If you practice self-defense techniques without moving your head, you’re asking for trouble, my friend! Here’s a simple head movement drill to help keep you safe!
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Head Movement Drill for Self-Defense
TRANSCRIPT
Howdy. Ando here from Happy Life Martial Arts. In my video, Don’t Be a Bobble Head, we talked about the bad habit of moving your head when you don’t need to. Today, let’s talk about another bad habit in the martial arts—not moving your head when you should.
You see it all the time. People hitting pads, or working the bag, or even sparring with their head stuck in place like a stop sign. Now, if you’ve got an iron chin and you’re tough enough to stand there and trade punches with somebody, hey—I can’t stop you.
Or if you’re the kind of person who says things like, “Dude, I like getting hit. I gotta get punched in the face a couple of times just to get fired up.” Wow—I wish I could stop you. That’s like saying, “You know, I don’t feel like defending myself on the street until I get stabbed a couple of times.” That’s not tough—that’s dumb.
Anyway, if you’re anything like me—not particularly tough and a jaw made out of fine crystal—then I recommend you switch how you think from reaction to action. That means not waiting around to see a punch coming at your face before you decide to start moving your head.
Don’t try to be slick! Instead, make head movement part of your defense and your offense.
You should be making it a habit to move your head before they punch and while you punch them.
Look— if you throw a punch at me and then you just stand there like a stop sign, well, you’re giving me a pretty easy target to hit. I can see you!
But here’s the funny thing—even if you hit me, even if I flinch, even if I go blind and have no idea how to fight and I just start throwing wild swings at the place I just saw you, I still have a chance of connecting and beating you.
How embarrassing—beaten up by a blind, untrained fighter. To avoid that, always hit and move. Practice throwing your combinations and disappearing like a ninja. Well, without the smoke bombs.
Mirror Drill
Try this. Find yourself a mirror. Hey, good-looking.
Now, go grab a piece of tape. Put the tape right on your face in the mirror. I know that doesn’t line up right on camera, but that’s on my face.
Now, back up, throw a punch, and when your hand comes back, if your face is still on that piece of tape, you’ve got a problem, my friend. You just got knocked out!
Instead, practice throwing your punch and when your hand comes back, see if your head can be off of that line.
I’ll do it towards the camera so it makes more sense. Let’s pretend you are the piece of tape. If I throw a punch and my hand comes back, well, I’m right here. You’re going to knock me out. I would rather throw this punch and move my head so that I’m offline.
You can do this with a fade, a little bit back… you can do side to side… and of course, you can do it while attacking, coming straight in. But no matter what you do, don’t be a stop sign. Get off the mark.
Yes, sticking your head out and leaving it there can be useful in drawing a punch, but that’s on purpose. That’s a deliberate strategy. That’s not what I’m talking about today.
Today, I’m recommending that you break the bad habit of standing like a statue inside someone’s punching range. For that matter, I’m not a big fan of shucking and jiving inside of someone’s punching range, either. Those are the two most dangerous strategies possible in a real fight!
When it comes to self-defense, build the habit of either being outside of their range so you can’t get hit or being inside your range and on the attack. If you disagree with that, well, I have another video all about brain damage that you should probably take a look at.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BRAIN!
Oh— and please don’t send me a video of Muhammad Ali or Anderson Silva showing off how slick they are standing in range, and bobbing and weaving, and never getting hit.
If YOU are an elite athlete… and YOU have put in as many hours into your training as they did, well, then sure—go ahead and show off a little bit. But if you’re not, then play it smart—
Keep your hands up and train yourself to hit and move. Otherwise, it’s just a countdown until you’re knocked down.
If you liked this video, thanks for giving it a thumbs up and sharing with a friend. Until next time, keep your head on a swivel, my friend, and keep fighting for a happy life.
