Recently I have become obsessed with speed. I’ve never been slow but I’ve never been quick either but I recently made the conscious decision that I want to be faster, quicker and more agile. Through the research that I’ve done in previous articles, like the one on fast and slow twitch muscles, I know that it’s not just a case of genetics that dictate how fast you are.

There are, in fact, a whole host of areas that play a role in speed. For example you can weight train to encourage and build fast twitch muscles, you can work on your peripheral vision so you see more that just what is in front you and you can work on increasing your reaction times to then react to certain stimulus.

Fighting speed can be broken down into three key areas: reaction time, response time and movement time:

• Reaction time is the interval of time between you first seeing a movement and realising that it’s a threat and selecting an appropriate reaction.
• Response time is how long it takes for your brain to assess the situation and choose the appropriate response before telling your muscles to respond.
• Movement time is the actual movement and covers the space of time that it takes for your muscles to react to the brain’s instruction and reach the target.

Reaction time
So how can we develop these areas? Reaction time relies on you developing your ability to perceive a threat as quickly as possible – part of this relies on you being able to read a situation/opponent, which incorporates a variety of senses but most of all your vision. In this respect peripheral vision is incredible important.

Peripheral vision
We can all see what’s in front of us but our vision encompasses a huge area where it’s not easy to see what happens around the edges without re-centering our focus However a good martial artist will perceive movement around the edges and they won’t need to adjust their gaze, they’ll just react. But why not look at a kick if you see it coming? A good martial artist will know that if they divert their attention away from seeing everything to focusing on one thing then it could leave them open to another attack.

One way to increase peripheral vision is to learn where to look or not look in this case. Throughout my years of training I have heard so many different opinions on where to look, I’ve been told that it’s best to look somewhere central like the middle of the chest or the eyes for example. However, my advice is to look at somewhere between the shoulders. Although I must say that I never really look, it’s more like a drunken gaze (like I’m staring through an object). Lord knows what I look like to an opponent but this gaze makes it very easy for me to see everything that goes on without shifting my attention. Even close up I can perceive most things. Plus I also find that between the shoulders there is a rhombus shaped area (going from the chin, down to the shoulder, down to the centre of the chest, to the other shoulder and then back to the chin) that telegraphs every movement, even low kicks.

Response time
As already mentioned, response time covers the time in which the brain takes to make the decision. Just seeing the threat isn’t enough, as the brain needs to collect and analyse what it’s seen and choose the best reaction for the situation. Automatic responses can be created through training drills to encourage muscle memory (see my article on muscle memory for more information).

In Loren Christensen’s excellent book on Speed Training he talks about how speed is affected by how many option we have (Christensen, 1996, p11). He says that the fewer responses you have the easier the choice. For example it’s better to be able to choose from a few reliable blocks, kicks and punches that you’ve mastered rather than having a huge catalog of moves to choose from that will slow the brains decision process.

Movement time
Once you have seen the threat and the brain has decided on what the body will do, the muscles then need to react quickly. The speed at which the muscles move, react to instruction and reach their desired target depends on many factors including whether you are relaxed but especially your fast twitch muscles, which are the muscles that produce short bursts of speed.

Fast twitch muscles
Fast twitch muscles are an integral part to being fast. Marathon runners predominantly have more slow twitch muscles which while they aren’t as bulky they are able to work for longer in low resistance scenarios. Fast twitch are the larger bulky muscles that have explosive power.

There are many ways of building these but one of the best ways is through plyometric exercises – explosive exercises that load the muscle before it springs into action. Plyometrics do pose a greater risk of injury so be careful and seek expert advice if you’re concerned. Here are a few examples of plyometric exercises:

• Jumping press ups – slowly lower yourself down and then explode upwards with a jump at the peak.
• Uphill sprinting – find a big hill and sprint up it and walk down or find a small circular route with a big hill and do circuits.
• Squat jumps – bend your knees and spring up.
• Kettle bell exercises – there are a huge variety of kettle bell exercises like swings and lifts that can help develop explosive power.

Relax
Learning to relax is important in creating speed. A tight tense body can easily slow you down and tire you out. There are lots of techniques but on of the best way is to take a deep breath and hold it for a count of 4, then breath out and empty your lungs for a count of 4. Do this a few times and focus on releasing all the tension in your body. Try and flow through your training, being calm and still until the moment you need to explode into action.

Final thoughts
Overall there is a huge amount that you can do to affect your fighting speed and increase it. I really feel that I’ve only just scratched the surface.

References
Christensen, L., (1996). Speed Training: How to Develop you Maximum Speed for Martial Arts. Paladin Press