Six-time Pro Bowler, five-time first-team All-Pro, and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald made some headlines — and scared a whole lot of Los Angeles Rams fans — by training and honing his technique using a seemingly dangerous drill.
"Honing," ironically, can mean to sharpen. As in, a blade.
I bring that up because it looked as though the drill involved knives. You can see Donald running through it below.
Wanted to remind everyone that Aaron Donald trains with KNIVES sometimes 😱 pic.twitter.com/UYBQuvok3X
— Sunday Night Football (@SNFonNBC) May 15, 2020
Donald eased the worries of Rams fans everywhere when he later explained that the knives weren't as dangerous as they seem. They are actually made of tough rubber and won't cut you.
"Everybody see? It's not real," Donald explained. "It's not real. It's fake. It's supposed to make you react faster, and you're hands go faster. It's fake. It ain't real. You can't die with this. It just hurts when it hits you, though."
.@AaronDonald97 is here to set the record straight 🔪 pic.twitter.com/paP92RR6J8
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 6, 2018
I tell you all of this first because a video by defensive line trainer Cam Spence surfaced on Friday (h/t to Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area) of San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw going through the same type of drill.
All fun and games until you bring the knives out.... @JavonKinlaw , @49ers , @NFL , @espn pic.twitter.com/sJjfeP02B3
— Coach Bear (@Only1CamSpence) July 10, 2020
I assume the knives are made of the same type of "tough rubber" as the ones Donald uses. Fans everywhere probably hope they are.
The drill works to improve an athlete's hand-speed by using a fighting technique inspired by Krav Maga, which has been adapted for football.
