“If we approach our automatic function through controlled breathing and combine it with visualisations, we can make our reflexes and reactions faster.”
It’s important to be able to move fast in a fight but it is not only how fast our body can move.
It’s probably more important to have good reflexes and fast reactions.
In our modern society, people are using too much brain and not moving their body enough, they don’t link well between their mind and body.
That’s why they can’t react quick enough when they need to.
Also, they take silly actions when they can’t control their emotions.
Those are good examples of not linking the mind and body well.
We should be able to take appropriate reactions quickly when we feel something, without being affected by our emotions.
We can develop that kind of ability through martial arts training and also through our everyday life too.
In dojo training, we can develop that through many repetitions of technique drills with a partner.
One side attack with one technique, and the other side react with defence and counter technique.
When you do that, be careful not to do repetitive actions.
Make sure to react, and try to develop reflexes.
Don’t anticipate and don’t become like a robot.
Also, the most important exercises to develop that kind of speed is,
“TANDEN Breathing” and “Visualisation”
I have mentioned those two words many times in my blogs and videos before, so I don’t go into too much details now, but those two exercises are the keys to deeply connect our mind and body.
Because breathing is one of our body’s automatic functions which we don’t usually think about.
Our body does it by itself without thinking, but we can think about it and can control it too.
According to research results, our body can react from stimulus 0.5 second before our conscious mind makes it move.
We have automatic function of reflex.
So, if we approach our automatic function through controlled breathing and combine it with visualisations, we can make our reflexes and reactions faster.
Also, “TANDEN Breathing” simply makes all our senses sharper.
Through our everyday life, don’t make a habit of thinking too much.
If you make a habit of thinking too much, your body will make a habit of not moving your body until you think about it, so your reflexes and reactions become slow.
You don’t have time to think too much in fights.
Like I mentioned before, our body can react and move 0.5 second earlier than our conscious mind gives a sign to move.
We have to be able to move without thinking.
Also, practice being able to control your emotions.
Always try to be able to make appropriate actions and reactions quickly without thinking too much and without getting affected by emotions.
That way, your body will be able to move and react fast in fights too.
Our lifestyles affect this speed too, such as diet and sleeping, so always try to have a good balanced diet and good quality sleep.
Also, having too much alcohol, cigarettes, and needless to say drugs will destroy our brain cells and nervous systems, so that makes our reflexes and reactions slower.
We can do a lot of things that make this kind of speed faster, so if we make efforts not only in training but also in our everyday life, we can increase our body’s speed, reflexes and reactions faster all through our life!!
