Training Progress

[Michael Wright]

What a coincidence, I'm doing a Boxing workshop next Sunday. Some of the guys read this forum, so if you are reading this thread guys - it was all Mike's fault!

[ShawnJKD]

In the warmer months I sometimes hold a class out at a local park and we'll do the spin drill but use a kicking shield and have the student try and land a round kick. Nice soft grass all around, plus the lake is nearby if you need to throw up.

[DJColdfusion]

I've really enjoyed this thread and I don't think I have too much to offer; however, I wrote an article a while back that really was focused on improving your BJJ game but the core of it is applicable here (http://www.maximumg.com/perspectiveAndSkill.cfm). And I know that this is a bit of a rehash . . .

Focusing on Mike's original points #2 and #3 (concerning progression and adding new skills) I believe that the keys to both are perspective and skill.

I like to use a map-making analogy to explain my point.

Lets say you move to a brand new city and on your very first day of your new job you can't find your new place of employment. You drive right past the parking lot a couple of times, try to go in the wrong door, get a ticket for parking in the "Delivery Vehicles Only" area . . . in short you had a horrible day. You're frustrated and not even sure that you want to go back.

The next day you've written yourself a little list "Left at the Starbucks, second right after the Fat Burger, drive past the statue of the 47 Ronin, merge left into parking lot." You follow your list point by point "1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4" and you get to where you wanted to get. It wasn't pretty, and you're still a little frestrated but its much, much better.

Over the next few weeks you find that you're referring to your list less and less. You've memorized the directions but you still have to think about the individual steps from time to time, except now instead of "1 . . . 2" you're working through your list "1,2,3,4".

And six months later you've made the drive 100+ times and one day you get into your car, put it in reverse and the next thing you know you're at work. You've just gone "1,4"

You learn a technique, any technique in the same manner. Practice it, fight through it, and make it your own. Sometimes you have to make a change in the direction you drive "1,2,3,4" becomes "1,2,B,4" but you find the detours to be less and less distracting because you have internalized the core of the technique.

Soon, back to the driving analogy, you have to go from one office to the next and the process of learning the new directions is the same as the process of learning the first set except now you are a little more familiar with the layout of the city so the process itself takes less time. When we compare it to a technique it is "(first technique)1,4 (Pause - Second Technique) A . . . B . . . C . . . D" add a little time (perspective) and it comes closer to "(first technique)1,4 (Pause - Second Technique) A,B,C,D" and eventually you find that you start one technique and end with another "1,D" In Jiu-Jitsu this type of combination is seen when a fighter throws a triangle choke from the bottom and as their opponent adjusts/defends they sink in the armbar.

You don't need to know every street in every city you visit. You just need to know how to get to where you want to go and how to do so without really thinking about it. A fighter doesn't have to know every martial art technique but they do need to know what their best weapons are and how they can switch between them, moving through their opponent, without really thinking about it.

[treelizard]

That's a really similar analogy to one of Matt Thornton's old posts on his blog...heh, only different.

http://aliveness101.blogspot.com/200...oring-map.html

[DJColdfusion]

Originally Posted by treelizard

That's a really similar analogy to one of Matt Thornton's old posts on his blog...heh, only different.

http://aliveness101.blogspot.com/200...oring-map.html

Both Matt and I took the map analogy from John Wil. I referenced John, I'm not sure why Matt didn't. If you have the chance to Read John's blog you should take advantage of it.

My article also takes it outside of the belt structure and examines the process of learning a skill and then applying the skill while comparing the stages to the different levels of skill acquisition that compare fairly well, although not precisely IMO, with the BJJ belt levels.

I believe the model that I used maps fairly well to skill acquisition in general and is therefore a decent model to aid in the understanding of how someone becomes a skilled at just about any activity . . . including fighting.

[DJColdfusion]

Well Mike . . . looks like I killed this thread, sorry.

[Mike Brewer]

They all have life cycles. It'll come back, whether here or in some new thread.

Truth be told, I wanted to post more martial arts material and less politics and was hoping this would take off. I'm not much into the "Who'd win in a fight" and "Can anyone find me a school" threads, and the political discussions draw more energized responses than most of what's going up elsewhere. Trouble is, they aren't interesting for the vast majority of folks here.

We'll resurrect this one in some fashion; no worries.

[treelizard]

Originally Posted by DJColdfusion

Both Matt and I took the map analogy from John Wil. I referenced John, I'm not sure why Matt didn't. If you have the chance to Read John's blog you should take advantage of it.

I asked him and he said he's never heard of John Wil. I'm sure other people having never read the article have used the map analogy as well as it's a fairly common one. Anyway, I actually thought Matt's article was far better written.

Anyway, disagree with this quote of yours:

fighter doesn't have to know every martial art technique but they do need to know what their best weapons are and how they can switch between them, moving through their opponent, without really thinking about it.

I think it's important to know what one's weapons are and how to switch between them, but I think thinking it through is crucial. Perhaps some people have gotten to the point where they no longer need to and yet I hear them reason it out afterwards... "I wanted to do (x, y, z) but I chose this instead because...." etc. Fighting is a thinking man's game.