I need some exercises that develop really good speed and fast reflexes. I'm looking for exercises that are fairly simple and do not require equipment IE. Wooden dummy. All posts are greatly appreciated.
Stick fighting, knife fighting, sparring, practicing body mechanics, footwork, working out your muscles (not necessarily weight lifting, just maintaining shape and strength), and kickboxing drills with focus pads (I know you didn't want equipment training guides, but focus pads are only about 50 bucks, a great investment). Those are my suggestions.
There are 5 types of speed, which one are you looking to improve?
I will assume you want to be able to move faster, therefore if you want to hit faster, the practice hitting. If you want to kick faster then kick. If you want faster reflexes, then spar.
One of the most important aspects of developing speed is to relax. Its a point not often emphasised enough. If you watch sprinters they move fastest when they are relaxed this is a simple fact. So learn to relax and you will see your speed increase very quickly.
One exercise I like doing is to punch 120 per min for say 3 min you can start with 1 min if you wish. You have to make it to 120 using one arm only. Stick to the same punch, make sure you are doing the action properly although you do not need to put full power into it. Oh there is no point in doing it is the target is a inch away so do it from your sides so as to maximise the realistic distance.
Jiyasa made a good point. What kind of speed are we talking about? Perception speed? Initiation speed? Execution speed? Retraction speed? Recovery?
Focus glove drills can help with a lot of this. A good drill is where the feeder "pops up" a glove that the fighter tries to hit as soon as possible. That works the first 3. The feeder can also throw in "counter punches" to work the last 2. (If you don't retract and recover at at decent speed you won't be able to counter the counterpunch).
I'm looking to improve in all those areas. I'm not really that informed..Focus bags, is that where someone wears the bags on their hands,bags on their shins, and a belt like pad, covering their stomach. And you just practice on them? Muay thai? Correct me if i'm wrong.
Often you will see boxers uses them to train. Usually the "feeder" will quickly move these pads to different posistions and the "fighter" has to respond as quickly as possible. The stuff worn on the legs and stomach is typically used for sparring, although I suppose it could be used for this kind of training as well.
Regards,
John M. Drake
Current Topic - I need some exercises that develop speed.
Usually what I'm talking about are referred to as "focus pads" or "focus gloves" or "focus mitts".