HOW TO LEARN HOW TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH DEFENSE! 🥊🥋

What's up, guys? Today, we're diving into a crucial aspect of martial arts that often doesn't get enough attention - defense. I recently got asked about how to stay calm and composed when you're fighting or sparring defensively. First off, let's state the obvious: defense is the hardest thing to get used to in martial arts.

Why Defense is Often Overlooked

It's relatively easy to learn how to throw punches. Heck, that's the fun part! But defense? Not so much. Unfortunately, defense is also the least taught aspect of martial arts. Why is that?

Coaching Issues: A significant part of the problem is that many coaches don't focus on teaching defense. Some coaches, especially those who haven't fought themselves, might not emphasize defensive techniques.

From my experience, the coaches that have the most fights teach the best defense.

I've trained in Thailand, Holland, different states, and countries, and this trend is consistent. Coaches with a wealth of fight experience usually teach the best defense. This isn't to discredit all coaches without fight experience, but it's a pattern I've noticed over the years.

The Learning Curve

Getting used to punches flying at your face takes time. It's not something that happens overnight. There are drills you can do to get better at it, but the reality is that it just takes time and practice.

Proven Defensive Drills

There are plenty of drills designed to improve your defensive skills. Here are a few that I've found particularly effective:

1. Offense-Defense Drills: One person goes on offense while the other focuses solely on defense. However, do these drills slowly.

What often happens is that one person swings wildly while the other just moves a lot or blocks everything. This isn't effective training. Drill at 30-50% speed and power to allow for proper technique execution.
 

2. Choreographed Drills: These involve practicing specific defensive moves in a set pattern. For instance, you might slip, slip, roll, catch, and so on. Practice these slowly to get the techniques down before speeding up.

The Importance of Slow Training

When you train defense, start slow. Punches should come at you at 20-40% speed and power. You might even choreograph the drills to start with. This helps build muscle memory and allows you to chain defensive moves together, just like you would with offensive combinations.

If you can't do something right slow, then you can't do it right fast.

This wisdom applies across all forms of defense, whether it's slipping, parrying, blocking, or countering punches. Drill slow first, then speed up as you get more comfortable.

Common Mistakes in Defensive Training

One common mistake is jumping into hard sparring without a strong defensive foundation. Here's a better approach:

1. Begin Slowly: Focus on deliberate, slow training of specific defenses.
2. Light Sparring: Once you're comfortable with the techniques, engage in light sparring to try them out without the pressure of hard sparring.
3. Incremental Hard Sparring: Start hard sparring with someone less skilled than you. This allows you to try new things without getting overwhelmed.

Research and Refinement

Dedicate as much time to studying defense as you do offense. Look up defensive drills for boxing, kickboxing, grappling, etc., online. YouTube is an excellent resource for this.

How to Integrate Defensive Training

1. Train Slow First: For the first few months, focus on slow, deliberate training.
2. Ask Your Coach: If your coach doesn't emphasize defense, ask them to. If they're a good coach, they'll seek out drills and techniques to help you.
3. Balanced Training: Aim for a 50-50 split in your training between offense and defense.

There's research involved here, guys. This is not just, you watch a video and you can fight like Mike Tyson.

Conclusion

If you're new to martial arts, or even if you're experienced but struggle with defense, the key is to start slow. Focus on deliberate practice, and don't rush into fast sparring before you're ready. Remember to:

1. Train slow and deliberate
2. Incremental sparring
3. Research and refine your techniques

For more detailed guides and tips, check out my book, The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your Martial Arts Instructor. It's packed with advice on finding the right gym and coach.

Leave a comment below with any questions or topics you'd like me to cover in future videos. Thanks for reading, and stay sharp out there!