Everybody recognize that we are all different and yet the same. When it comes to finding solutions, we have the desire to find a magic solution that fits all. NO, THAT DOESN’T EXIST!
Our background, our genetic dispositions, our interpretation of the similar stimulus, our wired neural paths, our coordination, physical ratios or dimensions are all different. Resources like time changed from the old days when practicing martial arts is a way of life / profession and therefore you train almost 24/7. In the modern world, everybody is crunched for time. Training methods that worked in the old days may not realistically possible today.
Challenging as it is, it is not impossible if we work smarter and not just harder. You need to make sure you are not learning/training by just blind trust – you need to keep an open mind and ask questions, leverage off new tools, ideas and science that are openly available and apply it intelligently. I personally hate lines like “…because we use to do it like this a few hundred years ago” or “…according to the old scriptures” or “.. sifu told me secretly to do it like this”. Don’t get me wrong, I would give anything a try. However, if you don’t feel it is shifting you towards the right direction even after 2-3 months, I recommend attacking the problem differently.
To train effectively, it is really important to truly understand and be aware of “WHAT” you are aiming at. To do that, try to see it, experience it, feel it, appreciate it and then try to replicate it. Furthermore, the truly understand and appreciate the “WHAT”, you have to try to see it from different angles and maybe with different focus. As an example, the most common mistake is that when you are learning a technique, you focus on the arm movements and fail to recognize the subtle move of the various “engines” and the setup. Don’t be shy to ask if you can see it from a different angle or to experience it first hand.
One of the most common questions during the learning process are:
- “What am I suppose to feel?” – it sounds silly but it is not. What the brain recognizes have been filtered based on your past experience and habits. As an example, in a noisy room, you tend to focus on what you think is relevant rather than every conversation in the room. You tend to ignore some of the stimulus so that your sensory system is free to monitor other body parts.
- “What do you mean by relax?” – we had extensive discussion on this topic, try to find the relevant article.
- “What am I suppose to see?” – always try to see get an impression of the entire body position in relationship to the opponent (eg. distance, angle, level, which leg/hand forward, axis of the body, etc), the physics behind the specific move, etc.
- “What are the limitations or assumptions?” – this should always be considered but a lot of people missed this totally.
- “Is this correct?” – some concepts can be experimented and be compared directly but not everything falls into that class. Coordination takes time and practice. Mindset changes muscle tension and therefore affects the reaction/delivery process. However, mindset change cannot happen overnight but need to evolve over time. Change of mechanics can be instantaneous but physiological changes takes time. So you need to understand what you need to really learn a new skill and therefore address it effectively. Any weak links can destroy a seemingly strong system.
Do set specific goals for each training session. It is not just the numbers. Here are just some examples of specific goals for training can be:
- Muscle Memory – during training you need to think and eventually everything become automatic
- Explosiveness – short power.
- Experimentation – do shake things up a bit within the week. The stimulus and therefore effect is reduced if everything is routinized. Some proven approaches used in athletics or strength training are intervals, changing intensity, pyramids, farlek, etc.
- Reaction – aside from time to react, the type, quality and variety of reaction are just as important.
- Mobility speed – remember the article on speed? It doesn’t really have to be absolute speed but more importantly effective/relative speed. To improve on relative speed without increasing real speed, it means you need to increase the efficiency of your movements, to cover distance, change angles, etc.
- Coordination of all the needed components – everything fails at the weak link. However, human tend to favor what they are already strong in and shy away from things that are much more elusive and challenging. We tend to count on what we are strongest in – and that is perfectly fine when you are facing danger at this moment. However, from a long term development plan perspective, you have to manage the gap between immediate satisfaction versus being able to go into a whole new dimension.
Exercise
The above article was not intended to be exhaustive as I know I will lose half of you if I make the article any longer. 😉
Identify your own personal weakest link for a specific skill and figure out how to solve it. Do make a realistic plan that you can follow through and make it happen. We will monitor the effectiveness in a month with a pause check the next blog.