There are many situations where life depends on the speed of reaction. A reaction is an organism's response to any stimulus, after which an immediate action takes place to interact with this stimulus (threat). To put it simply, the exercises that develop the reaction set as their ultimate goal to teach the brain to control the body in automatic mode. This requires exercises and a certain psychological preparation. This will be discussed in more detail in the article.
What is a reaction
First you need to briefly define what is meant by this concept and what is the reaction rate. A reaction is a kind of mechanical action caused by a stimulus in a certain way in automatic mode. There are three main types of stimuli: auditory, visual, and tactile. Man is so arranged: he reacts to different signals at different speeds.
Reaction rate - the time interval between the appearance of a signal and the response to it. In many ways, it depends on heredity, the structure of the nervous system, age,gender and other factors. An equally important condition is the person's awareness of the specific situation in which he has to act. After all, tennis, hand-to-hand combat, e-sports or driving a car are different areas of human activity. And only then ask yourself how to develop a good reaction in a particular area. However, there are a number of general exercises and recommendations that allow you to increase mindfulness, composure, overall coordination and brain-body interaction, as well as other important characteristics. They will not only help answer the question of how to develop a reaction, improve well-being, but simply allow you to cheer up.
Working with the ball
This is the most basic level, designed to improve overall coordination of movements. For such activities, you only need a small ball, convenient for grabbing the brush, as well as regularity in execution.
When approaching the wall, you need to hit it with the ball and catch it with the same hand that made the throw. You need to start with a strong hand (leading). This monotonous exercise is designed for 10-15 minutes.
Then do the same, but with the other hand.
The next task becomes more difficult and at the same time becomes more interesting. Throwing is done with the right hand, and catching the sword with the left.
Partner is half the battle
All people love to play. This is a great opportunity to hone your skills, as interaction in games is based on the principles of competition. Above all, give to yourselfvarious mental commands, and then fulfilling them is a tedious, inefficient task. Another thing is when a companion does it. His actions are difficult to predict. Yes, and he will do everything possible to make them distinguished by surprise. Therefore, when the question arises: “How to develop a reaction using the help of another person?”, Game activity, like no other, is best suited for these purposes. It provides a wide range of stakeholders and different strategies, from the banal "rock-paper-scissors" to throwing a ball at each other.
It is worth highlighting a number of clear, actionable recommendations when answering the question of how to develop a response at home. It should be understood that the training of one's own body must be carried out taking into account the prevalence of a certain stimulus, for example, tactile, and a specific field of activity. Thus, exercises that develop a tennis player will do little to help a boxer, and all because of the difference in the packages of commands that are laid down in the subconscious in the process of long hard work.
There is another important factor. Few people take it into account, even fewer people work on it, and, as practice shows, in vain. It's about running the body on "autopilot" under stress.
Influence of ancient instincts on reaction speed
A number of researchers in their work have proven that one of the main emotional and behavioral reactions that directly affect even perfectly honed skills in a stressful situation is fear. This instinctinherited by man in the process of long evolution. It is divided into two types: agitation and stupor.
Agitation is a common physical escape. One of the strategies that a person uses in case of a real or imaginary threat. This classification of threats is also not chosen by chance. There are situations of real danger, when only running can save a life, and there are imaginary ones (the probability of losing one's status, reputation, etc.).
The state of stupor, or, as it is aptly called, "internal flight" is a completely different defense mechanism. A person does not run anywhere, but his body does not obey the “internal” biocomputer. No less ancient instinct and way of survival, inherited from our distant ancestors. According to scientists, the ability to pretend to be dead or freeze in place made it possible to survive when meeting with a powerful predator.
Can something be done about this and how to develop a quick reaction that will allow you to act in an extreme situation? For this, it is necessary to consider some exercises for various types of stimuli. Because only the study of all the material in a complex will allow you to achieve good results in the shortest possible time.
The importance of reinforcing auditory response skills
How to develop reaction and speed, if the main stimulus is a certain sound signal (whistle, clap, scream, and so on). To achieve success in the search for an answer to this question, it is important to remember that the movement being fixed must carry a certain semantic load. It must contain the finalresult. Stupid movement of objects is unacceptable. It is necessary to hone some specific, vital skill. For example, quickly drawing a weapon from a holster or a gas cartridge from a pocket. It is from the pocket, because the sad experience of many victims of various robberies, rapes confirms the truth: an item that can save a life must be at hand, and not in a purse.
Things to remember when practicing a skill
How to develop dexterity and reaction in the shortest possible time? The first thing you need to pay attention to is the development of useful skills in a complex of various annoying factors. This includes working for sound, touch, or visual detection of trouble.
Relying on just one hand is not an option. Therefore, there is painstaking work involving both limbs. Ideally, achieving a result when the speed, literacy of the required set of movements will not depend on the hand. Movement should also be as simple as possible. Their simplicity is the key to their success. The body itself performs the movement that is most suitable for the situation, relying on muscle memory.
Special attention must be paid to various conditions (lighting, space, etc.). It cannot be expected that if the skill is to be used, the conditions will be "hothouse". As a rule, the opposite is true. They will be unfavorable, dangerous. Only self-control, coherence will achieve success. Therefore, learn to apply developments in any lighting, surrounding space, taking into accountthe impact of other distractions is not a whim, but a forced necessity aimed at the result.
Sound work
As the name implies, the conversation will be about how to train a reaction in conditions where a certain signal will be the main stimulus. Variations can be different, but realistic (scream, imitation of footsteps). The more realistic the training is, the better. Downloading the necessary set of psychological commands into the unconscious sphere will reduce the likelihood that a person will panic at the most inopportune moment.
Any person can act as an instructor/coach in this situation. The main thing is to respect the effect of surprise. At his signal, you need to get a gas cartridge as soon as possible and be ready to use it.
It will also be useful to learn how to intercept something faster from the table, on the floor (there are many options) than the opponent will do.
Exercises for touch
The importance of these basic skills lies in the fact that contact has already occurred in a situation where a person does not have visual control over the space behind his back. This exercise will develop the skill of personal safety.
Its meaning lies in the fact that as soon as the partner made an unexpected touch from behind to any point of the body, the student must immediately give an adequate answer. There are several options. One of them, perhaps the most reasonable one, is to jump to the side. The second is to turn around to the conditional attacker already in combatrack. You will have to turn around in any way - this will allow you to establish visual control. Another question is with what set of "homemade" blanks this will happen. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not recommend starting interaction immediately with self-mutilation. Therefore, you should be wise in choosing the development of the necessary skill.
How to develop visual reaction and speed
Here, the games familiar from childhood are the best fit. For example, "stone - scissors - paper" or "even - odd". It is not worth explaining the rules of the game about stone and scissors. This game is familiar from childhood, especially because of the inexpressible sensations in case of a loss. The only reservation and amendment is in the conduct of the event itself. In an ordinary yard game, all participants simultaneously throw out their “pieces”, and when training the reaction, the instructor needs to give the trainee some head start in time to make the right decision.
But what is "even - odd", it is worth explaining. Here the roles are distributed: there is a leader and a follower. The leader's task is to throw out any arbitrary number of fingers. For example, two is an even number. Follower, in turn, must throw any odd number on his fingers.
Conclusion
In different recommendations on how to develop a reaction, there are many ways, techniques, techniques. The only thing that needs to be observed is the regularity of classes to consolidate the material. As in any business, control and self-discipline will come to the rescue. And notremember that each specific area of human activity will require its own unique skills.