Shadow Boxing
No matter your art, shadow boxing is often neglected and is an important part of your training. Use your imagination. Don’t throw random punches and kicks while shadowboxing. Picture your opponent in front of you. What are they going to do? How are you going to respond? Shadow boxing also makes for a great work out. Try completing five 2-minute rounds with 60 second break between them. You should break a good sweat. If you're not, you’re not shadowboxing with intent. Once your fitness level increases you can increase the number of rounds or increase the duration of them. If you have a mirror, it’s also good to do some of your training in front of one. The mirror doesn’t lie. You can see if you are executing your boxing, Mauy Thai, Karate, Wing Chun, whatever it may be, properly. Don’t underestimate the power and what a great tool it is. What I like about it is this too…you don’t need a gym or a mirror. Any space, inside your home or outside will do just fine.
When shadow boxing, use all dimensions. Up and down. Left and right. Head movement. Feints and fakes. Kicking, punching, elbows and knees. Defensive and offensive striking. Vary your rhythms. Move, stick, move.
“Kiai (Japanese for "unification of will", and pronounced like the words "key" and "eye" in rapid succession) is the technical term for the shout that accompanies kata (martial arts moves) in many real-life martial arts. Fighters are supposed to come up with their own kiai, though often it's simply "kiai." up or both”.
When executing your punches or kicks, exhale sharply then inhale. I’m uncertain why the inhale isn’t stressed. But both are important. When we exert energy, we should exhale. We then must replenish the oxygen we expelled. Does that not make sense? You must breathe in after you breath out. Weather a sport or self-defense, we must breathe.
Relaxation - relax. If you keep a relaxed state everything is easier. Trust me. Everything is difficult and one round seems like an eternity. You are given 60 seconds to recoup then its the next round. If you are conditioned and follow what you have been reading, a round goes by quickly. My coach didn’t let us, nor did we need to, sit between rounds.
It’s hard initially to maintain a relaxed composure. We learn this through sparring. I believe it to be an excellent learning tool. There are rules but no set combinations that both attacker and defender are aware of, but there is a ring of specific dimensions. There are rules for safety and in boxing, Muay Thia and other martial arts competitions. There are time limits in rounds too. There is a time difference in rounds and how many potential rounds there are. But there is no difference in this…you must stay and be relaxed, and you have to breathe.