Back Straight Coaching Device for Fighting Stance. Prevent Fighting Falls Now!

Now, the toughest coach in the world just got tougher. An upright stance permits maximum strike choices. A leaning stance can land you on your back for a good stomping. This coach provides four levels of straight back training—beginner, intermediate, advanced, and elite. Dial in your level and be started in one minute by strapping him on. Then, go ahead with the regular practice and let the coach pipe up when you are failing in your basic stance technique. No live coach is this pugnacious! The automated coach barks at every failure. Your fighting spirit will kick in as you will not accept defeat. As your technique improves, crank up the level and attempt to attain the elite fighting stance.

The author has been practicing on a heavy bag in training to fight attackers, as a paying trainee to an online video trainer with pre-recorded clips.

Just hold on here—I mean, let me say this. I am on my fifth week of heavy bag training, and find myself leaning toward to bag to hit harder. I know that the online video trainer says back straight, but I like to see my new heavy bag take my big strikes and recoil. I mean, like its fun. You know, with an online course the trainer is only visible during the video training, then its up to you to remember everything in practice, and that is really hard.

And power hits are what it's all about right?--you gotta hit hard to make those strikes really count. I know this leaning is cheating, and well, cheating myself.. So, I had to do something and came up with the immediate feedback coach. He rests in the center of your back while you practice your fighting stance, or even regular practice. And, he barks a warning every time you lean. Whether the leaning is forward, back, left, or right, this live coaching device is on your side to propel your strikes from a safe stance that keeps you from falling in a real fight.

I joined this intermediate fighting video course without any fighting experience nor learning the fighting basics. Quickly seeing my shortcomings, and I guess a few fellow students demonstrated the same lack of proficiency, the online trainer posted a number of basics videos. But seeing more and more videos and trying to do beginner and intermediate at the same time left me a bit dazed. So, a barking coach to improve my practice moves seemed the right choice.

Don't get caught off guard. Read further into this Instructable to learn how you can make your live coach for practice--the one that keeps you up, while striking that opponent down!

Step 1: How This Instructable Is Constructed

This Instructable walks the reader through the innovation process. The innovation process is a combination of creative thinking combined with tools and materials for on-the-fly development. By seeing the photos and description of the this process, you will learn not only how to innovate faster, but make your back straightening coach better for you. The focus is on your development by sitting beside an experienced innovator that is working fast to solve a need. The focus is not on the particular recipe nor the components. Focus on winning methods to make this Instructable the most valuable for you.

A less valuable part is featured below in the author's preface. The preface provides insights into the author's motivations, and is purely optional, so okay to hit the next button and get on with the steps.

PREFACE

I felt well equipped for the working world while wrapping up my night school courses at my engineering/science university--it formerly had a name ending in "Institute of Technology" and that legacy was shining through in all my courses, and now my life. In summary, I did not learn how to write well, did not understand business, and was technology stilted and wanted some rounding out. So, in a similar vein to the intermediate fighting course that I subscribed to, I needed to learn the basics. So, I embarked on a revised educational mission. It was time for more basic training, in the areas that I sorely needed.

I went for an admissions interview for undergraduate night school admission at the leafy club university located next door to my university. It was not going so well with my less-than-stellar grades, and with the interviewer struggling to find some way to permit admission, boss Mom invisibly came to the rescue when I mentioned that it was her alma mater. With the gate now opened, it was back to learning fundamentals, but in a new field.

After a few courses under my belt, the guidance counselor did his best to dissuade my additional undergraduate pursuit. “Why not take this Master’s program, you will be done in only ten courses. And, with our prestigious …” “—No sir, really, I need to learn the fundamentals. I am in business for myself and need to know how to …”

In one of the English major’s main courses we had a grueling schedule, involving submitting a paper every week. A third of our small class read their paper aloud, followed by a class critique. Our model for writing style was typically a reprint from the New Yorker magazine’s featured writing piece. I was first week up for reading aloud. I spent a lot of time in preparation for the first impression, revising my draft then printing enough copies for everyone. A typical day back then meant working 9-8 and writing at 4 am until breakfast.

To make the course worse though, it was not a typical night class, but the day-time superstars showed up (in contrast to evening-grade students) because it was the only time this course was offered. It was the first year for this new and controversial major—Creative Nonfiction Writing (it was rumored that a more than one peer university scoffed at it).

In class, after finishing my reading and starting to look up, this nineteen year old skinny chickee blinds me with a left hook, “It’s no good,” then a landing a solid right to my gut (in her combo) “It’s all descriptive setting.” The upper-cut to the chin “It’s got no plot in it.” Down for the count: 1, 2, the classmates look at each other cautiously then nod in agreement (KNOCKOUT, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG).

Later at seven minute break, my head still dizzy from the blows, she confided in me, “You know those grocery store novels by Harlequin.” “Ah” I grunted in affirmation picturing the supermarket’s small book section. “I am going to write those,” she said with a beaming smile.

Back from break, then a lecture by the professor, then another class beginning with bloody student attacks. You could see the evil behind those eyes, as the attack techniques got honed and improved each week.

So, these sheep-looking daytimers were a pack of hungry wolves, learning championship techniques, and backed by an unseen infrastructure that paid dearly over the years to plant them in this university. And these basic stance and fighting techniques learned by fellow wolves would be used against others as they pack together in the future (real world), to ensure not only survival to the top, but also to help others (that will help them) in that thriving leafy network.

But in class, I just could not accept defeat. Inevitably, faced with a formidable enemy it really comes down to you to devise a counter strategy. And, nothing better than relying on your strengths, and if that is a match to their weakness then you’ve got a good one. So, when a male author in the New Yorker had a model paper with a specialized pattern in it, I leaped at my chance, raised my hand and volunteered to be one of the readers for the next class.

At home, using my engineering foundation I decrypted every sentence and discovered his pattern (and inadvertent deviations), then constructed one for my paper. In class, after doing surprisingly well during the critique, I gave an additional handout to everyone showing the New Yorker model’s pattern (his recipe). The professor said “Wow, I have never seen that before.” Hmm, I thought, a double-sided compliment. But, as English majors are notoriously poor at mathematics and the like, I won that match. Further, it did win me a few admirers as several wolves came up to speak to me during break. One wolf offered up his email written on a paper scrap, and he started to tell me how important his father was, but break time ended before he could finish.

Whether in academics or any other field, it is always important to learn the basics. After entering into an intermediate fighting course, I quickly learned that I had to invest in the basics. So, with an online coach only visible on recorded video clips, and available for comment after receiving my video, these basics seemed rather expensive.

Innovation came to the rescue with an active device, the coach, available at every practice. I made the key technology portion, the tilting switch sensor on Saturday from 1:45 to 6:20 pm and had a lot of fun. There are a few additions needed to finalize, but I will save that for revision or a new Instructible. I wish you the best of luck in making your personal coach.

Step 2: The Key to This Coach: Mercury Switches

Mercury is a very heavy metal that is liquid at room temperature. When the switch is tilted, an alarm can go off. These switches are commonly found in automobile alarms as the movement sensor. I bought a bag of ten switches at the local electronics market for $3.50.

This Instructable goes through a creative development process to land at the point where the tilt sensor (that also doubles as the on/off switch for the audible alarm--your barking coach), is ready for mounting with the battery, alarm, and you.

Step 3: Mounting the Sensor

In my shop, I had black anodized aluminum, sized similar to a business card. Aluminum is a soft metal that is easy to work with, and in this case I could almost cut it like paper, but using the tin snips. For this reason, it is attractive for fast development work when starting from ideas in your head and no written mechanical design or plan.

Step 4: Eye It Up

The aluminum was cut to fit the sensor. The length seemed long enough to attach wires onto the electrical leads (that can be cut to the desired size).

Step 5: Fasten On

The glass body of the mercury switch can make it a bit challenging to attach it to a flat sheet. In this case, drilling two holes and using tie-wraps and tension seemed to do the trick.

Step 6: Drill Properly

Drill bits can walk around when trying to start a hole in metal. Use a metal punch to make an indentation to prevent these mishaps.

Step 7: Use Correct Tension

A tie-wrap puller/cutter is useful, especially if you have a lot of wiring to do and use a lot of tie-wraps like I do. This device was handy to pull the tie-wrap and cut accordingly.

Step 8: Examine the Fit

Take time to examine your work and consider any issues. I always round the corners of sharp metals to prevent injury.

Step 9: Two Mounted

Step 10: Base Plate

I found a small square of aluminum sheet that seemed a good size, so no need to cut. It is always a dilemma whether to throw something out when it could be used for a future project. I store small used parts in cut 2-liter coach containers with the tops cut off and label removed, so that I can quickly see the contents.

Step 11: Screws Bin

I have a large box with many sized screws and also individually bagged screws. I find that sifting through the contents of the large box is much faster when looking for just a few screws.

Step 12: Four Is Better Than Two

I decide that four switches are necessary and cut more aluminum and examine on the base plate.

Step 13: Make Space

When working without a pre-conceived design, it is safe to build in safeguards. In this photo, the pieces seem a little too close for some unforeseen problem.

Step 14: Re-Orient

By changing the orientation to point to the corners, additional space is gained.

Step 15: More Screws

Making four of the same is going to require using a number of the same size screws. At this point, I find a bag that holds the correct size screws.

Step 16: Inventory

Not having the right size screws can really extend the time needed to get a job done. Invest in screws, nuts, washers, and lock-washers to make your projects glide through faster.

Step 17: Build in Play

The switch mount must be able to be set for varying angles (levels of difficulty from beginner to elite). By using an adjustable gap, you can adjust as neecessary

Step 18: Drill More Holes

Step 19: Lock-Washers

Step 20: Base Plate With Mounted Sensor

Step 21: Form Ideas With Work-able Metal

Here, more anodized aluminum is used to develop ideas. This metal must have slots in it to adjust the mercury switch angle. It is easily bent then eyed for fit and possible problems.

Step 22: Grind Often

Grinding is something that I do often. I can grind rather than cut in many cases. However, it does create a burr that itself must be ground. In my projects, speed and functionality are most important. I can have it redone later to look good, after the design concepts are set.

Step 23: Tools Investment

Investing in tools in important, but there must be n balance. I had always thought that a rivet gun was too specialized, but broke down and bought one. I reviewed all the ones for sale and chose this one as it could handle various sizes and it was strong with two handles.