Confident posture means you are much less of a target for an attacker. Attackers look for the weak, and if you stand tall and make eye contact, you are
much less likely to be attacked. Walk tall and proud. An attacker also looks for people that are not paying attention. Never walk down the street looking at your phone. Never walk at night with headphones on.
PRACTICE
• Walking tall and proud with good posture across the mats. Do this once and judge who looks the most confident.
• Walking with a focus pad on your head (or something to balance there). Acknowledge those who get across mat without pad falling.
• Practice walking faster - bad guys will not attack someone walking with a purpose.
WEEKLY CHALLENGE
Two people (instructor is bad guy) face each other. Bad guy walks towards good guy, while good guy stands in good posture. When bad guys approaches within “tactical frame’s reach” the good guys steps forward (or back) into tactical frame and lightly “bops” the forehead of the attacker with their palm. This drill works on standing postures (arms crossed, thinker, Buzz Lightyear), safe proximity, and tactical frame.
It’s not easy standing tall or sitting in perfect posture all day. It’s actually okay to slouch once in a while because your body craves a lot of different postures, not just one perfect posture.
The most important thing that will help your posture is staying active and strong. Keep training in martial arts and keep your muscles strong.
Wheelbarrow walk - with a partner perform a slow controlled wheelbarrow walk across the mats. A beginner might need to be held at their thighs, intermediate at the shin, and advanced at the feet. Never let the back sag during the walking plank motion
Crab walk - walk in a crab walk motion for as long as possible, without resting the bum down. Aim for 2 minutes.
Hang Time - Hang from the pull-up bar for just like week 1. Perform this every day before or after class on your own after you’ve learned how. Work up to the EMA goal of 2 minutes!
We sit way too much. Try adding these “Active Technology Postures” into your day when using technology such as an iPad, tablet, computer or even while playing video games. Give these a try!
Sit in a deep squat while on your iPad or phone - rest the technology on a coffee table or footstool & stay down there as long as possible. Then switch to a different Active Technology
Posture.
Pigeon pose - this is a great pose to use when working on your phone or tablet. Switch legs often.
Panda Bear/butterfly - this is a good pose to sit in and watch TV for 15-30 minutes. Sitting on the floor opens up the hips.
Hip Flexor Stretch - this stretch is great for giving relief to the muscles in the front of your hip that get tight when sitting. A more powerful hip flexor means a better kick!