Training at home
By Sensei Aaron
Training two or more times a week in class is a great way to improve your skill and fitness, but to get the most out of your training you might want to consider some practice you can do at home.
Practicing in your own time is an effective way to reinforce the techniques and drills you've learned in class.
Here are just some of the things you can do at home:
- Push-up's and Sit-up's
- Fighting Stance
- Footwork
- Asterisk Pattern Stick Drill
- Forms
If you're lucky enough to have someone else to train with at home then the number of drills you can practice is only limited by your current level of knowledge.
Push ups and Sit ups
Instead of explaining the proper way to do push ups and sit ups, you should talk to a high ranking black belt in class or check out the online guide from www.ehow.com by typing "push up" in the search box.
Start out by doing a small number of push-up's and sit-up's every day, once you feel comfortable with it (maybe after a week or two) add another five of each. Every week add a couple more and by your next grading you'll fly through them!
Asterisk Pattern Stick Drill
Also called "1 to 9 Angles", the Asterisk Pattern Stick Drill is a very simple exercise you can practice at home, as long as you have your own sticks (or something like a stick).
The first four lines of the drill form a Multiplication Sign:
The second four lines form a Plus Sign:
If you put them all on top of each other they make the asterisk and that's where the drill gets its name:
And here are all the 9 lines in order:
The way I remember the footwork is "1, 2, Step", which just means that you after every second line you step.
I always start off by practicing the 9 slashing lines to make sure the pattern is fresh in my mind before I move on to the witik, stabbing and punio variations.
Once you're confident with the 9 lines in your right hand switch over to your left (remember to put your left foot forward when the stick is in your left hand).
Here's what each belt should be doing:
| Orange | First four lines |
| Yellow | All nine lines |
| Blue | Witik on all lines |
| Green | Stabbing on all lines |
| Purple | Punio on all lines & first four lines with staff |
| Grey | All nine lines with staff |
| Brown | Stabbing on all lines with staff |
Tips:
- Always look around and above you before you practice a stick or staff drill at home, you don't want to break anything!
- Start off slow, focusing on the lines and the technique.
- If you have any doubts or questions bring them with you to the next class and ask your instructor.
- If you don't have a staff of your own a broom handle is a good alternative.
- The order of the lines isn't actually that important. In fact, it's easier if you change the order when you do witik, stabbing and punio strikes. Play around with the order for yourself or ask your instructor for some ideas.
Remember, if you're going to do any exercise at home (or anywhere else) you need to warm-up, just like we do at the start of every class. It's an important part of training and dramatically reduces your risk of injury.
To find out more, or to discuss any special needs or considerations have a chat to one of our senior black belts. All our black belts from 3rd Dan up are nationally accredited martial arts instructors.