Flinch-Rewire Drill Ladder

Mat Manual companion guide to "Eyes Open: Beating the Flinch in Sparring." Print it. The article explains the guard window and why vision runs the check and the counter. This book rewires the reflex: a five-rung graded ladder from wall drill to controlled swarms, guard-window calibration work, see-the-check progressions, counter-off-vision drills, per-session composure scorecards, a full fault library, eight weeks of session plans, and the partner agreements that keep the work at the right intensity.

Name: ______________________________ Gym: ______________________________ Coach: ______________________________ Ladder started: ______________ Current rung: ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5

BEFORE ANYTHING: THE INTENSITY AGREEMENT ☐ Contact in this book is light by design. Every stage states its ceiling, and a partner who throws past the ceiling ends the drill, not wins it. ☐ Testing is banned. No stage is a test of toughness. A partner who "tests" the flinch with a hard shot restarts the ladder for the student, and the coach hears about it the same day. ☐ The student's stop word ends any drill instantly, mid-rep, no discussion. Restarting is the student's call. ☐ Eyes-open work never runs in hard sparring. The last rung is controlled sparring with agreed limits, signed in Part 28. ☐ Dizziness, headache, or vision changes during any stage stop the session and are told to the coach before the student leaves.

Part 1: The Five Rungs at a Glance

The rung rule. You train at the highest rung you can pass calmly, and one rung only. A bad day drops you a rung without shame; the log records the rung, not a verdict. Most students need two to four weeks per rung. Anyone who clears a rung in one session was placed too low.