How do you increase your block reflexes in Karate?

I do karate and i am good at punching and kicking fast but i havnt got a real good blocking reflex time. If anyone could tell me some really good excersises to increase blocking reflexes from punches and kicks that come from any angle. Thankyou.|||Hi there





In a way you already have your answer. Blocking is at best impossible to do unless you are very skilled or have an idea that somethings about to kick off. In karate there is a term called sabaki and inas which imply body movement to absorb or brush/guide away the attack. These do take constant practice to master and there are traditonal forms that help you train them. The other way is the answer you already gave. Play outside the traditional box. Who ever said a punch or kick has to be ridden? Be more dangerous than that and rather than block your attackers stikes strike directly back at them. Hit punches and kicks as they come in rather than taking them if you can. Its much faster and when you catch soft tissue on the arms and legs it can be devistating. Of course this skill also needs to be trained so that you are not meeting force directly on. Otherwise your bones break not theirs. ;-)





Reflex training comes with experience. Dont try and delevope speed of movement because no one is fast enough to avoid everything. Work on the smallest movement at the very last miniute becuase in the real world thats the time and space your playing with. Your feet moves your body not your body moves your feet.





Best wishes





idai|||To get my reflexes up with blocking, I usually trained with another student who attacked (kumite) and I was only allowed to block. Excercise this a lot, and I bet your reflexes with blocking will be faster. I also find that a simple deflect is faster and much more accurate. Keep your hands open for this. Much faster. The other thing that also helps a lot, is that use the top hand only for facial attacks the bottom hand for lower body attacks, and your own legs for kicks. If the person starts a kick, lift your leg with his to abdomen hight. This effectively blocks 90% of his kicks. You do get used to it, and it becomes automatically, rendering kicking against you useless. My legs are quite used to it, and even when his connect with mine, they usually fall to the ground and clutch there legs, while I shrug it off.





Hope I could help. :)|||Take up a past time that requires good hand eye coordination.What the eye sees the hand reacts to without hesitation or thought to slow it down.





Any hand ball courts in your area not only improves hand/eye but cardio and leg strength as well or just get a book on basic juggling .





The answer doesn%26#039;t always lay in the technique sometimes they need outside help and knowing and developing the right physio needs.|||LOL.





Back when I did Karate even the little kids used my head as a speed bag! Really I was quite pathetic.





That was a long time ago though; earlier in my 20%26#039;s I took up Tai Chi Chuan, and found that works fairly well at improving reflexes. Stay away from the 24 form version though; it sucks. If you%26#039;re gonna learn it, just go for broke and learn the 108 step Yang Long Form.





Its easy; just get on Amazon and purchase Terence Dunn%26#039;s DVD, and if you can find an instructor, even better!





good luck.|||Many ways. The best is through repetition; practice each block at least 25 times a day. Sparring will improve your reflexes. Only through hard practice and sweat will you improve. Playing any hand/eye coordination sports will help a little, but only by repitition will you improve!|||The best way and most efficient way to practice your defending is to spar. Spar, spar, spar and eventually you will develop some good reflexes.





http://markstraining.com Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists|||Practice blocking. It comes through repetition. It develops muscle memory.|||Practice


Persistence


Patience|||When you realize that they really are not %26quot;blocks%26quot;.





They are more sophisticated than that.





This is why many people fail when trying to block. |||get a friend to throw kicks and punches at you while all you do is block|||get hit more and try to block them. go through your blocking drills. time and practice will bring them around