Balance

Not sure if this is the right place to post, But im curious what some of you have done to attain a greater balance in your movements?

well balance is just muscular contraction so i suppose weight lifting

stabelize your core when you move, and try to control all your movement outward from your core. your body can;t act as a unit if its seperated in the middle so anything you do with an unstable core will be worth squat and only serve to unballance you and open you to attack. then, pratice moveing slowly over and over and over and over.....building the ballance over time.

then, when you've had your fill of that. pratice moving as fast as you can. my sensei says to move as fast as you need to to catch your opponent, not to even think about ballance. trust in your training, if you fail then train more.

generally slowy first, then getting faster and faster till you start working with a partner to bring it up even more.

repetetion, you better get used to it if you enjoy the martial arts.

I do Tai Chi and Yoga. Try stnding on one foot with your eyes closed, just whenever you have a minute throughout the day. The Tai Chi and yoga heped me more though. Relaxation really is the key to good balance.

Get a partner, and have both of you stand on one leg. Try to push each other over, as you move around, for 30 seconds.

Be careful! Work on the grass or on mats, so you don't bust your head open if you fall.

Balance is made up of three components: Visual, inner ear and tactile (feeling your body in relation to the ground, generally through the feet and being aware of your body posture/position). Humans are like electricity, we tend to take the path of least resistance. Hence we generally tend to over rely on the visual component of balance and do not develop the other two.....unless we become blind.

To improve your overall balance you will need to train regularly. Following are some simple drills you can do a few minutes each day.

- Stand normally and slowly lift one leg/foot off the ground a specific height. Hold it in place for 20-60 seconds then do the other leg. Repeat several times and try not to move the foot that is still on the ground.

- Same drill but now close your eyes before you lift the foot/leg off the ground. Try not to flail. Harder?

- Eyes open, lift the leg now slowly swing and move the raised leg around trying to make your movements smooth and continuous with no flailing or arm waving.

- Same drill but now do it with your eyes closed.

- Find an open space, stand on one leg and move the other one around. Every so often roll to the round forward, backwards, sidewise, etc, make the roll smooth and continue the movement so you return to standing on one leg. Oh, and do not allow the leg that was in the air to touch the ground. I.E. you return to standing using only the one leg.

- Same drill but eyes closed. (See a pattern?)

- If you do not have an exercise ball or Pilate’s ball I highly recommend getting on of these versatile tools. Sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Make slow circles and figure 8's with your pelvis, keeping your feet on the floor. Be smooth. Do this eyes opened and closed.

- Now raise your feet off of the ground and balance your body on the ball. Notice that large muscle movement will roll you off the ball. Learn to use the small stabilizer muscles for movement and relax the large muscle groups. Oh yeah, do not forget to breathe.

- Same drill of sitting on the ball but now close your eyes. Make sure nothing hard is close to you.

- Once you are comfortable sitting on the ball with your feet off the ground slowly roll so your back is now lying on the ball. Hang out here for awhile then roll up so you are back to a seated position. Also do eyes closed.

- Lay on the ball with you belly and learn to balance making sure your feet/hands do not touch the ground. This really helps one find his/her center of gravity. Of course doing it with your eyes closed is much harder.

- Kneel on the ball and repeat the drills above.

- Standing on the ball is probably the pinnacle but not necessary. If you try this I suggest having a partner or two to help you out. Getting on and off the ball is difficult and dangerous.

Once you feel comfortable with some of these drills but a backpack on with 20 or pounds and do them all again. The change in your center of gravity helps throws everything off and the body learns to feel what is there instead of relying on past experience.

Through it all remember to relax, breathe and move smoothly.

Take care,

Mark J.

Lots of good suggestions there Mark. Some are very challenging.

Here are some tips to help on balance
(when standing on one leg for example)

-adjust ur breathing to inhale to core
-control yourself from core
-tuck shoulders in
-bend your knee

Those are some great drills Mark.

One that I made up for the ball is to kneel on it, like the 'knee on belly' position in grappling, and throw punches at focus mits held lower by my partner. Another is just to kneel on the ball and 'knee walk' on it, trying to align the movement of the ball with my movement.


--Chris

when you try standing on one leg with your eyes open fix your vision on one spot.

I've noticed my balance had deteriorated a little in recent years. I suspect it is to do with the tinnitus.