Dodging (or striking) a moving target is an effective way practice to developing reflexes in martial arts. A perfect tool for accomplishing this is a simple stick / staff with a pad(s) on it. Your friend and you square off to practice, moving around and staying light on your feet. Then, you practice keeping your eyes directly on your friend, while he swings the stick around, attempting to strike you. You may practice dodging the stick, blocking it, striking it, or all of these. The key is to not focus solely on watching the stick. You friend is free to lightly strike / kick you while using the pole, so you are forced to open your peripheral vision and watch all of his movements at once; being weary of all striking. If you really want to be hardcore, use an unpadded stick – I won’t endorse this, as it is brutal, but I will say from experience: you learn much quicker this way.
Practice dodging, flowing and protecting yourself at all times.
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