Orientation Limits and Agility

You are here: Index

Orientation Limits and Agility

Agility is characterized by quickness, lightness, and ease of movement-nimbleness. Agility is an essential skill for a good evasive defence. If you can embody agility you will be able to move your own vulnerable targets out of harms way in a fast and effective manner.

On the Targets: Tactical Protection page these are 3 of the desired goals:

Increase Evasion Speed of Target
Increase Evasion Range of Target
Increase Evasion Options of Target

Awareness of the above 3 goals should inform your agility practice.

Orientation Limits Agility Training Exercise

1: Choose a part of your body and imagine it was the main target that you had to defend. Without moving your feet move the part gently as far as you can one direction at a time: left, right foward and back and up/down-and at all different angles. At first slowly and gently and then faster. Each time you try this exercise try and increase your range of movement. You should feel a gentle strain as your body gets used to the positions and movements.

2: Hold the limits of orientation for as long as you can. Move from each limit of orientation to its opposite at different speeds ranging from very slow to very fast. This variation in speed will give you more control by strengthening your muscles and improving your balance.

3: Do the same exercises but allow your feet to move into different stances but keep within an imaginary circle of about 3 feet in diameter.

4: Do the same exercises but allow your feet to move anywhere within your training space. Consider outstretching limbs to counter-balance extreme orientations. Make use of the walls and other training equipment, to lean apon or restrict options etc.

The postures in the extreme range of movement that you are exploring in this exercise may not be useful very often in combat. They may be too unbalanced etc, but by performing them during training you will be increasing your useful balanced sphere of movement.

You are here: Index Universal Tactics and Self Defence