# Greetings from an Aspergirl!



## Blue Lotus (Oct 15, 2021)

Hello!

I have been reading up and am very impressed with this forum!

I started MA a little over a year ago on the tip from an author about women and Autism. I am 36 and recently diagnosed. It turns out (for me at least) she was very right! The rules, discipline, and focus needed are a perfect compliment to my flavor of Autism.

MA is my current fixation, though I wouldn't say I am at all hard core. I attend Americanized Karate and MMA classes once a week for an hour at different schools and practice whenever my schedule allows (including the bathroom at work. For some reason they have floor to ceiling mirrors). I know the general consensus on the forum is not to mix disciplines starting out - the schedules just worked out that way and I'd rather train 2 days a week than just one.

If anyone has some tips on good books to read about MA I would be interested to see them. Also if you have any tips on developing balance, it would be appreciated. 

Thanks for making such a nice forum!


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## Steve (Oct 15, 2021)

Nicole said:


> Hello!
> 
> I have been reading up and am very impressed with this forum!
> 
> ...


Welcome to the forum.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 15, 2021)

Nicole said:


> Hello!
> 
> I have been reading up and am very impressed with this forum!
> 
> ...


Welcome!


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## JowGaWolf (Oct 15, 2021)

Welcome to the forum.


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## Buka (Oct 15, 2021)

Nicole said:


> Hello!
> 
> I have been reading up and am very impressed with this forum!
> 
> ...


Welcome to MartialTalk, Nichole. Hope you enjoy it. 

About balance, do you mean balance in general? Or particular to something you're having trouble with at the dojo?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Oct 15, 2021)

Welcome!

And don't worry too much about mixing. There are certain instances where that's true, and if you notice it's an issue, you can stop. But generally the idea is (with your situation), the advice would be spend 2 days a week at MMA or 2 days at Karate. If neither is possible, then spending a day at each is IMO better than spending 1 day at one and not going to any class the other. Particularly if you enjoy both!


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## seasoned (Oct 15, 2021)

Welcome to Martial Talk.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Oct 15, 2021)

Nicole said:


> if you have any tips on developing balance, it would be appreciated


Few suggestion:

- Single leg hop uphill with weight.
- Front kick, side kick, back kick without dropping your foot.
- Inside crescent kick, outside crescent kick, swing foot over head, leg lift backward.
- 3 none landing kicks.
- ...

Example of leg lift posture:






Example of 3 none landing kicks.


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## _Simon_ (Oct 16, 2021)

Ah welcome Nicole, really great to have you here!

Feel free to jump in any discussion, would love to hear more of your experiences and training. MA is a wonderful thing indeed


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 16, 2021)

@Nicole 
Welcome to MT


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 16, 2021)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> Few suggestion:
> 
> - Single leg hop uphill with weight.
> - Front kick, side kick, back kick without dropping your foot.
> ...


Those are all great exercises, we do them in every warmup!


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## Blue Lotus (Oct 17, 2021)

Buka said:


> Welcome to MartialTalk, Nichole. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> About balance, do you mean balance in general? Or particular to something you're having trouble with at the dojo?


Sense of balance in general. I used to have trouble staying upright just walking. With training I've gotten better, but still lower than average for my level. I have enough control to perform faster kicks that are OK for my level, but I tend to fall over on slow kicks.


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## Blue Lotus (Oct 17, 2021)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> Few suggestion:
> 
> - Single leg hop uphill with weight.
> - Front kick, side kick, back kick without dropping your foot.
> ...


I am not sure my balance is enough to do those correctly at this point, but I will try to work on them! Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Buka (Oct 17, 2021)

Nicole said:


> Sense of balance in general. I used to have trouble staying upright just walking. With training I've gotten better, but still lower than average for my level. I have enough control to perform faster kicks that are OK for my level, but I tend to fall over on slow kicks.


Nicole, go into your kitchen and stand facing the counter. Place the fingertips of both hands lightly on the counter.

Slightly raise one foot. Then lift your fingers off the counter about an inch. As you start to wobble, put the fingertips back down. Lift them again. As you’re getting used to this you can just tap your fingers on the counter for a second to correct your balance.

Spend a couple minutes doing this, then switch your feet. You’ll feel the bottom of your base foot wobbling on the floor to shift your balance. That’s a good thing, it’s what you want.

What you want to do is make this exercise habitual. If you go into the kitchen to make tea, put on the water and stay there doing the exercise until the water boils. Then stop, pour your tea and go back to the exercise while the tea steeps.

Google “proprioception” (Might as well do that in the kitchen with your fingers on the counter) 

You can lift your foot by bending the knee up behind you, or raise the knee in front of you. Do it the easiest way to start, then shift to the more difficult way, or mix them up.

I think you’ll notice a big difference within a year. That may seem like a long time, but a year will go by whether you do the exercise or not. So what the hey, give it a whirl.

We utilize this exercise with pretty much everyone, but especially with martial artists, athletes, people recovering from injury, amputees, older folks, older folks trying to get back into shape etc.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Oct 17, 2021)

Nicole said:


> I tend to fall over on slow kicks.


- The static balance is like a turtle that you don't move.
- The dynamic balance is you keep moving but don't fall.

IMO, the dynamic balance is much more important than the static balance.

For dynamic balance, I strongly suggest the foot sweep solo training.


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## Blue Lotus (Oct 17, 2021)

Buka said:


> Nicole, go into your kitchen and stand facing the counter. Place the fingertips of both hands lightly on the counter.
> 
> Slightly raise one foot. Then lift your fingers off the counter about an inch. As you start to wobble, put the fingertips back down. Lift them again. As you’re getting used to this you can just tap your fingers on the counter for a second to correct your balance.
> 
> ...


This sounds like a great exercise to help me, thank you very much!


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## isshinryuronin (Oct 17, 2021)

Nicole said:


> I am not sure my balance is enough to do those correctly at this point, but I will try to work on them! Thanks for the suggestions!


The most basic physical reasons for this is having a too high center of gravity, or not keeping your feet under your center of balance.  

For the first problem, be sure your knees stay bent all the time!  Some people have a habit of straightening their supporting leg during a kick.  For the second problem, keep good posture and don't lean over your stance too much.

These easy fixes go a long way to solving the most common balance issues many beginners have.  As you should know by now, balance and structure are key to martial arts and are the foundation for everything else.  Good luck!


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## Oily Dragon (Oct 17, 2021)

Nicole said:


> if you have any tips on developing balance, it would be appreciated.


The key to balance is keeping both feet on the monkey staff while suspended weightless and all your elders are watching, without falling down.  And that's assuming you've already mastered all the texts.

It's never easy, if it was, it couldn't be called kung fu.


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## Instructor (Oct 18, 2021)

Welcome.


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## SahBumNimRush (Oct 18, 2021)

Greetings and welcome to MT Nicole!


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## nigebj (Oct 19, 2021)

Love @Buka's advice - habit is the key, as it patience. Balance does not get corrected/improved with a few sessions per week.
Look for every opportunity to test and improve your balance (safely!).
Also noted - dynamic is more important, but static is the foundation to dynamic.
Examples:

Try putting on socks by balancing on the other foot (start by resting against something, then having it there for recovey)
Same with tying your shoes 
Try balancing on a beam (a 2x4 on the ground - not a high one, that way the risk is at most a twisted ankle)
Walk along the beam
Hop along it (you can alternate the landing foot)
Stand on it while practicing various kicks (not on the center line, kick left, right and back once you have the basics down)

Look for other opportunities in your daily activity - challenge yourself to balance instead of taking an easier path
Alway be mindful that you do not need height to develop balance, just focus and/or a restricted support.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Oct 19, 2021)

This training is very good for balance.


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