Best way to build reflexes

You can learn any self-defense system in a few days. There are only so many ways to throw a punch and so many ways to throw a kick. So why then do so many boxers, fighters, and martial artists train for so many years? The answer is reflexes. Just because you learn how to break a choke hold doesn’t mean you will be able to do so successfully in a real situation. Unless your opponent is willing to pause their attack so you can remember what to do, you will need to invest the time, repetition, and discipline to take that head knowledge and program it into a reflex.

The average response time in a human brain is approximately 250 milliseconds. This is slow. With proper training and reflex building, the brain response time can be shaved down to an astounding 15 milliseconds. That’s a 1700% improvement!

Despite all the clever ideas that you can find on Google for improving your reflexes, there is, unfortunately, only one true way to do so - partner training. There is simply no better alternative to improving your reflexes than to train with someone who can push you to improve. In our Combatives and Women’s Self-defense classes, we focus on three main training methods.

Self-defense Drills

In the self-defense drills, you practice countering any number of different offensive attacks, e.g., front choke, bear hug, arm grab, etc. You start out doing these drills slowly and increase the speed over time. Eventually, you get to the point where you correctly react, without thinking, to each attack. In our systems, all self-defense techniques have two steps: ‘address the problem’ and ‘solve with aggression’. For example, in the front choke, step one is to free your windpipe by wrenching the opponent’s hands and step two is to kick or knee or punch or use whatever strike you can use to retaliate. There is not a right or wrong way provided you are aggressive and strike appropriate targets.

Parry drills

Self-defense drills require close-range grappling and wrestling. Parry drills, however, occur at mid to long-range (in a hand-to-hand sense) where an attacker throws different strikes that the defender must parry. This is always a lot of fun. When people perform poorly, we speed up the assault, forcing them to stop thinking and let pure reflex take over. I have had more than one experience where students, during the exercise, burst out laughing at how fast their hands and legs move without any conscious thought. It’s almost like you can sit back and observe your own body move of its own accord. It’s a trip.

Full-contact sparring (intermediate and advanced classes)

Hands-down, the best method for improving your reflexes, is full contact sparring. Note, before you get scared, full-contact does not mean full-force. Yes, if your partner hits you in the face, it will be uncomfortable but you will not get hit hard enough to cause injury. Your partner should, however, be hitting hard enough that you will not be excited to be hit twice. Gloves, shin guards, and mouthguards are required. What makes this training method so productive is that it is the only one with a negative consequence. You either successfully defend yourself or you get hit. The good news is that it’s a two-way street as you can hit them back.

Sparring is fun. It builds your reflexes better than anything else and it is the only way to practice tactics. It also gets you into killer shape and boosts your cardiovascular fitness to incredible levels.

Building reflexes is arguably the most important facet of self-defense. None of the other pillars of Combatives (Self-defense skills, kickboxing techniques, cardiovascular endurance) matter if you are unable to quickly react. This is especially true for Women’s Self-defense. If you are fighting a larger opponent, speed can make up for the size difference. Momentum is the product of mass and speed. If they are bigger but you are faster, then you’re just as strong.