After doing some sparring at class today against a teenager, I am interested in increasing my overall speed - I had him in power, but he definitely took me in speed. Any thoughts? How does one become faster - in the martial arts sense, not the running sense.
2014 goals:
1. Run a minimum of 1.5 miles every single day of the year
2. Run 1500 miles in 2014
3. Get my weekly mileage above 40
4. Brown belt in Shaolin Kempo
5. First Half (Oregon Wine Country HM?)
6. PRs: Sub-21 5k, Sub-45 10k, Sub-45 Spartan Sprint, Sub 1:55 HM (Oregon Wine Country HM)
Practice the form and speed will come.
The hardest thing to learn is don't look. We tend to look then strike.
Move your feet first, then your waist. Let your eyes follow the strike.
You open a cabinet and something falls out. You catch it in the air then look in your hand to see what it is.
If you look to see it before you catch it it will brake on the floor.
Stay relaxed. The more muscles that tense up, the less muscles are used for your technique. Strong guys get by because they can muscle through. Small guys get by because they can speed through the technique. Each have something to learn from the other. Strong guys should relax and not force it. Be like water. Small guys need to slow down or tire themselves out and let the technique work itself and not use their speed to race through everything.
The proper order to training any technique is position --> distance --> speed --> power.
Speed comes with lots of practice and sparring. Much of it is muscle memory. We often forget to throw combinations, so people that do that seem much faster. And they are. Just like when you practice katas, and do them 100's of times, you tend to speed them up because you have committed them to muscle memory and instinct. You dont need to think about the next step.
Ask someone new (shirobi) to do a fast kata and they will get lost at some point. They may know the kata at slow speed, but not at a faster pace.
Steve
5K/22:33 10K/47:52 21.1K/1:44:06 42.2K/4:07:372014 Goals: 5K<22:00 10K<45:00 HM<1:40 FM<3:45
I have the same issue. For now, I'm focusing mainly on footwork. I think it's helping. I'm also trying to lose the tension in my shoulders because I know that's slowing me down. I like the priorities Scottaculous gave of position --> distance --> speed --> power. I might remove power all together and replace it with combinations.
veggies on the runMartial Artist Runners
Great advice all - thanks!
The other day, I was doing some light weight lifting, and I decided I'd rather be practicing a form. So, I did one with a weight plate in each hand. I started with just five pounds to get the coordination, and then went up to ten pounds. Then I put the weights down and did the form again, and had lots more snap to every move.
The plates were awkward, so I might buy some D-shaped weights.
The other day, I was doing some light weight lifting, and I decided I'd rather be practicing a form. So, I did one with a weight plate in each hand. I started with just five pounds to get the coordination, and then went up to ten pounds. Then I put the weights down and did the form again, and had lots more snap to every move. The plates were awkward, so I might buy some D-shaped weights.
I've been meaning to try out weighted forms - maybe with your successful report I'll actually get around to it...