If you ask the Right Question, you'll get the Right Answer

Greetings!

I'd to share with you another Helpful tip to maximize your training this week! The idea today is the Art of ALWAYS ASKING QUESTIONS.

The best students always have questions. But, why? Why do great students always have something to ask their instructor? The answer is simple. They are always evlaluating how they are doing, and seek constant advice to improve. The real question is, are you evaluating your skills?

When students ask to "roll" with me during Sparring, I often ask them, "What have you been working on?" Or I may ask, "Where do you want to start from?" My intent is to see what technique or idea the student has been trying to improve upon. Therefore, I can help them accordingly during our match. Unfortunately, not many students have a technique or idea they are "working on". Subsiquently, they don't know how to answer either of these questions.

During your training, you must focus on one concept or skill at a time. When it's time to "train" or "sparr", if you have an agenda, you will find things that are working AND not working within your technique. Once you have this information, you now know HOW to ask QUESTIONS with your Instructor. I will give you a simple formula to follow. Ready!? Here it is=>

EXPERIMENT, ASK QUESTIONS, EXPERIMENT MORE, REPEAT!

If you follow these simple guidelines, you can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to learn new skills. If don't have a good action plan to improve, you will be driving to your destination WITHOUT a MAP!

Take the time this week to ask questions about skills that are giving you trouble. Don't go home frustrated that you can't accomplish your goals. Be sure to ask an instructor for HELP! It's the only true way to GET BETTER!

I hope you gained some benefit from this today!

ALL THE BEST!
Coach

How Slow Can You Go

Greetings!


We are continuing this week with helpful tips on how to get the most out of your training. Today's focus is the speed in which you should practice to get good at your skills. It may be slower than you think.

You may have heard me say in class, "Practice your move so slowly that you can't possibly screw it up." This is my light hearted way to remind you to TAKE YOUR TIME when practicing. One of the most common errors we encouter when learning new skills is the speed in which we try to execute them. The challenge here is understanding that FAST skills are not necessarily GOOD skills...especiall when you are novice at them.

The most important idea here is to keep your EGO in check. We all want to be great at the skills we are drilling. For most of us, that means do the move with the same level of speed that we see our instructor demonstrate. The problem with that line of thinking is your instructor is ALREADY GOOD at the technique. He can smoothly do the skill due to LOTS OF PRACTICE. Please remind yourself of that right before you begin to drill your moves. :)

As you step on the Mats this week, remind yourself of how you should drill. Remember that SPEED AND POWER happen EASILY once your body has ALL OF THE MECHANICS of the technique MASTERED. You won't have to TRY to be FAST, you will just naturally BE FAST. Practice your skills so slow that you can't possibly screw them up! In this way, you will LEARN what do...and more importantly, WHAT NOT TO DO!

I hope you gained some benefit from this today!


ALL THE BEST!
Coach

Know When to do Nothing

Greetings!


Today's topic is another concept to help you achieve Excellence in your Training! You must learn when it is important to "do nothing".

Often times in our Training, we equate "doing the right thing" to always "doing something." Sometimes in our boxing, we feel if we are not throwing punches, we are not getting the job done. This is true in Jiu Jitsu, as well. When we are in the bottom position (often in a positon where we can be attacked) we feel the need to keep moving body parts and force the escape.

The challenge here, is sometimes when you are constantly doing something, you aren't SEEING or FEELING enough of what is going on around you. You sometimes, unknowingly, walk into a trap. Therefore, it is paramount to know WHEN to chose to "do nothing". Experienced fighters in the ring normally take the beginning of the first round to "feel out" their opponent. Why is this? They need to see what their opponent knows and is capable of doing. They run through a series of movements to get reactions from their opponent to "test" what their opponent may try upon them. Once they get a good feel for their opponents skill level, they begin to open up and engage. Why then does the crowd normally boo? I feel it is because they also equate "doing something" to "doing well." They cannot see all of the sublte things the fighter is doing during that moment of "no action."

This is a very important reminder to us as we climb our way up the Martial Arts food chain. Sometimes taking a moment to assess the situation is the key to victory. If we rush into things too quicky, we risk making a big mistake that we can pay for dearly.

Can you see how our lives on the Mat reflect our lives as a whole? Are there times when it's better to do nothing in your personal life? Like when you are really, really angry? Do you make good decisions in that state of mind? Neither do I. Sometimes we need to know when to do nothing. Nothing at all. :)

I truly hope you gained some benefit from this today!


All the Best!
Coach

The Lab

Greetings!


Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some good reminders on how to help you get the most out of your time on the Mats. You may have heard me say, "Everyone wants to be good, but not everyone knows HOW to get good." My hope is to remind you of a few simple ideas to ensure you DO get good!

One of the keys to achieving excellence with your technique, is to view the Mats as your LABORATORY. You must learn to experiment with your moves. Just as any good scientist keeps experimenting in the Lab, so must you on the Mat. Try new things. Try new moves. Be willing to LOSE to learn how to WIN!

Learning the Martial Arts can be a complicated endeavor. It's paramount that we keep things simple and streamline our focus. Don't TRY to hard. Don't put TOO mush PRESSURE on yourself. Take the time each day to chip away at your technique...LITTLE BY LITTLE.

Sometimes, scientists try THOUSANDS of experiments to get ONE good result. Does that sound similar to our training? You might try an armbar the same amount of times to get one just right. Therefore, we MUST view our time on the Mats like being in the LAB...we have to constantly experiment. Examine what is working. Examine what is not working. Make adjustments. And most importantly, KEEP EXPERIMENTING until we get some GOOD RESULTS!

Remind yourself to Relax and ENJOY your training this week! View learning a new skill as an experiment that just needs lots of Testing in the Lab! Soon enough, you will get it right!

I hope you gained some benefit from this today!


All the Best!
Coach