Every Martial Artist Should Pass This Test...(But Most Won't)
This is a simple 30 second test to see how good your balance is.
Balance is key to throwing great kicks, not getting tossed, etc.
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Can you do both legs for 30 seconds? Remember to lift that heal really high up.
I did both legs for 30 seconds Gabriel!
Done without issue! One drill I think really helped me is chambering a front or round kick, and firing off 10 (or however many) at full power on a heavy bag before putting my foot back down. My Kempo instructor recently recertified his 5th Dan under Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace, so his training methodology makes it's way into a lot of what we do.
Somehow I was able to do it! Definitely wobbly 😅
Edit: ok wait when we try to do it at full height its not as easy, i call bs on anyone doing it better than gabe cause one thing i have is exceptional balance and at full height it was a struggle. Looks easy but it's not. So following comment was done at half height of foot raised> yey i can finally do something Gabe can do. I actually look everywhere like a fight.and close the eyes. Thank you to yoga and myself for training this outside the dojo
focusing on my Toes instead of my Lower Back helps me to lift heavy weights and boxes. but, opposite of most people, I train kickboxing with my shoes on, and no gloves, just like in a street fight. because i don't think someone will be wearing boxing gloves and barefoot if they try to attack me one day ;)
I'm a doorman and when there's no-one in the street and no-one is watching I do this to pass the time. Been working this job for almost a year and it has helped a tonne
Haha. I love it 👏👏
@@GabrielVargaOfficial It also forces me to do the looking left and right version so i can put my foot down if someone appears around a corner heh. i also do a lot of visualisation, which is thanks to you and has helped a lot as well. I've posted this a few times but what do you think about cross training potentially learning bad habits? ive been at a only kicks and punches kb club which is great in general but language barrier and sometimes training footwork that would make no sense if clinch is included. Is this nothing to worry about / are there things i should avoid training to avoid bad habits? Like i get there is 'good technique' but surely that depends on stance and guard and rulesets etc so it does matter whose 'good' you are talking about.
@@maniblondelly You need to be doing the crane kick pose perched up on the desk when people walk in no one will mess with your building.
@@chriswaters2327 it's a fancy cocktail bar so I'm not sure I have to go full karate kid on the tourists. Might be fun tho
Hey Gabriel I love your channel! I also absolutely agree, stability and balance is paramount for performance and staying healthy!
In myanmar they call this one " monkey foot " you grip the floor with your toes. Keep up the good work champ 🎉
You could have edited that wobble out but you didn't. I respect the hell out of that.
Stellar points like this proves why this channel is above the rest. Not only was the test in how to do it explained - there's also a demonstration in what type of situation it applies to. I'll definitely be doing this at home away from my dojo hours. 👊 Thnx !
What an awesome comment! Thanks so much
My guy, I am a circus performer and martial artist, always looking for tips to improve my movement... your channel goes above and beyond what i ever could have expected to learn how to master myself. Thank you so much
THe other point he obviously does but did not explain verbally is skeletal organization : his upper body is stable. I have a teacher who's 69yo (with an acrobat background) and he can do many motions I can't through organizing the posture. He says to put the shoulder blades towards the back without extending your torso, do a retroversion of the pelvis, tuck your chin slightly while extending the head up and keep shoulders low and you'll be much more stable too
much respect to circus performers! I'm always amazed by slack liners, but those rope walkers, or whatever the proper name for them is, are insane, especially when juggling stuff! much luck to you in your journey!
This fighter is off the hook.... Everything That he shows, works.. Thank you Gabriel.. Salutes from Greece.
One other point: If you have enough balance to do this you will get injured WAY less. I used to get knee and ankle injuries all the time till I put some hours into lower body conditioning and balance.
I've been doing this since 5 years old. At 6, I was walking at full speed, rotating in circles. And I could do that for an hour straight without getting dizzy.
Your medal is currently in the mail on the way to you!!!!! Clown shoe.
You had parents that didn’t discourage you that’s why. Most of us were told stop that that’s silly “big kids don’t do that or your gonna hurt yourself so we all had to stop”. And the skills were consequently forgotten
@@theprodigalson4003 that's quite the assumption there buddy
@@theprodigalson4003I was just not doing this exercise. My parents had nothing to do with that lol
@@justinclark3793what kinda response was that to him bro? You just proved you're a liar and insecure af. Get that taken care of, buddy
Thank you Coach Varga 🙏
I love this channel so much. You don't only mention how it works but you also describe how to do it. Thank you.
Equilibrium is a key to be a good fighter, thank you for sharing🙏
I did the whole 30 second challenge Gabriel, and thank you so much for your awesome balance tips, these are really helpful, keep up the great content as always!
that is the best tip I've heard in a while. implementing it immediately. thank you.
That's the one thing I didn't know I was looking for but it sure helped a lot.
Preach this all the time, as an ITF TKD guy who has transitioned into Dutch/Thai and how it can truly benefit you as a fighter
Gabriel, I'm so grateful to you for your unremitting commitment to the excellence and continued progress of your viewers. Although I'm far too old for competition (63yo) and not in nearly as good shape as many my age, I get a great deal from your channel and use what I can to continue my fitness journey. You are providing such a fine example to your younger viewers and I really admire and respect your continued accomplishments and mentoring. Thank you!
Gabriel thank you, you are a legend, in 2 days of doing this exercise for about 20-30 minutes each, i managed to get my dominant injured leg from not being able to balance for more than 5 seconds, to fully balancing for the 30 seconds, On top of that, i have ankle, knee and hip injuries on that leg, this exercise basically put my leg tendons back in original position!
Finally a drill I can do easily! When I understood what you were gonna ask, I thought "traditionnal martial artists are going to nail this" and sure enough you said the same. That's actually something I work on a lot including with my students ; so I found it actually rather easy to hold like a minute. One thing I found was both pretty hard and a good drill is to rotate the head, and then the whole torso, left to right, while at peak and balancing yourself.
My boxing coach make us balance on one foot like you're showing, but standing on a balance disk and do 1-2s at the same time 😂 This is good for sure.
I’ve been doing a drill like this since I was a teenager but I’ve never held it for 30 seconds. I would always do 15 to 20 and then stop pushing myself to 30 is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. After 25 seconds, my balance starts to waiver Thank you for showing me. There is much more for me to do to grow as a martial artist.
Im glad Im able to do this! You were right about martial arts training giving the upper hand
Great, thank you a lot for this !
Thanks Gabriel
Great video and drill. I have been doing variations of excactly this for some months now. When doing the dishes, watching netflix, etc. About a month in I noticed att distinct difference in my overall stability in kicks as well as in sparring and clinchwork. Suddenly i took sweeps that before would have put me upside down. Surprised looks from training partners commenting how stable I am. Same thing in the clinch recently. Im up on the balls of my feet without thought and defend sweeps and throws A LOT easier. I still suck at sweeping others, but that will come. At least now I can defend them easier. Havent been trying to stay up as long as this drill so will definetely add this 30 sec one to my routine. So little time to do. So much benefits.
Love this, thanks man!
Excellent video. Thank you.
Thanks! Good tip with the toes! I always try this when I brush my teeth, but still room enough for improvement.
Great advice. I do a version of this where I balance on one leg and swing one leg forward and backwards as a warm up. I started this like ballet dancers, where I got the idea from, by holdingc onto the bar or wall as I swung each leg for a while then switched sides for other leg. Then as my balance improved, I started doing it without the bar, using my arms as counter balance. also shifting my body forward and backwards in relation to my leg as counter balance. The last few years, I've been doing them on the ball of my foot, way more challenging, but, kicks, pivots and footwork in general is so much easier now. You're video has also given me more ideas to incorporate. thanks! 😎👍
Something i would add is that balance is just as much about strength and flexibility as it is about skill. If you're wobbly right away, doing slow flat foot squats to range of motion and progressing to pistol squats eill help.
I've practiced this since middle school. It's also helped me when people catch my leg and try to throw me just as you said at the beginning.
Varga has some of the best content i never heard of this!
Thanks dude, this really helps!
This is EXCELLENT.
Gabriel thanks for this, basics basic basics!!
really love this even though its seems obvious, glad you mad a short video about it. I skateboard and do karate and both emphasize balance so this is a lifestyle to me haha
Great advice! This will definitely help me as a brown belt karateka.
Was doing Karate (Kyokushin) for about 4 years now, my first few years you just did balancing on one foot and on the ball of your feet. This drill was incredibly easy for me, but it's actually interesting how you said a traditional martial artist would find it easier than a non-traditional one, because you were totally right! Started training with boxing and kickboxing only recently.
My training/fightings days are over BUT if I could go back I would put 70/80 percent of all my training into my base, like most I did it the other way around. It's only now in later life that I really "understand" that the base is EVERYTHING in sport and life. Currently I do a variation of this excerise every day and it's working a charm. Great video mate, this one is gold for the young bucks, if they are paying attention...not guarantee there.
this was really helpfull, i find out that i was really lacking balance. now i will start to practice this, its really hard right now, but i can see how is what i was missing! thanks!
done ! age: 56 years, squatting every week at the gym. Also using the leg press for strenghtening the sole of the foot
In the locker room alone practicing this! Thank you.
Some things I add when I have worked on balance is moving the upper body while on one foot to have more of a dynamic factor. Plus being on one foot while putting on and tying shoes to incorporate balance in everyday function.
trying this sat morning after fridays 2 training sessions. not ideal lol. trying tomorrow after being a bit more recovered :) 😃 thanks for the practical challenge 🙏
Weirdly I finished it with no wobbles on my left leg, and could barely start on my right haha. Explains why my right leg kick is more balanced
Good stuff Nick Curson speed of sport has some good drills like this on slant board Those guys big into foot strength
Nice drill! I was really struggling. By the way, where is the pancake recipe?
That was fun. Got this first time. Left foot dominant but I had a headstart because we work on this a lot without really noticing in Kendo and most Kendoka would be left foot dominant. It was trickier on my right but not too bad because as it happens, I also train the high guard in Kendo which uses the right foot as dominant for launching attacks but I'm less experienced in that so definitely had to focus more.. Almost lost it badly at halfway. Interesting video and concept. Food for thought. Might have my students do this the next time I'm coaching.
The toe engagement really helps
I used to run/sprint like this in my younger years right from childhood. Always on the ball of the toes. Looked weird but I was fast, could out run the track team in high school easily. Should have joined them. But I was too busy chasing ladies and partying. It was fun at the time to be sure, but I wish I had done something more productive back then.
Been doing this for a year or so when I brush my teeth 1 min each side switch hand with the toothbrush too. Also for the other brush of the day try flat foot but eyes closed. This will help you connect your balance to your inner ear instead of relying on the eyes.
Another good balance exercise (I learned from sensei seth) is balancing on one foot while trying to spell the alphabet with the raised leg
reminds me of those warm up drills we used to do where we would throw teeps on one leg for 1 minute without being allowed to touch the ground with the kicking leg
This is next level stuff, i think a lot of fighters fight flat footed and wouldnt have a clue about this, i do like to go on my toes but i struggle to do this test Ok i can do 30 seconds on my left foot but only 10 on the right hmmm.
This was great as I already train to balance with my feet moving around. I'll just add the weight to the ball of my feet and toes.
Ive got highly shortened Achilles tendons which makes this position my baseline. Helped a alot in muay thai and also sprinting. I've had this all my life and therefore am nearly as stable in that position as fully 'standing down'.
The eyes-closed is much harder, but worth doing; you might need to defend yourself in the dark! And even if you never need to, it still levels up your ability. I used to practise at night in a large unlit park that was also very windy - great for training the balance. 😌👍
Great drill!
Subscribed because of foot arch, you know your stuff. I am trying to develop mine (arch), i went exclusively barefoot a month ago already seeing a big change. I can now balance on ball of my foot.
Very good exercise. I thought I had reasonably decent balance, but hardly managed 20 seconds or so with either foot. That said, I was trying to do the exercise on an uneven wooden floor, and any little move got amplified 😁 I will train and try and become better. Thank you for this suggestion of exercise!
I am a traditional martial artist, with some fighting, but I was able to do this. I'm glad you mentioned this, because in Traditional Chinese Martial Arts, balance, form, and feet angles are crucial lol.
Gabriel’s spinning wheel kick in the beginning is Buck Diesel 💯🏆
Thanks god bless
Skateboarding is fantastic for building this balance!
I thought id be bad at this because i dont train anymore and i always moved methodically with a planted base but i found this really easy on my lead leg and only a little worse on my rear. When i did train i always practiced throwing kicks with good form and speed and then pathing them back the way they came, slowly and under control as a form of balance training
On the first two poses, spread your toes to give better balance.
If this gets too easy, try it with the other leg up in a front kick chamber position. You can also rotate to a roundhouse chamber position and hold. Eyes closed is really really difficult.
I need to strengthen my toes for this.
This is definitely true as someone who started in shotokan karate. We would train throwing round kicks, side kicks, and hook kicks from a standing position & not being allowed to pivot our grounded foot nor move our arms to balance while doing basic training. I found it very frustrating because 1) it makes kicking 10 times harder and 2) you would never actually kick like this. But then I came around after watching more combat sports that the point of that kind of training is to develop balance and more flexibility/dexterity in the groin, hips, core, hamstrings, glutes etc. If you can kick hard, fast, and accurately like this you can kick even better when you’re allowed to use natural footwork and arm motion. And I definitely noticed that some MMA/Muay Thai guys don’t have the same kind of balance I see in karatekas who are less skilled relatively speaking. W for karate
I love your videos, Gabriel. Can you please help point me to how I can overcome fear when sparing.
I wobble like a tube man when I put my boots on, and especially when taking them off, but I refuse to sit down! Don't ever wanna lose this skill!
I am going to try this. As a Goju Karate guy I would only balance with the flat heel. Most Goju Guys only low kick. Also I have toe issues so I will give it a try.
Let's go!
Kia ora thank you
Nice to see traditional MA techniques getting a nod. I'm in my 50s, and still do this type of training every single day. I have a number of bad injuries to my knees (both have unrepaired ACL/MCL and meniscus tears that are almost 30 years old now) and to my lower left leg. The only two toes I can actually move on my left foot are my little toe and my big toe, yet still manage to pull this off. The tendons were completely severed on the other 3 toes. This is the only reason I still have any balance at all on that leg. It was crucial to my recovery. Additional benefit - awesome calf muscles.
It's crazy how strong those muscles in that areof the body have to be able to lift it so effortlessly, and to think that fighters often receive all that power directly on their heads and survive... The human body is amazing, a work of God.
Gabriel can you make a video on how to book a fight for yourself when you don’t have a manager I know sometimes your gym/coach books them for you but I just moved houses and don’t train with/at my old gym no more and I want to make my amateur debut as soon as possible any tips?
Ballet exercise like passé and coupé and rond de jombe also help I believe
I teach my students to keep their heels down, no matter what technique they do, no matter what kick they do. I once let a student not pass a belt test because his heel of the standing leg came up while doing Mae Geri (front snap kick). I don't know why so many people lift their heels when kicking. KEEP THE F****** HEELS DOWN!
Karate & Taekwondo have great leg strength, balance & flexibility exercises (ex. hand against wall holding knee high as you can in a chamber, making it harder by extending, holding & contracting the raised leg).
Yes, I was taught to train this in Taekwondo in the 90s. Exactly like what Gabriel is showing here.
Hey, Gabriel. I love your channel. You've taught me a decent amount of things that I can use in the ring and in the gym. I have a request for you: Could you do a video on how to get really good at hitting the double-end bag and how you incorporate the DE bag into your own workouts?
Oh boy. I've hardly ever worked on one. I've done speed bag and cobra but not the double end. Sorry. I haven't been at a gym with one enough.
@GabrielVargaOfficial Thank you for replying to my comment! That's ok. I just thought I would ask because I'm trying to get better at the DE bag. No worries, though.
This is pretty amazing. I didn't realize this was possible but now i see my balance is just really bad 😂
It is much easier if your knee is slightly flexed, and barefoot on solid floor. Doing it on carpet or in shoes (especially soft soles) will be more difficult. Doing this (but not on toes) with closed eyes is called Romberg Test, it's a medical test for balance.
I do massage to dorsal interosseous muscles and ankles so that I get better balance. Flexibility of feet is second to none importance for stepwork like Chingiz Allazov.
Balance is so important in martial arts especially Muay Thai... training buddy of mine spent a few days in Thailand and, though he's pretty decent, he told me coaches there kept telling him his balance sucked haha....
Great drill! I still can't do it eyes shut tho
there is a drill for balance that football players do, there is a short of texas tech football team doing it. It's like standing on one leg and raising the foot to the side in a roundhouse bent leg move it backwards than to side and forward to front, then repeat.
Huh, I didn't think there would come a day where I could match Gabriel Varga in any exercise, but here we are. I do historical fencing (mostly two-handed stuff) at a recreational level, so I'm now wondering what aspect of this made me good at this exercise. My two best guesses are long (compared to unarmed MAs at least) lunges or possibly having to do my stuff with a kilo and a half of long steel bar in hand - and sometimes with another ten to twenty of armor on top of that. Oh, and I have a top for you: focusing on contacting the ground with your fingers is the way to go, but you want to flatten your toes into the floor as you splay out the front of your foot, not curl them in a claw-like fashion as you desperately try to grip it.
Haha I said the same
30 second on each side still manageable for me (as person who's no longer active in martial art club). But, more than that, probably not a go especially for my left feet
I did it 30 secs straight away. But I felt what you are talking about! Btw I am not a fighter at all, I barely touch dumbells and never was in a gym 😂 Got pretty wobbly though especially at first 10-15 secs, then kind of caught the balance 😁. Intence on those muscles though! I think I've succeeded because of my skateboarding background: it is all about balance 😊 Also I have about a decade of mostly casual a bit cross-countrish cycling behind and last 3 years I am into MTB, which is pretty balanceful activiry too. Also I practice a little bit of some shaolin-style excersices which also have some balance-improvement effects at least they claim that in the book 😂
As someone who did Tae Kwon Do for around 7~8 years, I feel better knowing it was actually pretty easy. Also I like balance, so even tho I'm not on martial arts anymore, sometimes I still do a little bit of training on exercises exactly like this one. There's really no purpose to it, but one that I like is dashing to the side and then try stopping yourself with only the ball of one foot, so like you jump/dash to the left, and then try to stop yourself with your left foot as high as possible, and then stabilizing it only with that foot, before coming down and doing the same for the right side. But try not to absorb the momentum on your leg, otherwise it gets way easier, and it doesn't require that much work from your foot; you'll feel very off-balance trying to take it all on the foot, but you can get the hang of it, you can also progressively make it harder by dashing faster and/or absorbing less and less on your leg, which basically means you land your foot less and less diagonal, until you're basically trying to stop yourself almost completely upright
My balance is really great i.e. move & correct very little and stay very still, but stamina/strength is poor and I can't stay up very long. Makes sense because I mostly skateboard these days; strong ankles for balance, but explosiveness for pop & flick instead of load bearing capabilities. I had explosiveness for when I used to squat too. Kind of hyperactive and have a tendency to jump around on the balls of my feet if I'm standing around bored or doing calf raises if I happen to be near a curb/step/stairs/etc, so I practice balance passively. My background was also in TKD, so being on the balls of my feet so much is almost habitual.
With shotokan karate we had a drill to stand on one foot and then do a front kick, sidekick and a back kick. Maybe that is even possible with this foot on or the ball position? I have no tried it yet with that
I made it for 30 seconds on each leg, but it was a struggle! Much harder than I thought it would be.
I've always wanted to ask you about this subject When executing a high kick i cant elevate to the ball of my foot (as it is shown on the thumbnail) because i had clubfoot when i was younger and i am flat footed now Can i still compete in kickboxing with this problem Thank you champ! 🙏
Do you suggest using an assist like a wall if your building up to doing this?
You have crazy good arch in your feet, any exercises to develop them?
Sweeet KC hat!
does this matter for regular boxing?