How to be fast when you're slow

[Bill Mattocks]

Speed, generally speaking, is good. We should try our best to develop our speed in martial arts, but not by sacrificing power or technique or balance. However, some people are faster than others naturally. How can a slower martial artist survive?

First, be aware that speed often encourages bad techniques. People who are naturally fast often depend on their speed and neglect basics. Notice those weaknesses to exploit them when you can.

Second, learn to detect motion that telegraphs attacks. Before the fist can fly, the arm must move. Train yourself to react to the movements that announce attacks. You don't have to be faster if your response starts sooner.

Third, learn distancing. This is the art of putting yourself at the correct distance for you, depending on the situation and physical characteristics of the person you face. Ideally you will be out of their range but able to hit them. There are myriad methods for doing the latter, including...

Bend the knees. It unlocks the hips, allowing the body to rotate and extend the punch.
Turn the body so the opponent's strong side is furthest away. That might mean training yourself to lead left.
Practice body shifting. Learn to let your body move in, out, turning, and moving to the sides. When made automatic, this can keep you out of range of even fast opponents.

Speed is a characteristic. It can be hard to overcome, but it is not impossible. Attack the other characteristics. Balance, power, breathing, stances, transitions, and so on. It can be as simple as crowding or even tackLing the opponent, or as complex as baiting them into overreaching their own guard whilst you slide inside and end it with a strike or a takedown.

We have a young brown belt in our dojo who is chained lightning. So fast! He tells me he doesn't like to spar me because I'm so quick. Balderdash, I'm slow! But he has tells, he telegraphs his movements, and he fears being crowded by a huge person. I stay out of his range, work him into a corner, let him overextend with a flashy kick, and slide inside to wreck him. Sometimes I have to pay with some bruises before I can play my knuckle music, but not always. Fast, I'm not.

 

[SenseiHitman]

When speaking of speed their is speed from athleticism, then their is speed from experience. ( I am assuming proper from in both instances) Speed from athleticism leads to the ability to throw multiple powerful and effective tech. in a moments notice. Speed from experience gets the fight over faster. The two types of speed work together. No matter how hard one trains, as time passes athleticism fades away, as it fades away speed from experience replaces it.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I have had the advantage of having all varieties of slow. This fashed me mightily until I learned to look at it from the other side.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Fast is athleticism, speed, short for Godspeed, comes form knowing what makes you faster.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

One word of warning for the second tip, if you do look for telegraphing, make sure not to make this obvious, as it allows the person to do quicker feints if you are primed to react without needing the full movement.
Also, focus on conserving energy. If you can keep your energy and momentum while causing them to gas out by missing or just expending more energy, there will be a distinct shift in who is 'faster'.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

One word of warning for the second tip, if you do look for telegraphing, make sure not to make this obvious, as it allows the person to do quicker feints if you are primed to react without needing the full movement.
Also, focus on conserving energy. If you can keep your energy and momentum while causing them to gas out by missing or just expending more energy, there will be a distinct shift in who is 'faster'.

Good points, thanks!

With regard to fakes, I agree, but since I also believe that a committed response can become whatever it needs to be, I just throw that technique and flow with it, hopefully salvaging a hit from a busted technique. Granted I might get popped if they are advanced enough to do something like fake low hit or kick high. I've eaten a kick or two that way. But for SD, I really don't see that happening a lot.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Good points, thanks!

With regard to fakes, I agree, but since I also believe that a committed response can become whatever it needs to be, I just throw that technique and flow with it, hopefully salvaging a hit from a busted technique. Granted I might get popped if they are advanced enough to do something like fake low hit or kick high. I've eaten a kick or two that way. But for SD, I really don't see that happening a lot.

Absolutely agree regarding SD, my points were primarily directed towards sparring.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Second, learn to detect motion that telegraphs attacks. Before the fist can fly, the arm must move. Train yourself to react to the movements that announce attacks. You don't have to be faster if your response starts sooner.

You could have just posted this one tip since it works extremely well. People think that I'm fast but in reality I just get a head start. lol. The other instructor uses the same techniques and when we drill he jokes that it's almost like cheating. I still train speed, but I don't give it as such a high rating as before. I used to think speed was everything but it isn't.

 

[Buka]

Do any of you folks do any speed work - exercises or drills to increase your speed?

 

[JowGaWolf]

Do any of you folks do any speed work - exercises or drills to increase your speed?

Yes. My speed training = doing my forms as fast as I can and doing some Chin Na drills to help improve the speed.

 

[drop bear]

Do any of you folks do any speed work - exercises or drills to increase your speed?

Same as jow gar pretty much. I just punch the pads faster and harder.

Most people dont because they are trying to last the round.

But in reality you should be crawling after a pad round.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Yes Buka, all the time and that is an excellent point. This really should be an important point in anyone's training. Maximize your attributes through specific drills designed to improve them as well as weight and cardiovascular training. (both aerobic and anaerobic) This will allow you to implement your skill sets!

I have been told in the past that I will never be outmatched with pure speed. As I grow older of course this is changing. However, my timing and distance control is better now than when I was in my twenties. So I am able to compensate.

Bill hits a lot of points regarding controlling the distance and understanding of how you work with distances. See the slow moving parts of your opponent as they will tell you what they are going to do. ie. hips, shoulders

Timing is important as well and should be cultivated at every opportunity during your training.

First, be aware that speed often encourages bad techniques. People who are naturally fast often depend on their speed and neglect basics. Notice those weaknesses to exploit them when you can.

I know so many people who are incredibly fast but also have spectacular technique. So while this may play out with some individuals it definitely is not the norm in my experience! It would be a mistake to count on this!

 

[JR 137]

After a few months of consistent heavy bag training, my hand speed is increased dramatically. It wasn't because I kept trying to get faster; actually, I was just trying to get better technically. I focused on correct form, posture, and keeping my guard up. I videotaped myself, watched it in slo-mo, and kept my mistakes and how to fix them in my head. Punching fast haphazardly is a wast of time, unless all you're looking for is cardio conditioning, Billy Blanks style.

But far more important than speed is what I consider being sharp, which is basically what I think you guys are saying too...

Recognizing openings, being at the proper distance, timing your technique correctly, hitting those openings with accuracy, hitting those openings with the right technique, and performing said technique with proper mechanics are cumulatively what I call being sharp. You can have the fastest hands and feet the world has ever seen, but if you're not sharp, being that fast won't carry you too far. It'll be enough to beat up on the beginners and a few steps up, but that's really it.

One of these days I'll be fast as lightning and razor sharp. One of these days. I'll get back to you when that happens.

 

[Don Johnson]

Several great points already made in this thread. At 51, I admit that I'm not as athletically fast as I was at 21. That's ok though. It requires time and practice to develop true speed. Very few of the younger crowd have developed their skills to fully incorporate my following Ten Secrets to Become Faster...

1. Distance management. If you are at least just out of their range, they have to move their entire body toward you to strike. Pretty easy to see them coming.

2. Linear Kicks. Legs are longer and stronger. Kicks such as front thrust, side, and back can stop the opponents movement toward you before the opponent is ever close enough to hit you.

3. Action vs reaction. Be the first to strike, especially in Self Defense. By definition, action is always faster.

4. Eliminate waste. 1 is faster than 1-2. Most people can literally double their speed by eliminating unnecessary movement. The most common example is moving the front foot 4-6 inches toward the opponent before executing the intended technique. Stop it!

Another practical application is that if you must block, strike at the same time. Block and Strike is faster than Block then Strike.

5. Alternating Combinations. Alternating sides doubles speed when you throw more than one technique. For example, two punches thrown when thrown left-right will always be faster than left-left or right-right. The second strike is reaching the target while the first is re-chambering.

6. Target selection. Some targets produce trauma in the opponent. Some render them unconscious. Some hurt more now. Some hurt more later. To accomplish your desired result faster, know your purpose and choose your targets appropriately.

7. Accuracy. As we say in firearms, there is no such thing as a fast miss. You must not only know your targets, you must hit them.

8. Good technique. In firearms there is an old saying that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Good technique is efficient and thus fast.

9. Relax-Explode. When one is tense, resistance against movement exist. Relax until time to strike, then explode directly to the target.

10. Think fast. To get anything, you must first decide that you want it. If you want to be faster, then think about becoming faster, expect it, and work for it.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Several great points already made in this thread. At 51, I admit that I'm not as athletically fast as I was at 21. That's ok though. It requires time and practice to develop true speed. Very few of the younger crowd have developed their skills to fully incorporate my following Ten Secrets to Become Faster...

1. Distance management. If you are at least just out of their range, they have to move their entire body toward you to strike. Pretty easy to see them coming.

2. Linear Kicks. Legs are longer and stronger. Kicks such as front thrust, side, and back can stop the opponents movement toward you before the opponent is ever close enough to hit you.

3. Action vs reaction. Be the first to strike, especially in Self Defense. By definition, action is always faster.

4. Eliminate waste. 1 is faster than 1-2. Most people can literally double their speed by eliminating unnecessary movement. The most common example is moving the front foot 4-6 inches toward the opponent before executing the intended technique. Stop it!

Another practical application is that if you must block, strike at the same time. Block and Strike is faster than Block then Strike.

5. Alternating Combinations. Alternating sides doubles speed when you throw more than one technique. For example, two punches thrown when thrown left-right will always be faster than left-left or right-right. The second strike is reaching the target while the first is re-chambering.

6. Target selection. Some targets produce trauma in the opponent. Some render them unconscious. Some hurt more now. Some hurt more later. To accomplish your desired result faster, know your purpose and choose your targets appropriately.

7. Accuracy. As we say in firearms, there is no such thing as a fast miss. You must not only know your targets, you must hit them.

8. Good technique. In firearms there is an old saying that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Good technique is efficient and thus fast.

9. Relax-Explode. When one is tense, resistance against movement exist. Relax until time to strike, then explode directly to the target.

10. Think fast. To get anything, you must first decide that you want it. If you want to be faster, then think about becoming faster, expect it, and work for it.

I like this but it is missing that one little thing, and that is to use points of reference, otherwise known as, Keep Your guard up, but it is much bigger than that. It is a wax on, wax off, thing where after everything you do, you go through the check list: Stance, posture, knees bent, and hands in a position of readiness. This doesn't make you move any faster, but the early bird gets the worm.

 

[Jaeimseu]

Action is faster than reaction, but if I anticipate the likely attack and have good timing it won't matter. In sparring, you must understand the game you're playing. It's also useful to know your opponent, if possible. It's easy to look fast when you know what's coming.


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[Jaeimseu]

Double post

 

[Touch Of Death]

Action is faster than reaction, but if I anticipate the likely attack and have good timing it won't matter. In sparring, you must understand the game you're playing. It's also useful to know your opponent, if possible. It's easy to look fast when you know what's coming.


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Part of that is baiting attacks. Then, you look real fast.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Do any of you folks do any speed work - exercises or drills to increase your speed?

1. Punching speed - Jump in the air, throw 3 punches before your feet land back down to the ground.
2. Arm speed - Swing your arms around your body until you can't even see your own arms.
3. Kicking speed - After shower, front kick your leg, make sure all water on your leg is gone.
4. Throwing speed - Spin your body in such a way that your can feel your eye balls are going to fly out of your eye sockets.
5. Combo speed - Try to make 1,2 into 1 and 1,2,3 into 1,2.
6. Fighting speed - Hide your preparation in your previous move.
7. Body speed - coordinate your arm with your leg.
8. ...

 

[Jaeimseu]

Part of that is baiting attacks. Then, you look real fast.

Certainly, if you have a good understanding of the game, you can effectively bait people because you know what responses are likely to given positions or movements.


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