How to Train Spatial Awareness

Spatial awareness refers to the mental ability to accurately perceive objects in the environment in relation to each other and to also accurately perceive your own body in relation to those objects. Spatial awareness is important in sports and martial arts training, but it also keeps us safe when performing everyday tasks such as crossing the street. Teaching greater spatial awareness can greatly improve a player's game, a fighter's ability and a person's safety.

Things You'll Need

  • Soccer ball
  • Baseball and gloves
  • Obstacle course
  • Speed bag
  • Boxing mitts
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Instructions

    • 1

      Kick a soccer ball back and forth with a student. This is a simple exercise that forces the student to focus on where the ball is in space in relation to his foot and to also calculate the ball's position in relation to you so he can kick it back accurately. Throwing a baseball back and forth is useful as well.

    • 2

      Run an obstacle course with a student. Obstacle courses require a constant awareness of your own body in relation to obstacles around you such as tires, walls and ropes. Running the same course several times gives the student more time to adapt to the various challenges and can help increase overall spatial awareness for the future.

    • 3

      Practice gymnastics with the student. Gymnastics require precise movement of your body through space. An increased awareness of your own movements is vital to success. This spatial awareness and increased awareness can be applied to all sports or activities outside of gymnastics.

    • 4

      Instruct the student to practice hitting a speed bag. Commonly used in boxing, speed bag training requires quick reflexes and precise strikes in short succession to keep the bag moving in a rhythm. This helps to further increase spatial awareness between the student's hands, the bag and the bag stand.

    • 5

      Jump rope with the student. This is a useful technique that's simple but becomes more difficult the faster you go, requiring greater awareness of your body in relation to the rope.