What would you do if:
a) There were no training partners available for you to work out with?
b)You didn’t have access to any type of training equipment to use?
c) Your training time was limited to 10 minutes per day?

I know what I’d do. I’d spend those ten minutes shadow kickboxing. Shadow boxing (or kickboxing) is one of the best training exercises you can use to develop such things as ease of movement, good form, and economy of motion. It can also help develop your cardiovascular capacity, increase your speed and agility, give you ideas and help your mind and body fix moves ready for use when they are most wanted. It also helps you loosen up before engaging in more strenuous activity.

Other than actual sparring, shadow boxing is probably the most important technique in the acquisition of a martial artist’s fighting skills. But the best thing about shadow boxing or shadow kickboxing is that you don’t need training partners or any type of equipment in order to be able to do it. You don’t even need a lot of space in which to do it. The only thing you really need is your imagination.

The options available for you to use when shadow boxing are endless. For example, you could work on your footwork, your punching and striking skills, your kicking skills, your kneeing or elbowing skills, even your trapping or grappling skills. You can train your attacking, counterattacking, or defensive skills, choosing to either isolate and concentrate on one particular facet, or combining all of them. You can shadowbox long-range motions or work in-tight, close-quarter motions. You can concentrate on single actions, or work compound actions. You can fight against multiple opponents. You can even get suddenly overwhelmed by an opponent, and have to evade, cover up or defend yourself against the opponent’s barrage of blows.

An important thing to remember about shadow boxing is that it is as much mental as physical. You literally use your mind to create the most dangerous opponents, then you go out and fight him and beat him. This requires that you use your imagination and your visualization skills to the utmost. For example, how does the opponent react to your attacks and counters? Does he retreat and cover up, or try to evade while continually advancing on you? You must see his reactions as clearly as if a real opponent were in front of you.