Martial Arts Home Training. Mike Young

and over in the air, without practicing it against the flesh and developing the proper “feel” of the technique. Without the proper “feel” or “contact” of the practiced technique, a martial artist cannot develop the true feeling of the technique. Consequently, when the incorrectly practiced technique is used in actual full-contact combat, many times it falls short of the martial artist’s expectation.

      With this m mind, I have developed much of my own personal home training equipment, along with specific drills to enhance the quality and develop the elusive “feel” of the technique. Many of my home training devices are certainly unique, some never before seen or used in the martial arts world.

      From the ring I develop many of my training ideas, always trying to improve on a specific technique, especially when I get hit by a student, or when I cannot land a technique on another martial artist.

      From these two primary motivations come all of my ideas for home training equipment and training methods.

      Another quirk of my personality is that, because I’m always looking for ways to improve my martial arts technique, I probe many different disciplines that may help me better develop my martial arts abilities—from modern dance to home construction; I try not to restrict my ideas to any specific discipline. Many times when I look at an everyday home item, I wonder how I could use this device in training.

      I firmly believe that one can never stop improving unless one chooses not to improve.

      I choose to improve forever!

      CHAPTER 3

      FUNDAMENTALS OF DEVELOPING HOME TRAINING EQUIPMENT

      You see things; and you say, “Why?”

       I dream things that never were;

       and I say, “Why not?”

      —George Bernard Shaw

      As I’ve mentioned earlier, my primary motivation for building home training equipment is to develop, practice, and improve “correct” technique, so that it becomes second nature.

      I have found that many techniques that I want to practice must be practiced over and over correctly to be perfected. But many times I have no training partner to practice with. Therefore, I build and design most of my training equipment so that the device, most of the time, can be used alone.

      I also build many of the home training devices to convey a special “feeling” to me. What I mean by “special feeling” is that the training equipment will have to closely duplicate the “feel” of the actual fighting technique when used in combat.