30 Minutes for 30 Days, the Return: Day 2

"If a Man Can't Stand, a Man Can't Fight."

It's a line that has been used in books and movies for quite some time and, in truth, any number of Martial Disciplines. (While this is the common line, I have trained with and have been taught by highly skilled people of all genders. Moving forward, "man" will be replaced by "person")

It's a simple truth, but it's a little more complex than most people think.

When people hear "if a person can't stand, a person can't fight", most think of attacking legs and feet with kicks, cuts, stabs, and various strikes.  Of course, these are all effective and correct applications to assault with and also to defend against.

There is another, important risk that people often forget, making sure their own legs do not fail them.

If your legs are not conditioned, fatigue will make sure you won't be standing or fighting.

Tonight, as well as drilling Bolognese guards, I began incorporating stance training.

Any Eastern style I trained in had stance training as a major foundation component.  The formula is simple, but it isn't easy: take your stance, adjust your self so you are correct and you have proper alignment and connection.

Now hold it. Keep your position. Sixty seconds to begin. If you are in good shape, starting with two minutes works.  Move from stance to stance, holding for each.  As time goes on, add more time.

Can you hold for five minutes? Work up to ten and fifteen?

Tonight I spent two minutes in the following stances:
Piccolo Passo (Narrow Stance)

Passo Guisto (Medium Stance)

Gran Passo (Wide Stance)

Pick up your weapons and add your guards.

I've written about this in the past, but it is important enough to repeat. Stance training with strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments. With proper position and body alignment, hips, spine, neck and shoulders are also conditioned.

There will also be discomfort and some pain, at times. Learning to work through it and to channel it with keep you focused and stronger. This is as much a mental exercise as it is physical.

I concluded my training with fifty squats.