Move Slower to get Faster

I know it's hard for some to believe but the fact remains that in order to move with lightning speed and power one must be able to move with a unitized body and the only way to achieve this in short order is by moving "extremely slow" in the beginning and then gradually begin to increase your speed along with the timing of your strikes in relation to your entire body. By moving your body in a unitized manner it ensures that not only are you able to strike with power but you are able to maintain the full range of motion with your arms and legs since it prevents you from getting over extended or over committed allowing you to fight within your Sphere of Influence.

While body types may vary the one thing that remains constant is that every person's arms and legs are just long enough for them to protect their bodies, providing that they do not try to fight beyond their "Sphere of Influence". Your sphere of influence if you will recall extends as far as you can strike with your arms and legs with power from the center of your body in every direction. There are some who call this sphere your "personal comfort zone" or "zone of influence" we prefer the concept of a sphere since the fight can truly come from any angle possible, therefore your need to be able to fight in any direction from virtually any position even from the ground, whereas "zones" at least in my mind represents linear thinking and is limited in its application.

Anyway...

When you move you want to bring the whole package and not just your arms and legs, but your whole body. Moving from your center of gravity, aligning your body and striking from your center outward. And of course using the principles of balance, looseness, sensitivity, which culminate in what we call Body Unity or "Grace." Again this can be accomplished by first moving slowly then gradually picking up the speed ensuring you control your center of gravity as you either step or transfers your body from one root point to the next. This body transference must be smooth and even.

This quality is the culmination of your timing or muscular control along with balance, sensitivity, body unity and looseness, which if developed allows you to move as little as necessary in order to strike with maximum and lethal power wherever and whenever. When performing the Contact Flow exercises the continuous movement forces you to become totally immersed in the movement. Through total immersion training the body begins to work on autopilot and thus flows with the program even if the cognitive or left side of the brain cannot fathom what is going on. This idea falls in line with the Zen Warrior Monk concept of "Mushin" in which you become totally immersed so that your subconscious mind can learn.

THE SIXTH SENSE
Now, before you think I've gone off the deep end or think that I'm talking about "seeing dead people," far from it. What I am talking about here is using the senses that you already have. For levitation, Yogic flying or talking with spirits, none of which will make you a better fighter mind you, you'll have to go elsewhere for that nonsense.

Bruce Lee once stated that you want to train all of your senses to the point where they "trip" over into having sort of a "sixth sense," or words to that effect. Either through training or astute observation Bruce Lee had it right. The only flaw I find in his theory was the methodology he used to get there. To be fair Bruce Lee was a rare exceptional talent and philosophically speaking we agree on many points of martial training. If you read the first 30 pages of "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" in a nutshell that really is it. However, when you delve into the "how to" aspects the rest of the book is lacking because it still relies on many of the same techniques that generally would only work for the most physically gifted fighters (i.e., Bruce Lee et. al).

HOW DOES IT WORK
By moving slowly allowing your sensitivity to drive your actions, it will enable you to stay several steps ahead of what the other person is doing. By staying as loose and sensitive as possible you will begin to also learn how to defeat another person's movement even before they have a chance to strike. Training in this fashion is referred to as "neuronic" or "neural training" and must be progressive in nature to be of any value. As muscle and tendon fibers are stimulated and broken down the nerves connected to them become stimulated as it "shocks" your system. This triggers the neural muscular anatomy to develop new nerve endings and neural connections between the body and the brain to develop greater speed, strength, coordination or finesses (i.e., skill). This is why we start off "extremely" and "painfully slow" then gradually picking up speed constantly upping the ante with various exercises (i.e., progressively).

By continually confusing the muscles you continue to shock the neural muscular anatomy allowing you to progress and not "plateau" in your development. This concept encompasses all facets of the art and is essential toward the development of its foundational principles of balance, looseness, sensitivity, body unity and freedom of action.

PROPRIOCEPTION THE REAL SIXTH SENSE
Proprioception: [n] The ability to sense the position, location orientation and movement of the body and its parts.

There are five common senses that are generally learned from an early age: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. The conscious part of the brain also known as our Conscious Mind or the "I-function," which is very aware of these senses voluntarily checks information obtained by these senses or when a strong enough stimuli has signaled the attention to these specific receptors in order for us to experience the environment around us. However, how does this explain how we are able to distinguish objects based on mere feel? React to or interpret what we see whether it is danger or not?

Like the old philosophical question: "If you were in a room with no light getting in and it were completely dark, could you still see? While the answer is yes, what is not stated or asked is "what" you can see or describe because the context and meaning of the information is equally if not more important that what our senses can perceive.

The point being that having the ability to see, hear, taste, smell and touch while important are meaningless if one is unable to instantly interpret the information coming in and understand its meaning. One overlooked sense, known as "Proprioception," often referred too as the "Sixth Sense" is as important, if not more important as the other senses, for normal functioning.

Proprioception is also "... the process by which the body can vary muscle contraction in immediate response to incoming information regarding external forces." Regardless of fighting system or physical activity for that matter in order to develop the skills necessary for dealing with the randomness of real violence one must develop an appreciation for the importance the role proprioception training plays in developing one's fighting skill.

Proprioception encompasses so many areas of the body and the sensory information being processed, that if the conscious mind, which can only focus on a few aspects at once, had to be responsible for all of the input coming in from all the different muscles, the confusion would be overwhelming and the conscious mind would be useless in making decisions at the speed necessary, because it would need to think first. Thinking takes time, whereas the unconscious nervous system responds immediately through processes hard wired to specifically deal with the type and amount of input coming in.

Proprioception allows the brain to develop without having to be bothered with all functioning of the body. This unconscious system allow a lot to get done at once or what we call "Multi Tasking", which allows the conscious mind to spend time learning new skills without being inhibited by the large amount of stimulus needed for a successful functioning of the body. By and large, we tend to take proprioception for granted, thinking it completely unremarkable that, for example, we know at all times where our hands and feet are even if we cannot see them. Understanding this we can learn the following:

1. A sense of position. For example, we can 'feel' where our feet are in relation to our arms when striking.

2. A sense of movement. We can accurately feel the speed and direction of the movement of our limbs. This allows us to co-ordinate our limbs in relation to our bodies and sense of balance while we are moving.

3. A sense of force. This is about the amount of effort a muscle needs to make to produce an accurate movement, which is particularly important when flowing, sticking, pulsing, bouncing people or dropping into strikes.

Below are some other key terms related to Proprioception, which are important to our understanding toward developing superior skill.

PERCEPTION:
1. Becoming aware of something via the senses
2. The process of perceiving
3. Knowledge gained by perceiving

[Perception is what in truth drives your sensitivity since it places the stimuli you feel into context. This is more mental than it is physical and therefore one must not limit their responses solely on what they can physically feel but what they "mentally perceive" is going on.]

KINESTHESIA:
The ability to know where your body parts are in 3-dimensional space

[This is influenced by your sensitivity and your ability to control your body in relation to your opponent based on what you feel in three- dimensional space]

SENSITIVITY:
1. The ability to respond to effective changes in your interpersonal environment
2. The ability to respond to physical stimuli or to register small physical amounts or differences
3. Physiology responsiveness to external stimuli

[It is your sensitivity, both kinesthetic awareness and spatial awareness, which drive all of the other principles and allows you to develop your proprioception to the nth degree. This is the catalyst for all body unity.]

EQUILIBRIUM:
1. Equality of distribution
2. Stable situation in which forces cancel one another

[This relates directly to your ability to root or balance but it goes much deeper than that since you want to develop a root that know one can find. In turn by developing greater control of your equilibrium you are able to hide your root and thus control theirs. Controlling balance or your equilibrium as with sensitivity is just as much as mental process as it is a physical one.]

For more info on the author, please visit attackproof.com.

Tweet

I know it's hard for some to believe but the fact remains that in order to move with lightning speed and power one must be able to move with a unitized body and the only way to achieve this in short order is by moving "extremely slow" in the beginning and then gradually begin to increase your speed along with the timing of your strikes in relation to your entire body. By moving your body in a unitized manner it ensures that not only are you able to strike with power but you are able to maintain the full range of motion with your arms and legs since it prevents you from getting over extended or over committed allowing you to fight within your Sphere of Influence. While body types may vary the one thing that remains constant is that every person's arms and legs are just long enough for them to protect their bodies, providing that they do not try to fight beyond their "Sphere of Influence". Your sphere of influence if you will recall extends as far as you can strike with your arms and legs with power from the center of your body in every direction. There are some who call this sphere your "personal comfort zone" or "zone of influence" we prefer the concept of a sphere since the fight can truly come from any angle possible, therefore your need to be able to fight in any direction from virtually any position even from the ground, whereas "zones" at least in my mind represents linear thinking and is limited in its application. Anyway... When you move you want to bring the whole package and not just your arms and legs, but your whole body. Moving from your center of gravity, aligning your body and striking from your center outward. And of course using the principles of balance, looseness, sensitivity, which culminate in what we call Body Unity or "Grace." Again this can be accomplished by first moving slowly then gradually picking up the speed ensuring you control your center of gravity as you either step or transfers your body from one root point to the next. This body transference must be smooth and even. This quality is the culmination of your timing or muscular control along with balance, sensitivity, body unity and looseness, which if developed allows you to move as little as necessary in order to strike with maximum and lethal power wherever and whenever. When performing the Contact Flow exercises the continuous movement forces you to become totally immersed in the movement. Through total immersion training the body begins to work on autopilot and thus flows with the program even if the cognitive or left side of the brain cannot fathom what is going on. This idea falls in line with the Zen Warrior Monk concept of "Mushin" in which you become totally immersed so that your subconscious mind can learn. THE SIXTH SENSE Now, before you think I've gone off the deep end or think that I'm talking about "seeing dead people," far from it. What I am talking about here is using the senses that you already have. For levitation, Yogic flying or talking with spirits, none of which will make you a better fighter mind you, you'll have to go elsewhere for that nonsense. Bruce Lee once stated that you want to train all of your senses to the point where they "trip" over into having sort of a "sixth sense," or words to that effect. Either through training or astute observation Bruce Lee had it right. The only flaw I find in his theory was the methodology he used to get there. To be fair Bruce Lee was a rare exceptional talent and philosophically speaking we agree on many points of martial training. If you read the first 30 pages of "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" in a nutshell that really is it. However, when you delve into the "how to" aspects the rest of the book is lacking because it still relies on many of the same techniques that generally would only work for the most physically gifted fighters (i.e., Bruce Lee et. al). HOW DOES IT WORK By moving slowly allowing your sensitivity to drive your actions, it will enable you to stay several steps ahead of what the other person is doing. By staying as loose and sensitive as possible you will begin to also learn how to defeat another person's movement even before they have a chance to strike. Training in this fashion is referred to as "neuronic" or "neural training" and must be progressive in nature to be of any value. As muscle and tendon fibers are stimulated and broken down the nerves connected to them become stimulated as it "shocks" your system. This triggers the neural muscular anatomy to develop new nerve endings and neural connections between the body and the brain to develop greater speed, strength, coordination or finesses (i.e., skill). This is why we start off "extremely" and "painfully slow" then gradually picking up speed constantly upping the ante with various exercises (i.e., progressively). By continually confusing the muscles you continue to shock the neural muscular anatomy allowing you to progress and not "plateau" in your development. This concept encompasses all facets of the art and is essential toward the development of its foundational principles of balance, looseness, sensitivity, body unity and freedom of action. PROPRIOCEPTION THE REAL SIXTH SENSE Proprioception: [n] The ability to sense the position, location orientation and movement of the body and its parts. There are five common senses that are generally learned from an early age: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. The conscious part of the brain also known as our Conscious Mind or the "I-function," which is very aware of these senses voluntarily checks information obtained by these senses or when a strong enough stimuli has signaled the attention to these specific receptors in order for us to experience the environment around us. However, how does this explain how we are able to distinguish objects based on mere feel? React to or interpret what we see whether it is danger or not? Like the old philosophical question: "If you were in a room with no light getting in and it were completely dark, could you still see? While the answer is yes, what is not stated or asked is "what" you can see or describe because the context and meaning of the information is equally if not more important that what our senses can perceive. The point being that having the ability to see, hear, taste, smell and touch while important are meaningless if one is unable to instantly interpret the information coming in and understand its meaning. One overlooked sense, known as "Proprioception," often referred too as the "Sixth Sense" is as important, if not more important as the other senses, for normal functioning. Proprioception is also "... the process by which the body can vary muscle contraction in immediate response to incoming information regarding external forces." Regardless of fighting system or physical activity for that matter in order to develop the skills necessary for dealing with the randomness of real violence one must develop an appreciation for the importance the role proprioception training plays in developing one's fighting skill. Proprioception encompasses so many areas of the body and the sensory information being processed, that if the conscious mind, which can only focus on a few aspects at once, had to be responsible for all of the input coming in from all the different muscles, the confusion would be overwhelming and the conscious mind would be useless in making decisions at the speed necessary, because it would need to think first. Thinking takes time, whereas the unconscious nervous system responds immediately through processes hard wired to specifically deal with the type and amount of input coming in. Proprioception allows the brain to develop without having to be bothered with all functioning of the body. This unconscious system allow a lot to get done at once or what we call "Multi Tasking", which allows the conscious mind to spend time learning new skills without being inhibited by the large amount of stimulus needed for a successful functioning of the body. By and large, we tend to take proprioception for granted, thinking it completely unremarkable that, for example, we know at all times where our hands and feet are even if we cannot see them. Understanding this we can learn the following: 1. A sense of position. For example, we can 'feel' where our feet are in relation to our arms when striking. 2. A sense of movement. We can accurately feel the speed and direction of the movement of our limbs. This allows us to co-ordinate our limbs in relation to our bodies and sense of balance while we are moving. 3. A sense of force. This is about the amount of effort a muscle needs to make to produce an accurate movement, which is particularly important when flowing, sticking, pulsing, bouncing people or dropping into strikes. Below are some other key terms related to Proprioception, which are important to our understanding toward developing superior skill. PERCEPTION: 1. Becoming aware of something via the senses 2. The process of perceiving 3. Knowledge gained by perceiving [Perception is what in truth drives your sensitivity since it places the stimuli you feel into context. This is more mental than it is physical and therefore one must not limit their responses solely on what they can physically feel but what they "mentally perceive" is going on.] KINESTHESIA: The ability to know where your body parts are in 3-dimensional space [This is influenced by your sensitivity and your ability to control your body in relation to your opponent based on what you feel in three- dimensional space] SENSITIVITY: 1. The ability to respond to effective changes in your interpersonal environment 2. The ability to respond to physical stimuli or to register small physical amounts or differences 3. Physiology responsiveness to external stimuli [It is your sensitivity, both kinesthetic awareness and spatial awareness, which drive all of the other principles and allows you to develop your proprioception to the nth degree. This is the catalyst for all body unity.] EQUILIBRIUM: 1. Equality of distribution 2. Stable situation in which forces cancel one another [This relates directly to your ability to root or balance but it goes much deeper than that since you want to develop a root that know one can find. In turn by developing greater control of your equilibrium you are able to hide your root and thus control theirs. Controlling balance or your equilibrium as with sensitivity is just as much as mental process as it is a physical one.] For more info on the author, please visit attackproof.com.