tough enough to stand there and trade punches
with somebody, hey-- I can't stop you. Or if you're the kind
of person who says things like, "Dude I like getting hit. I gotta get punched in
the face a couple of times just to get fired up." Wow, I wish I could stop you.
That's like saying, "You know I don't feel like defending myself on the street
until I get stabbed a couple of times." That's not tough that's just dumb. Anyway,
if you're anything like me not particularly tough and a jaw made out of
fine crystal, then I recommend you switch how you think from reaction to action
that means not waiting around to see a punch coming at your face before you
decide to move your head. Don't try to be slick. Make head movement part of your
defense and your offense. You should be making it a habit to move your head
before they punch you and while you punch them. Look, if you throw a punch at
me and then you just stand there like a stop sign, well you're giving me a pretty
easy target to hit. I can see you. But here's the funny thing--
even if you hit me, even if I flinch, even if I go blind and have no idea how to
fight and I just start throwing wild swings at the place I just saw you, I
still have a chance of connecting and beating you. Talk about embarrassing.
Beaten up by a blind, untrained fighter. To avoid that, always hit and move.
Practice throwing your combinations and
disappearing like a ninja. Well, without the smoke bombs. Try this-- find yourself a
mirror. Hey, good-looking. Now go grab a piece of tape. Put the tape
right on your face in the mirror. I know that doesn't line up right on camera, but
that's on my face. Now back up, throw a punch, and when your hand comes back if
your face is still on that piece of tape, you've got a problem my friend. You just
got knocked out. Instead, practice throwing your punch and
when your hand comes back, see if your head can be off of that line.
I'll do it towards the camera so it makes more sense. Let's pretend you are
the piece of tape. If I throw a punch and my hand comes back, well I'm right here.
You're gonna knock me out. I would rather throw this punch move my
head so that I'm offline. You can do this with a fade, a little bit back, you can do
this side to side ,and of course, you can do it while attacking, coming straight in.
But no matter what you do, don't be a stop sign.
Get off the mark. Yes, sticking your head out and leaving it there can be useful
in drawing a punch, but that's on purpose. that's a deliberate strategy. That's not
what I'm talking about today. Today, I'm recommending that you break the bad
habit of standing like a statue inside someone's punching range. For that matter
I'm not a big fan of shucking and jiving inside of someone's punching range
either. Those are the two most dangerous strategies possible in a real fight. When
it comes to self-defense, build the habit of either being outside
of their range so you can't get hit or inside your range and be on the attack.
If you disagree with that, well I have another video all about brain damage
that you should probably take a look at. Oh, and please don't send me a video of
Muhammad Ali or Anderson Silva showing off how slick they are standing in range
and bobbing and weaving and never getting hit. If you are an elite athlete
and you have put as many hours into your training as they did, well then sure go
ahead and show off a little bit, but if you're not then play it smart-- keep your
hands up and train yourself to hit and move. Otherwise, it's just a countdown
until you're knocked down. If you liked this video, thanks for giving it a thumbs
up and sharing with a friend. Until next time, keep your head on a swivel my
friend, and keep fighting for a happy life.