Vigilance & Tranquility

Stand and slowly on the inhale arch your pelvis backwards till you run out of inhale and than exhale the extra tension and release your tension. Inhale again and arch your pelvic forward and again exhale and release the tension from the hips and back. Repeat this on your toes and than on your heels and move around to gather how your hips feel once you are more aware of their tilt. This drill allows for better awareness and thus better movement in all directions, remember to just be aware of the tension instead of pushing it out. Allow the body movement to align you with every breath rather than trying to steady the ship.

Remember to avoid obstructing your view. If you block the sun with your hand it is still there. If you are doing this to shade your eyes you are doing something. If you are lifting your hands to defend the air ahead of you out of fear you are reacting instead of acting and the same goes for rifles knives and pans…

Take a partner and hold in your hand his little hand finger. Start to move and twist and turn your partner as he works to avoid getting tensed up and of course avoiding harm. Work slowly as it is very easy to break the little finger and as such it is a cause and a device to learn to spread your awareness in your entire body and become free from outside pressure. It is a simple drill and if you learn to make mistakes and overcome them you will learn fast. If you try to avoid making mistakes or zero the situation when things become hard or uncomfortable during learning you will not learn or learn very slowly. Honesty is effective.

Sit on your behind and more to the squat. Walk the movement back in your head and note if there was any freedom in the way your eyes were fixed or aligned to the actual or personal horizon.
Now relax back to sitting and repeat the drill moving first your breath and than your relaxed gaze and let the body follow. In a short while you will find that it is far easier to allow the body to glide from one tension point to another with much less resistance than the linear movement your fixed eyes force on you.
Now that you can breathe and glide your way from sitting to squatting progress to doing the same from squatting to standing by avoiding fixing your eyes and letting them guide you to the path of least resistance. A video will follow to demonstrate this.

Take a partner and stand first face to face and have him reach to touch you using a hand or foot or anything else and you work to not be there and then confirm with your partner that you knew where he or she were going for. Repeat this a few times and switch roles. Do this drill facing the same direction and then facing different directions and remember to move out of the contact and keep moving so you avoid becoming a drum that sounds only when hit. This is a simple drill to learn to read people and to learn not to force your perception on reality and simply move and keep moving.

Take a repetitive action you do such as sharpening a blade on a stone or simply bouncing a ball against the wall and repeat the action 100 times. The drill is not the movement but avoiding getting lost in the movement. Let your breath lead the movement and make each of the movements an action you create rather than follow. It will be tempting to create a rhythm and follow it but habits are masters in the guise of friends and your freedom will not be found in a one time rhythm but in creating each moment free from the drift of others.

This solo drill takes about half an hour and involves a zip of water. Fill your mouth to the lower lip level with water and start walking. Breath in through the nose and exhale as best as you can through the mouth. From time to time stop and squat down and look around (Do this drill outside) after you check out your environment from all directions and from different angles continue. When you finish drink or discard what was once just water and enjoy the feeling of your mouth liberated. You will notice patience and a relaxed but aware jaw will serve you better when impact comes along. Check it for yourself and find your way.

Changing environment drills:

1 Take your rifle and LBE and crawl under your Jeep or whatever vehicles you may have. If you get stuck under, learn to remove and change the gear around you and learn to make your world more than your immediate environment (look around you and note the people and other things you can hear and see and smell from down under) Progress to pushing and rolling a partner under the vehicle while minding the environment and than going under and having a partner move around the vehicle as you strive to reach him with your partner. This will force you to think more than one step ahead and teach patience. Progress to breathing passes: you are supplied with X breaths to move under the vehicle with your kit or with your kit and partner and every time you take one breath away… Another way to learn to move well and to avoid getting exited is to have a partner tell you at random to hold your breath and complete the drill. Progress to closing your eyes and doing the drill while orienting toward a specific sound or scent ( a can with burning gasoline for example, I am sure you will explain this to your commander before you perform the drill) Progress to having people cover the exits from under the vehicle and you have to exit while they use their rifles with measure to push you back under.
2. Close your eyes and turn in place while holding your breath until you cannot hold your breath anymore. Compose yourself using swift intake through the nose and sharp but longer exhale through the mouth. Now have your partner direct you by sound to the vehicle where you need to enter and exit through the other side (or other exit if no other side exists) when you do this drill you focus on making the least amount of noise to learn to pay attention to every surface and to every joint not just in you but in your contact and surroundings. Progress to moving over your vehicle with your rifle and LBE and here have a partner throw light rocks at you so you learn about silhouette and it’s manipulation. Focus here first on what you see from different vantage points and than on what others can see and in your head know how you are visible from different angles.
3. Have the vehicle drive slowly and you move from opening to opening in your gear to dry fire at whatever you recognize. Use breath counting to stay within yourself and know when you tense up. Have the driver stop from time to time and you then freeze for 60 breaths to learn how you can clean your movement and how to better use the surroundings. Progress to working with eyes closed inside the vehicle with people outside throwing light rocks at you and you move within to dry fire at them. Have a few straps tied inside so a partner can pull on them as you move to allow you to avoid becoming fixed or ritualistic. Progress to having one partner sit in the vehicle and you take him out and look for wounds on him. Do this using a dropping breath count and add closed eyes and duct tape and strings and most of all stiffening and grabbing in your partner to learn to stay relaxed even if a contact is slightly burned or dazed and does not recognize you for the saint you are. Have your partner also grab you and refuse to let go and learn to dry fire and move under this situation and also to use your rifle as a stick or lever to pry him from you once you are not in direct fire.
4. Stand a few steps from your partner and throw your checked rifle from one to the other. First do this while standing and than while sitting and than laying down. Talk during the drill because many times people are separating movement and talking to two different actions and you need to clean this out so you can direct communicate and fire at the same time. Progress to throwing and catching using just one hand at a time (using just your left hand or just your right) and than to catching the rifle with the crooks of the body alone ( for example pressing the rifle with your right forearm to your chest as you move away from the straight trajectory throw) Progress to sticking a ripe piece of meat or something else of a disgusting nature to the end of the barrel and attacking first walking and than running your partners, Use your body to clean the path and your arms and legs to continue the path and adding to it (for example if there is a stick covered with grease stuck at the barrel I move to avoid it and as I turn with my entire body my shoulder rolls to allow my forearm to come up with no tension and my hand first slides and than adds downward movement to the underside of the barrel while my other forearm adds elevation to the soft part of his throat and he loses sight of his rifle which makes separating it from him all the easier, Remember out of sight is not out of range and a loaded rifle dropped can still kill or alert others of your lack or awareness)
5 Have a partner hide over a hill or a Long hut and have him remove a piece of the environment part by part. Monitor and pay attention to what you don’t see or hear. For example if a tree is lacking birds than perhaps someone is sitting under it, If a car has no cats sleeping on the hood than perhaps it is too hot or not at all, if a branch rustles you still have to breath. Focus on your breath and use this eye drill. Connect two things that fixed your attention like a tree and a rock and divide the distance between them by three. Dry fire to the two spots in between and than progress to going deeper 7 times between the spots or lines you just drew in your mind. Repeat the drill at night and note how light and shade create lines which do not exist. Use this drill and shifting your location and turning to clean yourself of this allusion and soon you will be more comfortable with less imaginary friends at night.
6 Do a backwards drill. Enter a vehicle with your head or legs first, get out of bed with your hands and than your legs and most importantly do a tactical drill from the end to the beginning. Start with you and your partners post making sure the contact is either secure ,broke contact or decomposing and move back from there to being just injured or out of bullets and work back and forth from there, descend to adding more distance and people to the contact side, descend to not really knowing which threat or where it or they are. Descent to sitting all in the vehicle with your gear on and one of you is napping and his rifle is secured with a strap to the vehicle and not free to work with, descent to having a partner not show up in time to the cleaning pit and learn to run the drill both ways learning to clean out the only linear thinking and perception. This very annoying way will teach you to avoid counting your cards with half a deck and to see rather than look.
7. Draw two lines about half a mile apart and have all your partners stand or sit at one line and one at a time you have to crawl roll drive or in any other way pass the distance unnoticed. You can use someone else’s clothes or vehicle, you can crawl in a ditch or climb and slither atop a long hut, you can start a small fire in an abandoned storage (safety comes first ..) and simply walk in place sight and learn to be inventive and creative in cleaning the ground. Use the sun to your advantage it is the biggest flashlight you will ever see and remember that noise travels slower than gossip so if someone not involved sees you rest assured it will pass forward in the same way a stray dog can alert an entire village even if it is not dining there.
8. Use artificial light or fire at night to turn off your eyes night vision and allow them to adjust again while you work to complete different tasks as tying ropes together or any of the drills that count for you. Repeat the drill a few times and learn to depend less on just on sense and to avoid tensing and freezing when your conditions change. Do the same drill with loud noise at the range or during one or more live fire drills but keep this to a minimum as too much exposure will damage your hearing sense.
9. Close your eyes and have a partner make a constant noise using a radio or anything else. Follow the noise with your rifle aim and whenever he stops the noise you get one breath time to open your eyes and dry fire at the partner or another target he may be introducing by his movement. Repeat this drill a few times and than change it to giving you one breath time by making a sound and than use your honesty to help your partner learn to move with less noise by dry firing at him only when he makes noise as he completes different tasks as firing himself at you (when you fire you let others know where you are to some extent and you need to recognize this) or clearing a wounded partner from the drill area.
10. Have a friend work to surprise you once or more a day for a week and than you do the same for him. work to keep breathing and to learn how you were not paying attention. Remember that surprise can account to locking the shower door from outside and waiting for you to become angry or simply jumping you during a debrief from a fire drill when you think things are over and it is time to catch on some much needed sleep.

Here is a list by category for infantry soldiers:

Basics of movement:
1. Slow walking (a step means to move all of your body and not just moving your mass from one leg to another, both legs should be under you for you to move freely) giving each step 60 breaths and giving it at least 4 steps at a time. First forward than backwards than turning. Doing this drill will teach you what you are doing and force you to pay attention and clean your movement.
2. Sit down and get up (inhale or exhale start the movement and not movement initiates the breath): First bare feet and with your hands over your head then with hands folded behind your back then while aiming your rifle or handgun then with your boots then with your battle vest (however you call where you put your water and magazines) then with your helmet then with your backpack then with eyes closed then with no knees touching the ground then while holding your breath then with partner on shoulders.
This drill will allow you to stay mostly injury free if done well and everyday. Remember smooth is swift so keep moving and if you feel you made a mistake relish it because you just learned something. Avoid zeroing your movement and work from the tight spot you placed yourself into. This way you will learn more about humility and about both knowing what to do and what to do when you forget to pay attention.
3 Dry firing: about ¾ of your shooting should be dry and the slower you do it the faster you will progress with maneuverability and accuracy. Practice as in drill number one to get the first shot out in 60 breaths and you will notice how you can move better and how you tense up. Freeze once you let out the shot and wait another 60 breaths. Notice where you get tensed up and let the extra tension you created out using swift exhales and shorter inhales. Relax your mind doing a static push up while holding your breath after an exhale to your limit and again note how it felt. When you will be shot it will be harder but not as hard if you don’t do this drill. You must learn different ways to relax because your breath may become short from stabs or altitude, your body may become frozen from cold or impact your spirit will never let you down unless you give up. Crying is not bad if you consider the alternative.
4 The 4 basics in this fashion: (one repetition on the inhale, one on the exhale and one with breath holding after the exhale) basically you do one push up on an inhale than one on the exhale and than one after you exhaled with no air. Than you progress to doing two push ups during one smooth inhale and two push ups during one smooth exhale and so on. After you do push ups you do straight back sit ups than leg raises overhead than squats with you back perpendicular to the ground. (In the squats lower yourself only as much it is possible with your knees and feet aligned and your back straight, again honesty with some awareness will get you where you want to go faster than pushing yourself, effort not in place is added tension to your systems)
5. Walking the square: One step on the inhale, one step on the pause, one step on the exhale and again one on the pause. Let the breath lead the movement and only move to two steps per smooth inhale once it is two easy to do. Remember to listen to your body and to work with what you have at any given moment. This drill will feel different after eating or after a long nights sleep. It will give you a chance to clear your head if you carry it long enough and that is just as important to your survival as anything else.
6 Crawling: Getting from A to B is fun walking or running (I am not serious about the running being fun) but sometimes people are shooting at you or even worse already shot you and than you have to move from A to B. Start with just your clothes and your hands behind your back. This will teach you that your legs are there to move your body and your hands you should keep to the delicate work of shooting those nice people on the other side and trembling hands make you a bad shot and a known location shot. Next crawl with your rifle alone not touching the ground but as close to it as possible. Next crawl with your rifle and vest while trying to make as little noise and dust as possible. Next crawl on your back (for example uphill while watching the patrol rear) and aiming you rifle. Next crawl forward and around obstacles with all your gear. Next crawl with one hand pressed to any point in your face or body. Once you are hit you may want to close the open piping and lessen the contamination while getting away or trying to help someone who is more badly hurt than you. It may even seem painless when someone else is hurt more than you. Don’t feel guilty, you are there to stay alive and getting the job done is never all your responsibility. Some times things simply don’t happen the way we want them to and accepting that simple fact allows us greater leverage in changing those things. Next crawl with your eyes closed toward a destination and every 60 breaths open one eye to see how you are doing. Night time and head injuries can easily make people into baggage. Avoid that possibility by reminding yourself that god can make the sun stop in its movement and he is on your side.
7 Pray: You don’t have to share your thoughts and fears with anyone in particular but addressing the greater picture and being humble will be very helpful when simple things go wrong like a canceled vacation or a broken canteen when you are in need of it. There is nothing that can break you faster than your own vanity and your friend will appreciate this even if they laugh.
8 once in a while go without sleep for a night or two. Continue to do your daily chores and work and note the affect this has on your mood your body and your perception of events. Sleep and read your notes every time you do this drill. It will come in handy soon enough.
9 Learn to pay attention to directions and headings. Note the local map and try to know your direction and general location at least a few times a day. Doing a small navigation drill every day using a compass and map even if you are walking 200 meters south and than turning to heading 330 and advancing another 100 meters and checking if you are where you are supposed to be will do you a world of good.
10 Work to do all your drills at night as well as during the day. Comfort comes from within and you need to find yourself in the dark as well. A small flashlight is great but not when the fire is in your direction and a soldier who cannot walk and fire silently and effectively at night is in a disadvantage over most third world children. Think about it and focus on the money drills. Many drills can make you happy and feel good and burn time. You already know what works and you need to work your mind to do them most of the time.
11 Fast once a week. If the temperature is too hot drink to avoid dehydration buy do this once a week. The mental and body focus and cleaning it provides is worth the initial getting into it.
12 and this is the last for now: count your blessings every day norning and night. Say thanks for the clear sky or for the rain washing your vehicles. Focus on the positive in things and your power to stay calm and work worthy will grow.

Partner sensory drills:
1 starts in the static push up and have your feet held by your partner at his sides. You close your eyes and he walks however he wishes. You need to sense his movement and move to remain able to navigate and than you switch roles. Repeat this drill facing up as well and learn to position your body dynamically to keep moving rather than impacting as a solid. This drill both builds your health in staying relaxed and relying more on the tendons and structure than on muscle and allows you to move in different positions while still controlling and using all your limbs.
2 lie down on the ground and be totally stiff. Have your partner move you using just his fists upright and then gently down. Change roles and repeat the drill. Now one by one relax each limb and see how you fare and how your partner fares. Finish by relaxing all of your body and have your partner use any method without harming you to bring you upright and then down again. This is a great lesson on how to take care of each other when stressed and hurt and how to avoid helping the other side move you where they want you.
3 Aim your rifle or handgun and have your partner press his fist all over your body and head. Exhale the tension and note where you tensed up. Repeat the drill and note how you can both move and aim at the same time to avoid giving support and still hit the mark on the go. Repeat this drill standing squatting, sitting prone and change between them.
4 have a partner aim at you at a distance where you cannot reach him, the third distance. Move around him and up and down and have him keep his aim on you. From time to time tell him to freeze and he holds the position for 60 breaths noting how his position helps or annoys him and learning to avoid excess tension and overreaching.
5 hold your rifle on you or lay it in the holster or strap and have a partner stand at the third distance from you. Have him first walk toward you as you move and aim at him and than seek the next target and then the next (Thank you Konstantin this alone saved my life many times) Increase the pace toward you till you are running and than move to a sitting starting position then prone then starting with the partner or partners out of you line of sight. Remember to breath and to avoid hurry. Smooth is swift and a jam will not only harm you but your brothers in arms.
6 Have your partner close his eyes with his rifle on him and with a laser pointer working. Direct him using voice alone to the target and check how to best do this with each of your mates. You will find up and down means different things to different people.
7 have a partner tie a rope to your leg and walk with you as you walk and aim and dry fire. At any given time he will pull the rope and you need to first avoid injury to yourself and your mates (having another partner walk with you is great) and than keep seeking the next target. Exhale the tension from the change at first and then learn to use all your breath phases as you progress.
8 lie on the ground with your rifle and aim at a partner walking at random. Have another partner walk through you and your job is to avoid the incoming contact while seeking to aim and dry fire at the moving target. Remember to keep moving your head from your body and avoid moving your body around your head thus making you a point fixed target.
9 have two or more partners for this drill ready with their rifles. Start by all people moving at once to walk through you and you need to keep moving without stopping and at any time when your partners see you at a funny position they can tell you to freeze for 60 breaths to become aware of the recent movement and alignment. This is a great drill for them to recognize the already open doors in their close work. Proceed to your partners moving through you with their rifles aimed and you need to avoid getting bumped while at the same time you need to add to the movement of the rifle. For example if a partner is coming at your front and you step to the side with all of your body, you turn and your arm moves with you to the lower muzzle area where you can simply squat forward adding to his movement while placing the barrel between his legs. Both parties learn to position and work with a rifle either in their hands or in a contact and remember to allow the breath to lead the movement and avoid trying to force a movement. Your partner bumping into your static position with his rifle will give you positive incentive for this. Proceed to doing this drill with all people aiming their rifles while you avoid contact but remain able to aim yourself. Avoid reaching for one position and aim from wherever you are. Proceed to the same drill with you sitting down or rolling with your rifle from time to time or to escape. Remember the rifle is with you and not the other way around. Proceed to taking a few empty clips and at your partner command change while in movement or roll away. Proceed to the basic drill with one eye closed to illustrate what happens in low visibility or when hurt. Repeat for the other eye and have your partners laugh at you till they do the drill. Proceed to the basic drill using the square breathing drill and note how this simple change can force you to experience rising and falling levels of stress so when the time comes you can do the work.
10 place both hands on your partners back and push him constantly. Have him resist lightly and comply in turn so you have to learn to push without falling through the push and change sides and pushing height at will. Have your partner aim and dry fire first standing as you push him and he works to give you the least resistance while working through targets and than walking and walking in the squat.
11 and this is the last for now: have your partner lie on the ground and you on top of him. Place both hands on your head and use just your body and legs to move all over his body and as you move work to feel where he is tense. Stay on the tough spots or lines and move yourself to help him relax and breathe out the tension. Repeat this drill while facing the other way (up or down) and avoid staying in one place for too long to avoid getting comfortable with discomfort as we tend to do with posture and positions.

Sharon Friedman
Infantry – The brown berets
IDF

A very simple but important drill. When we become afraid or startled we tend to bring back the neck inside like a turtle. To become aware and to clean this tension out so we can move freely as a whole lie on your back with your legs extended and together. Slowly bring all the parts of your back to the ground until you are touching it without tension using all of your back and do not advance until you can do this drill with the neck relaxed and the head free to move and the breath unchanged. Once this is done (it can take more than a few tries over a while) slowly lift your legs off the ground together and again keep the neck relaxed and the breath free. Once again this is done lift the legs overhead and back while at all times keeping the neck relaxed and free.

If you do the drill with no meaning to it than you are less than effective. Effort without intent is a dead end.

Take a backpack on your back or a suitcase in your hand and walk in a crowd while trying to minimize contact with others. Work with a partner or a few on moving with the backpack while avoiding people who are coming at you and dealing with people trying to grab and hit you. consider loosing the bagage if a logical outcome without it is not found. For example if you are in a pushing match on your suitcase and a knife is drawn it may be best to loose contact or on the other hand use the suitcase as a tool to direct the blade toward more calming venues.
Keep breathing and remember that what works once may not work again.

Progress comes in small steps but realization of it comes in leaps and bounds of imagination once we are clear enough to realize where we are and what we can know from the vantage point.
For example you work on moving with your partner for a while on merging with his levers to avoid becoming tense and injured from them and only after a long while you will realize that if you move according to your partner you are already tense. You will avoid becoming tense once you move to your own rhythm and move according to what is natural to you and the tension will not come inside you.
A small practical example is to walk. If you are pushed and you jump or try to balance it is an unnatural movement if you are moved into it. Start slow and keep breathing and you will find already within yourself the solution. If you are levered by the elbow and you bend and move your legs and arms away from your body you are trying to spread the tension and that is fine but will not work sometimes. If you take the patience and consideration to simply walk it out leaving the tension outside and choosing instead of being pushed you will not be controlled once you have self awareness.
Have a partner take you by the hand and start to lever and move you. You need to keep the tension outside you you by first breathing according to the level of tension outside and inside so you avoid letting the mental and emotional tension to come inside and than by moving as you choose first very slowly to avoid erratic movement and than faster you you relax simply walking and doing what you feel is right.
A video will be out soon to illustrate in principal.

Take a simple water bottle and half fill it. Hold first the narrow tip and slowly move it around you over the head and drawing shapes in the air.
Keep the surface of the water perfectly still and your wrist alighned with your forearm.
Mind the change in your work afterwards and remember to relax and keep breathing.

I prefer to work barefoot or with light moccasins. Others depend on their Crocks in the farm for irrigation and quick cleaning and the list goes on and on. Do your regular work with different footwear than what you have in mind and see how you can roll and turn and squat with dancing shoes or with steel toed boots. Work on pushing each other lightly on a flight of stairs and do the basic drill of sitting down and getting up with your rifle on a moving target (or simply use a laser pointer on a cat…) in different footwear.
Have your partner lie on the ground and stand on his stomach. Have him escape your mass by moving starting with the free points and advance to standing a few on one and in different positions (kicking is optional but very motivating) point your gun or pointer at a silent target while standing on your partner and have him move first by just breathing and than moving about as he or she wishes. Your job is to let the moving ground under you manifest just in that area and to keep a relaxed and mobile upper body and also stay on target. Advance to having a partner throw balls at you as you are held by one leg and levered to stay put. This will allow you to learn to keep local tension local and to correspond with your handler to avoid giving him your movement in advance. In short standing and moving on a partner will help you both clean out excess movement and to learn to move each part freely from the other.

Learning to walk may start with stumbling which is fine and the logical thing to do is to clean out the stumbling from the walk once we are able to.
Start with a partner and a stick. Look forward and up and tense and relax shoulders and hips a few times. Now start walking slowly and your partner which is squatting will place the stick where you naturally intend to land your food and you need to adjust and avoid pressing on the stick in air or stumble using your body movement and avoiding guiding your legs with your eyes alone. It is tempting to lower your eyes and avoid the data your legs are giving you and your narrow vision will relax with continuous breathing and you will learn to pay attention to your hips and feet and walk instead of stumbling. Your partner will be vigil to address your tensions and rigid movement and you work on keeping calm and relaxed. Just walk and avoid fighting or stumbling upon reality. Another way to do this is to walk in a bush with eyes looking forward and up and to let the eyes relax with time and slowly moving to let the feet figure things out for themselves as you learn to do different things with different body parts and to again simply walk without falling and impacting yourself with each step.

For this drill you will need a stick and a partner. Place the partner in the static push up position and stand comfortably close to him or her. Now at the same time press the stick to his body so he needs to move so he is not impaled and at the same time kick him using all the parts of your legs that you can use. Change places frequently and note how working on different focuses in movement and goals affects each one in turn.
Work again with the focus being letting the breath lead and start the movement whichever it may be and note the difference in your work. Remember it is better to move than to die and in every role we work through and play in we have a lot of angles to learn from. We choose the angles but only if we pay attention

Place your fist flat on your partner’s palm and move it from the elbow and than from the shoulder as your partner simply relaxes and lets his palm follow you around. Now reverse the drill and as he moves his palm you match his movement by choosing how to move so there is alignment in ther wrist and comfort in the body movement and in the breath and sight staying relaxed and free to move around. Apply no pressure with the fist touching the palm and allow your body to find different ways to match reality and align with it. After you do this drill while laying sitting squatting and standing add placing your fist on different parts of the body such as the chest, head and back and progress to moving without stop with your breath and not following it and now add spreading you awareness in the rest of your body, relax your eyes to see what is around you and under you, find what you can do with the rest of your limbs and make sure you are choosing your movemnt rather than following (Try working with the tip of the elbow in the palm next and see how this builds on your movement without adding any tension to your frame). Mastery is just a word. Awareness and calm are both the goal and the tool to get there and without humility to work on the basics of awareness there can be no true progress.

Take a knife and hold it on the flat of the blade and lean the tip of it on a wall or any hard object like a tree. Slowly increase how much you lean on the blade and when it makes sense release the tension and repeat in a different hold. Play with different holds and lean toward all directions as you place the tip and than the edge as well on the wall. Let your body relax and find how you can support the pressure without tensing up more than needed.
Now move to stab the resistance and as you feel the pressure change directions and glide on it to find how you can keep moving without trying to force reality into something else. This is not always the case in a knife conflict but it can serve you to remember you are moving yourself and not others and you are moving your hand rather than propelling the blade.
For example if you are stabbing from above and out of fright your partner is blocking with his forearm you can simple continue to move your elbow down and slash his forearm and than as your body moves forward his face and so on. Another example is when you slash from side to side and your partner is trying to deflect you downward or upwards. Simply relax your arm as your body moves and let your shoulder roll and than you will not enact the tension in your partner and simply move where you want to slash. Relax your eyes and face. Making a tough face does not help much in stopping of bleeding.

Take your partner by the hand and start to rotate and twist him in order to help him relax and to learn to move to avoid becoming hurt and stay within his comfort zone while increasing it (the same as in low walking on different levels with an upright spine only with partner) help your partner by changing directions so he learns to avoid creating big movement and do only what is needed for the work, help him by tensing up and relaxing so he learns the effects of mirroring on himself and expel the extra tension with movement and breathing. Help your partner by blocking his path so he learns there is more than one way to solve a problem and to avoid following just his eyes and memory. Help your partner by rolling yourself and squatting down and moving here and there so he learns to release his eyes from the horizon and avoid being fixated on one plane or posture for movement. Help your partner by hitting him with your free fist or the elbow of you working arm every time he tried to power against your working contact arm so he learns that you have two arms (silly but we forget in practice and die while working without reminding ourselves to stay honest) And above all help your partner by paying attention to yourself so you remain in control and it is you in the chariot instead or Mars the god of war. Breath, relax, move and smile whenever possible.

Place yourself on your fists and keep your body straight and relaxed as possible. Have a partner lift your legs to different heights and drop you and your job is to relax and to maintain your breathing and your tension at the minimum required to avoid changing your form. Next have your partner lift your upper body up (my students tried to lift me by the ears and it didn’t work well for them) and again dropping you at different hights. Remember that when working hard on hard you need to spread your awareness in your entire body so that the impact will be able to transfer through you without ending inside. Keep breathing and loosen your fists when it is not required to tense them.

Take a knife that is not too sharp and press it into your partner. Work slowly so he can find the best way for himself to avoid getting cut or stabbed and change positions from time to time. It is best to start with just the body moving while you sit on your behind and find from there the different movement your body can create and to learn to use each hip on its own freely. Add this one simple turn to this drill while already standing and later on sitting down as well to help each other learn the reality of a blade point and blade by twisting the blade inside as you would a screw. This will help in learning to move your entire body and to avoid resisting the movement as a whole. You have to give permission to the blade to travel rather than trying to first move it or redirect it and get yourself harmed.

Move with care and relax yourselves rather than sprint to a fixed finish. Move and work from different directions and positions and avoid stopping and zeroing your work to an initial stage. Work from where you are as in a real contact. keep breathing and stay honest.

Stand or lie down and breathe. Tense up your entire body and relax to a one heartbeat count and relax. Repeat a few times starting the tension wave in different places in the body and also tensing all in one go. Up the count to two and repeat the drill paying attention to different parts in the body and feeling the heartbeat in your entire body as you tense and relax and elevate the level of awareness in your body. Up the count slowly to as high as you feel is working for you and in a very short measure of time you will gain a lot of ability out of simply paying attention.

Remember simply paying attention lies between falling into a ditch and breaking your leg or avoiding getting the screwdriver pushed into your ear.

Start walking using your breath as a guide in this fashion. One step on the inhale, one step on the pause, one step on the exhale and one more on the pause after that. Let the breath start the movement and during the pause relax and note where there is excess tension. It will relax with awareness without any effort. Have a partner either throw something at you like a tennis ball or simply give a changing voice command of direction and you roll to the given side as you recieve the charge. Go up the scale with breath adding more steps per breath phase and rolling to all sides and note how you handle and the added tension and distrubution of it in you.

The drill is simple on paper but it is not easy. Go as high as you can and let the movement show you where you tense up with no need and where you can move more naturally. Relax your face and eyes and note the ever changing alignment of the hips and shoulders.

To learn to hold tools and knives in particular well hold one in your hand and have a partner use a stick to first tap you on the arm and hand and than repeat the drill as you tense and relax your arm and shoulder as you are being tapped. Change roles and repeat the drill and than add closing your eyes to the drill by the person holding the knife. Progress to changing grip on the knife as you are being tapped and once you do this start to slowly move your knife letting the breath start the movement as your partner increases the hitting and adds strikes to the rest of your body. Remember to relax your eyes as you move and avoid looking at yourself too much. Feel your body.

Once all partners went through this drill start coming at each other as you are also evading a strike or a stick and work so your hold is not a stop in your movement or perception. Keep breathing and moving and remember while all roads lead to Rome the sides of the roads are littered with the bodies of the people who ignore reality.
The goal of the drill is much more important than simply running through the drill. Here aim to pay attention to the tension in your body and use what is needed while avoiding relenting to fear and impatiance.

Slow movement is great at cleaning out tension and making you stronger and move alive (density) in everything. To illustrate this do these four drills and than work with a partner and see how you fare differently.

1. Stand and very slowly raise your shoulders as high as possible to a twenty breath count and relax them again to the same count. Now repeat the same drill with the elbows to the sides and back and the fists to the front and to the opposite side (right fist goes to the left side parallel to the ground…)

2.  Stand and rise on your toes to the same count and as in all drills keep your breath leading movement and your body relaxed and upright and eyes forward and up. repeat the drill lifting your feet and remaining on the balls of your feet.

3. lie on your back and slowly arch your your back up and your feet pressed to the ground creating an arch with your entire body. note where the movement begins and as you repeat the drill a few times new places come to life out of the benefits of this slow movement.

4. lie on your stomach and place your arms to your sides creating a + sign. Press all limbs to the ground lifting the body off the ground and again as in the third drill feel where the movement actually begins and with slight repetition find new freedom of movement in you. Remember what Vladimir says. He is not flexible, he is free…

Place your hand on your partner in an open palm fashion and check that you are comfortable and avoiding spreading yourself. Tense your body from the toes to the hips and relax a few times letting the breath lead the movement and feel where the body naturally wants to go. Keep in mind also to touch your partner and avoid leaning on him or pressing him in any way. You loose your awareness and freedom this way. Now add the movement to the tensing and relaxing and connect it to your arm and palm to redirect your partner or change his alignment. Work from all sides of the person and include breath holding in this drill to learn to release the fear and tension of sudden contact.

Have your partner come and walk into your open hand or fist as you hold it in front of you and than to the sides and back and exhale the tension that comes from this contact. Start with your eyes closed.

Continue with your partner or partners coming to hit you or move you toward a chosen destination like the trunk or a car and you use your breath and tension wave first in full tension and as the awareness comes to the surface in a more economic fashion to redirect and control the situation to your survival.

Control of others can only blossom from control of self. There is no control without awareness and all things from humility to perception come from it. It is the beginning and the end. Pay attention.

Place you hand or fist on your partner and feel him breathe. Avoid pressing on him in any way and simply touch. Allow your breathing to sync and at any point sink you fist into your partner as you feel an opening or sifting. In this sinking simply move your body and relax the arm so it screws inward along with the opening in your partner density and allow your breath to keep going without stop. Do this several times for each arm and than move on to this:

Breath with your partner as you contact him without support and at some point change your breathing and see how this affects your partner. Do this several times and than progress to sinking in your partner as you change your breath and also a little before and a little after. The same can be done walking together and changing breathing pattern at once and noticing the difference and than adding a change in direction.

This is a sutle drill but the benefits to your striking will be very noticeable.

Have fun and change and vary each time you work. Learning and cleaning are the goals not the drill itself.

Attach a light point marker like the ones used in presentations to the end of the barrel of your rifle a stick a handgun or a simple pensile and point it at your partner. He or she will move logically so the barrel will not be pointing at them and your objective is to see what is happening as you direct the business end of your tool to your partner. Mind to avoid focusing on him because this will narrow your field of sight and allow him to manipulate your posture and direction and instead see the sights whether they are iron sights, laser or light or simply your awareness. This way you are free to move instead or reacting to an external trigger.

Next stand next to your partner and direct the tool to him in the same way minding not to fix your body by paying attention to the soles of your feet and how you choose to place your mass on them. Walk around them while keeping your eyes relaxed to see the next thing coming at your and allowing you to both see the objective and the rest without strain. Start slowly and note how the body can relax and change the alignment and the way you move your limbs to do the work instead of keeping a stance and moving rigidly and with a narrow line of sight. Using a heavy object such as a bag at the end of a stick is good to learn to shift your tension around in your body instead of tensing against it and loosing the battle against reality. Instead simply breathe and as you pay attention the logical solution will present itself. If you are in the armed forces or simply defending someone who cannot do this for himself place the strap or a bag at the end of your rifle or any tool and find a way to keep moving and staying relaxed. Remember life is movement and as you become rigid and strain against reality it will give you a hard lesson in humility. Start with humility and you are without limits.

Now have your partner move to end the possibility of you using this tool on him by taking the tool from you or taking you out of the work (for example a hit to the throat with a stick) or by directing the tool at you. Move slowly to avoid hurting each other but move with intent. Relax your face and remember to keep breathing and the idea of staying alive in mind. Again keep moving where there is less resistance so if for example your handgun hand is held move from the body and allow the elbow to move and keep the hollow in your partner to allow both to learn to move better. An inexpensive and good option to clean ideas of pride from yourself is to use a water gun where you can feel the hit and know that a wet arm or torso or even foot is a bleeding one in reality. Keep breathing and moving and avoid the downfall of pride. Learn from every contact and from everyone you meet and see.

Smiling is not prohibited.

Start with a partner and make threatening postures and movements toward each other. Notice the reaction in your body and intention and watch for the beginning of aggression. Now simply move and work without the aggression and note the difference in the result and the the mirroring of intention and escalation in each other.

Once you have done this and released a bit of tension from outside do a few slow push ups and squats tensing and relaxing body parts as you move and simply paying attention to the change in the whole body alignment in every breath.

Now place one arm or leg and have the partner push and move it using first his body (chest, back head) and than using limbs. First push and than allow the body to simply walk and feel where there is less support or attention in the partner and move logically.

Walk forward and in every step relax into a squat and up keeping your legs under you the entire time and avoiding tensing or spreading your legs more than it is comfortable. First walk and in each step inhale and than exhale. Progress to two steps of one continous inhale and than two of exhale and change directions backwards. Do this moving up in the breath scale and moving forward and backwards and than changing direction and your view in every step.

Have the partner push you using the hips and legs in walking and do one push from you and one from him. Stay in contact with each other the entire time to release the eyes to see more and to feel where you can sink in your movement. let the arms and shoulders and head participate in the push once you feel the body moving relax but as one and see how you can choose where to go no matter which tension or pressure is presented to you.

Add to this movement drill a grab or pinch or both from time to time in the tissue of the face or the clothes or anything that works and allow the breath to lead the movement and note how the body aware can move in more than one direction in order to survive and how you can choose to be tense and move at the same time. It is important to know how to change the movement and rhythm of the body without disturbing the awareness of the mind. Keep doing this drill until you can keep breathing without stop and can direct your self without a fixed rhythm or constant level of tension. To be free means you control your own tension and direct it. We are more than drums that make a noise simply when hit.

Have your partner move into you and you allow him no support except contact to give him a frame of location to follow. First move very slowly paying attention to yourself and where you wish to be and slowly relax your body and eyes and allow the breath to release the tension the partner is moving toward you and give him just enough contact so he spreads himself and has no aggression or tension to feed and work with.

Most important is to move with your own intention and not directed from outside. If there is for example a push in your chest you can move against it or around it or if you pay attention give it no support and feel where it is logical for you to move your body to finish the work. Keep in contact to know what your partner is doing but avoid following. Move slowly at first and remember it is not a match in a ring. Speed is paramount when surprise and guile are taken out of the equation. Stay within yourself and  keep breathing. It makes no matter who shoots first but who hits first

Keep breathing and paying attention. We are already alive so we just have to keep breathing

stand a pace or a bit more from the wall facing either direction and lean toward the wall with your feet relaxed and flat on the ground. Let one limb move from the body to contact the wall and direct and smooth your approach until your body is relaxed against the wall. use the same limb or another to push yourself back upright again without forcing a plan but by feeling where your body can go in each moment. For example we face the wall and collapse toward it with one fist leading. Your fist glides on the wall giving you just the right amount of support to remain calm and in control (pretty much the same thing) and than when before it becomes work to use the fist we move so the forearm provides the support and than the arm and shoulder and back upright. Do this first at a pace to keep things comfortable and progress to a pace and a half and than to two paces. This is a great way to learn to be free in your direction of your own tension and to free the spine and the entire body to move freely without tensing too much against anything. Repeat the drill with closed eyes with a partner if you have one and have him or her stand against the wall. Keep breathing and let the breath lead the movement. It may seem a bit slow at first but the speed will come with the awareness and it will be yours rather than a reaction of fear and tension.

One person stands before you and you use your hand to turn him so he doesn’t see you. It makes sense to do so if a person is acting hostile at times. Do this drill slowly so you find where he is open to the turning and use the lightest touch of your fingertips first and than the hand and only than the fist and arm. Keep breathing and as you progress have him press on you and than come to hit you as you do this simple drill. When you are aware the logical solution will simple be there for you in the way of running from the place or taking him down or simple taking a rock and hitting him in the top of the spine. Do this drill as  a person come to you first from the sides and than from the back and only at the end follow the path where you are attacked from the front. The chances are your attacker is not stupid.

Take a knife and start walking. hold it in different positions while keeping yourself comfortable and relaxed and see how you can work with the knife using just the body movement. Repeat the drill while sitting on your behind and moving about and also prone on the ground taking care to keep breathing and relaxing the eyes from focusing on objects and rotating yourself around a perceived interest.

Now start walking and as you walk move the knife at the end of your arm constantly and as you walk move the knife through the path you just covered so if someone is coming at you he or she will always be coming at the edge and not at you. Remember to move from the sides and back and not just following both eyes and see how you can relax and keep breathing and moving all at once.

Add a partner coming at you with a blade or something else and repeat the drill leaving something either behind where you just were to hit or stab or slash or lever and so on or walking/rolling/ moving out of the way and moving the blade or something else through the path minding not to get caught or tense and don’t forget to stop short the partner from time to time using a hit to his moving tension and keep breathing.

Stand between two partners and have them push you using one hand or fist from one to the other and at the same time turn you to face the other. In this drill focus on avoiding breath stops to think and work with the breath and not by manipulating it so you learn to use what you have at hand. Keep the body as relaxed as possible and using just the least amount of tension. Above all pay attention to the tension and alignment of your feet and legs so you feel when you are giving support to the other by working your tention against his or hers. Simply allow the contact to sink in and to feel where the door is already open. Don’t hurry, especially at first.

Repeat the drill using the legs to push and than the entire body.

Here are a series of drills to teach the feel and idea behind one of the short work tactics:

1 Start walking using the square breathing method and matching your breaths to your heartbeats and breath (one step per pulse and expanding the breath according to the pulse count) keep your arms up in different positions and mind the tension building in the arms and shoulders and release it with the breath. Pay attention to the pulse in the entire body and if you can connect the pulse from different spots to one beat.

This drill allows you to move with relaxed arms and eventually once you pay attention to let the body lead the movement in the arms. As the arms relax in different positions and you feel the pulse uniting you will allow the body to lead the arms and shoulders in a relaxed way with the least amount of tension (effectiveness and efficiency in one)

2 Do push ups on your fists tensing first the arms than the body and than the legs in turn and than choose a number and do this number of push ups using just one breath and learning to listen to the body and knowing when to change breath phases and at times to override it.

This drill allows you to move through the tension and to spread the awareness in the entire body and to move relaxed even when parts of you are tense.

3 Stand up and tense the body completely in one swift wave. Relax and feel where there is movement and exhale and massage the tension out of these places using the end of a stick.

This drill lets you feel the tension inside you in movement and to release it using the breath. The stick allows you to feel more tension so you have a comparison point.

4 Stand up and exhale until you feel you cannot exhale anymore with comfort. Hold your breath as long as you can and shake and move the tension building inside you. Remember to relax the spine and avoid crumbling your ribs inward.

This drill is excellent to learn to truly relax and to build your endurance mentally and physically. I can say it is one of the best drill to learn true relaxation when used wisely and with care. Don’t fight the tension within. Relax and simply be aware of it.

5 Have a partner walk through where you are and you simply move out of his way leaving the arms or a leg behind and letting it relax and become heavy as in the drill where you keep the arms in the air and as the contact forms exhale (later on you will be using all the breath phases) and let the movement go through you and when possible add something to it and remember the goal is to slow down the partner or opponent rather than speed past him or them.

This drill is good to learn that moving out of the way is logical to avoid being injured and to learn how you naturally position and move your limbs and if you can your body to move with and by that direct others. Remember that without self awareness there will be no control.

6 Have a partner pose as in an attack (for example arms out to strangle or strike) and you move the body out of the way and allow the arms to contact the partner and add to his tension (his intention is in his body tension and pose) so you can direct him to avoid injury and gain your freedom. Does this drill when his comes at your sides and back. Remember that people may from time to time attack not from the front J

This drill will allow you to feel how you tense when someone else is tense and to release the tension through breathing and movement and once you feel how easy it is to let go of the press back fear action it’s hold on you will be less and less noticeable. Remember to move very slowly at first and do this drill till you are comfortable and relaxed when a partner or more are sprinting at you with fists and feet.

7 Have a partner strike at you and move the body where it makes sense to move to avoid harm and let the arms and legs to contact and direct the partner working where you can add to his tension or striking where the tension is. For example if a partner is coming to wrap his arm around my neck from the side I may lift the shoulder closer to him as I move forward and as the body moves the arm comes around and strikes at the tension at the back of his neck or wraps around his arm and continues his movement to the side and throws him to the ground.

This drill allows you to work either with or disrupting the tension. You can strike to his bicep as it tenses up or allow the hand to relax and slide on the outer side of his arm as it straightens forward giving the appearance of support as you move forward and the elbow of the same hand connects with his ribs.

Have fun and if you are wondering about work at high speed simply try these drills and mail me if you still feel uncertain.

Start at the static push up position and have a partner lift up your feet using his hands. Your partner will walk in different directions and change directions and speed at will. You move using your body and arms and fists to remain relaxed and comfortable as possible. Remember to keep breathing and to find out how to keep your line of sight clear and free. Change roles and repeat a few times to learn to feel the changes in movement from the touch and to learn to navigate in different positions and limitations. Once you have done this repeat the drill facing up and if you cannot move using just your arms you will find a way to use shoulders and body and the rest of you to keep again as comfortable and free as possible.

There are physical aspects for prayers though stance is not among them because even a nice wave stance is still a constant that can be written down as an equation. Prayer comes to bring more life out of you and connect you to yourself. Prayer can come to you in the form of a vision of beautiful nature or a word from a friend and you are moved to prayer or you can choose to pray on your own in whatever situation you are and while you are engages in any action you choose. It is important to avoid becoming regimented in our minds. If for example you enjoy a ritual do so concisely rather than giving yourself to it. This way you choose it rather than being subjected to it. If you wish to use a wobble board simply place a plank on a basketball or a branch on a rock in nature and move freely rather than just back and forth or side to side. Try to advance and create rather than stay where you are. Our legs are for walking and if we let them, that’s just what they’ll do

Tense the front of your neck and than the left side and the back and than the right side creating a circle of tension and relax in the opposite directions. Do this on the inhale and than on the exhale. Now bend your neck in some way and repeat the drill. Do this several times to get to know how one tense spot affects the tension in others and than have a partner push your head using his fingertips first and you breathe and let the lightest movement move the head as you mind to let it move the least. For example if you have pressure on the side of the temple avoid moving from the neck and let the head move in more than one direction at once so the chin moves toward the tension and the forehead forward or backwards and the given result is much less discomforting and a lot swifter due to your awareness rather than speed. Repeat the drill as you tense one part of the neck and see how you can work around this tension and than as your partner strangles you in some hold and hits you with the other arm.

Nothing works better than brething so focus on it.

The ten minutes static push up can seem intimidating and at first you may feel a lot of tension building as you fight the tension instead of releasing it with the breath. Consider this way to reaching the mark:

Place a timer for ten minutes and start it. For every minute keep the static push up for thirty breaths working to stay relaxed using the exhale to out extra tension and the inhale to draw it from the body. Use the rest of the minute to move your fists around as you sit with a straight back and getting a feel of how a heavy fist feels. As time goes by increase the number of breaths until you fill the entire ten minutes but come back to this drill from time to time to get the feel of the moving heavy fist. Watch your wrist alignment and tension in the palm and fingers.

It’s ok to smile.

Thomas Aquinas made this argument in the 13th century, writing, “If a thing can be done adequately by means of one, it is superfluous to do it by means of several; for we observe that nature does not employ two instruments where one suffices.

In short: have a partner or more come at you and find a solution. Once this is done consider your choice and work again to clean out the extra movement and tension. Repeat and remember to avoid repeating the attack or defence or naming it as such. Keep things clean in your head as well. Placing a label on a movement robs it of its freedom.

I came back from the army yesterday and I have a lot more new drills to share. One of the most basic and more giving is to simply stand with your legs under your hips and lower your upper body upright a few centimeters down while maintaining a relaxed and free feeling in the hips and legs and keeping the eyes forward and up. Count to twenty breaths while in the exhale you release extra tension and than start walking for a few paces in this hight noting where the tension was and releasing it. The more you do this drill there will be more awareness to the tension in your body and you will be able to go lower and you will be more one body moving rather than parts here and parts there. Remember to bring your legs up rather than bend downward.

Place a fist to the face and relax, tense your neck and face to push the fist away and in this manner you learn which muscles you use to resist the movement. Exhale and relax those muscles and let the fist move without following it. Proceed to repeating this drill with your eyes closed and tensing up at the moment of contact and simply paying attention to the tension in the body. Proceed to focusing on breathing continuously as you are now hit from every angle and direction.

Proceed to letting the arms from the shoulders touch the hitting fists and arms or stick if you have one without moving or impacting on them.

Proceed to letting the head shoulders and arms move out of the way and into ending the attack on the same movement without creating any tension inside you from moving someone aside.

This is not always possible but a good drill to release fear of contact and learn to move.

Today I gave a night water lesson. We worked on grappling mostly with the legs being the primary movers and here are a few drills for starters:

Have your partner lift your legs high or support them on a floating object and do push ups facing the waves and thus learn to keep a positive pressure in your lungs (avoid water coming in) and learning to adapt the the air availability and inhaling when you can and exhaling when you need to.

keep the static push up again facing the waves and with the head completely in the water and lift your body and head together to breath only as much as it is needed and have the body move so you avoid cranking your neck up and out and moving with less tension.

Lie down in the waves so you are completely in the water and do sit ups with your back straight. You can only inhale on the top of the up and you must learn to relax the body from jack knifing so you can actually reach the surface in order to inhale.

Lie down facing away from the waves and when you feel the wave coming and the buoyancy starting to lift your upper body roll backwards and learn to move as a whole because otherwise you simply twist and go with the wave. Sometimes you need to transfer the movement to another body part and that includes the lift.

Stand chest deep in the water and start to squat measuring the speed and tension in your body so you can squat and avoid floating and jerking in the water. Learn to direct the mass of the movement so you have control through awareness of the direction and hold of your body.

After this we rolled in the water learning to keep the eyes open and to find with the arms where the surface is safe and where to guide the body in the water away from the sharp rocks and junk.

The rest of the lesson was about movement while in contact and taking down the partner using the water to your advantage. We shot a few movies but there was no light so nothing is discernible.

A big thank you to Vladimir Vasiliev and Mikhail Ryabko for the water lesson on DVD and in person.

This is a three people drill. One is the observer and the switcher and two are working with contact. The job of the observer is to choose the interesting time to switch roles between the partners working and to learn by watching. The two work in this fashion: One takes the hand or fist of the other and twists walks turns goes up and down and side to side in order to create discomfort in his partner without placing himself in an uncomfortable position. The one being worked has to avoid becoming uncomfortable (remember! uncomfortable and swift movement means pain and injury) For this he or she will use these guidelines. Constant movement as to not react but act (count your steps and movement continuously in the form of 1.2.3) relax your eyes from focusing on the discomfort in your body and you will be able to see and feel more options to move and stay free, keep breathing and exhale the tension being built out, avoid unnecessary movement and be minimal in your twisting of your main body (example: if your wrist is in a lever, let it even out on its own and avoid jumping if there is no need) unless it is working for you keep your hands to yourself and avoid stretching yourself out. A tout lines breaks much harder than a coiled spring. when your arms and legs are closer to you you will be less tense and will have less ground to cover in order to let the tension out.
The last one is the most important: avoid plans and special movement. Move as it fits the moment and don’t be afraid to look silly or make a mistake. This way you will learn and clean yourself. Otherwise you will simply learn how to perform and not how to live.