Well, if you're looking for specific ideas, I have some suggestions of exercises we do in class:
Sticky hands - two people face each other in a fighting stance, foot to foot, with their lead hands touching back to back. One person leads and the other follows; the lead person moves his/her hand randomly, and, at random intervals, attempts to touch the following person with the lead hand, while the following person attempts to block. This is a great drill for all students - it teaches them relaxation under stress and reaction time. Variations include using the other hand or both hands; other variations appear as I see things my students need to work on.
Duck, duck, goose variations - students form a circle and sit down on the floor. One person walks around and/or through the circle, attempting to touch a person on the floor without the person catching them. Students who think the person standing up is about to touch them raise their hands; if a student is touched without raising his/her hand, s/he has to go to the middle of the circle and sit there until a second person is caught. This is an awareness drill, and very good for sparring awareness.
Snap drills - usually done in pairs, standing face to face with your partner one person (attacker) closes his/her eyes, while the other person (target) snaps or claps so that the attacker can hear clearly, leaving the hand in place as a target. The attacker tries to hit the target by sound; if the attacker misses, the target provides feedback to help the target zero in on the sound. NOTE: if the target is going to snap or clap directly in front of him/herself - BACK UP. Variations include multiple targets, louder or quieter snaps/claps, level of background noise, etc.
I would be interested in hearing more about what you do with this student - it seems to me that anything you come up with for her could be very useful for sighted students as well.
Sticky hands - two people face each other in a fighting stance, foot to foot, with their lead hands touching back to back. One person leads and the other follows; the lead person moves his/her hand randomly, and, at random intervals, attempts to touch the following person with the lead hand, while the following person attempts to block. This is a great drill for all students - it teaches them relaxation under stress and reaction time. Variations include using the other hand or both hands; other variations appear as I see things my students need to work on.
Duck, duck, goose variations - students form a circle and sit down on the floor. One person walks around and/or through the circle, attempting to touch a person on the floor without the person catching them. Students who think the person standing up is about to touch them raise their hands; if a student is touched without raising his/her hand, s/he has to go to the middle of the circle and sit there until a second person is caught. This is an awareness drill, and very good for sparring awareness.
Snap drills - usually done in pairs, standing face to face with your partner one person (attacker) closes his/her eyes, while the other person (target) snaps or claps so that the attacker can hear clearly, leaving the hand in place as a target. The attacker tries to hit the target by sound; if the attacker misses, the target provides feedback to help the target zero in on the sound. NOTE: if the target is going to snap or clap directly in front of him/herself - BACK UP. Variations include multiple targets, louder or quieter snaps/claps, level of background noise, etc.
I would be interested in hearing more about what you do with this student - it seems to me that anything you come up with for her could be very useful for sighted students as well.
