Cone Drills – Agility Training
In order to improve martial arts agility, many martial artists incorporate cone drills into their overall training routine. Cone drills help with foot speed, lateral agility, balance, change of direction speed, coordination, etc. These exercises use small plastic cones or discs in order to mark out an agility drill “pattern” (i.e. T-Test) on an athletic field. Cone drills are better than agility ladder drills for simulating “real world” change of direction movements (versus the restricted movements within the narrow lane of an agility ladder).
Agility training allows martial arts students to change positions rapidly and effectively. This allows martial artists to evade an attack or launch a strike at undefended area (i.e. moving laterally in order to avoid an opponent’s blow and thus being able to quickly launch an effective counter attack against an off-balance opponent).
Popular cone drills include the following:
All stretches and exercises should be supervised by a trained martial arts instructor in order to prevent injuries and to ensure the proper technique is utilized. For additional agility drills (i.e. agility ladder drills), please visit the main Martial Arts Agility section.
Examples of Cone Drills