How can I improve my balence, both generally and for fighting?

Hi :)

My balence is AWFUL. For example, if i'm walking in mud or ice, everyone else managed to stay upright and i'm always the one that lands on their behind. And if i'm walking along, and I look at a car going past or something, I veer into hedges and walls *laugh*

This affects my fighting, too. The other day, I had to do a very high kick and ended up losing my feet from under me and landing on my butt.

Are there any excercises or balences I can perform to improve this? I'm willing to practice daily, of course, and will adopt idea's and practices from any fighting or arts' style.

Emma

xXx

How can I improve my balence, both generally and for fighting?getting late

Yes, balance can be improved but that is not what you need to do to improve.

If you are using proper form than balance is irrelevant. Try lowering your center of gravity by having a wider stance, keep the hips low, lower yourself at the knee. Do not rise up and down. You should remain at one constant level.

Also, I am guessing that when you say fighting you meant sparring. Assuming as much, why are you kicking high? You said it yourself, you ended up on your behind. High kick are for show only, I would rather kick someone in the groin or legs than above their solar plexus. If I am going to attack high than I use my hands.

Think practical, not flashy. Kicks to the head are impractical.

When you are walking on unstable surfaces lower your center of gravity by bending the knee.

Try this sometime. Lift one leg up. With the standing leg, bend your knee so your height drops straight down. Now time yourself, how long can you stand like that?

Now try the same thing but straighten the standing knee up. Time yourself, compare the times and see what you learn.

How can I improve my balence, both generally and for fighting?regal theater opera theater

Try taking up yoga it may help with balance because there are many different stretching and controlled techniques used in yoga.... give it a whirl!
try a ballance board. I have recovered from a knee injury and play semi pro soccer, i used very small movements that didnt feel like they were doing much. Like a squat,only move like one inch.

Also running on soft sand will stregnthen up those stabilisers.
take taekwondo and yoga... two combination that will improve your balance, your fighting technique, and build up muscles
Simple balancing techniques:

Stand with feet together

raise up on the balls of your feet.

Count to ten

Lower back down. Repeat. 5 times

As you get better do for longer periods of time. (20, 30, 60 secs)

and more reps.

Another easy one is to stand up and raise one foot about 6 inches behind you and hold. See how long you can hold it.

Do the same thing with your other foot. You can hold your arms out if needed.

As you get better, keeping your leg fairly straight, raise your leg behind you 12" and lean slightly forward. Hold.

Keep raising your leg 6" as you get better. To increase difficulty, keep your arms at your side.
WDY_67 has give you a couple of good options. Also see what your teacher has to offer.
Do some stretching.

You wouldn't lose your feet if you're very flexible.

The easiest way/the fast ways to acquire balance is to put weights on your arms and legs and do shadow boxing while looking at the mirror.

You should feel very light and stable after you take off the weights.
I have two pieces of advice that should work wonders without spending anything: first, simply pay attention to your balance throughout the day. Check yourself from time to time as you are standing or walking--is your spine straight? Is your weight evenly distributed between your feet? Etc. Repeatedly correcting yourself and constantly paying attention to this detail will increase both your balance and your mental discipline.

Second, practice your kicking s-l-o-w-l-y. Hold on to a chair and practice above-the-head kicks so that, for example, your side kick takes about four seconds execute. As your form and balance improve through practice, gradually increase the speed of the kick; once you reach a more moderate speed with perfect form, ditch the chair.

Train hard!
There are alot of core products on the market now.

The balance board works really good. It is a piece of wood cut in a circle. It has a half a ball on one side. You try to stand on it keeping the sides from hitting the floor.

Also those big balls are good too.