basics, details, and muscle memory

In contest or combat, the fight can begin and/or end in an instant. However, in that instant many things are happening such as off balancing, fitting in to position, angles, momentum, structure, leverage, acceleration, deceleration, deflection, accurate impact…the list goes on and on. All of these things develop through practice…correctly detailed practice.

The Japanese term “MUSHIN” (no mind) is referring to the principle of using muscle memory rather than having to think about the technique before performing it. The more you practice a technique, the better the neural pathways will perform. This enables you to do the technique under stress as more of a reflex action rather than having to waste precious moments thinking it through. That moment you spend thinking about it could be the moment your opponent defeats you.  

Advanced techniques are awesome to watch. They are also very fun to practice and can be much more challenging to learn than the basics. However, we must always keep in mind that the advanced techniques will not work without including the use of basic fundamentals.

Even for instructors it is more fun to teach advanced techniques rather than basic positions and repetitions of basic technique. We sometimes feed off of the “wow factor"a bit too much. Some instructors are even a little selfish in that they want to work advanced techniques to get in their own practice time.  This is unfair to the beginner that is not yet ready to apply and/or defend advanced techniques. 

On the other hand, when teaching/reviewing the basics, we instructors enjoy watching the light bulbs flash on over the students’ heads when they suddenly understand the technique or a part of it they were missing. This is the most rewarding part of being an instructor.

Martial arts is a scientific application of body mechanics. We must constantly remind ourselves that when learning a combative system, it must be approached as a system that is progressive in nature. A student must learn proper use of angles, structure, leverage, posture, and distance before learning how to do a flying triangle choke. We must develop the neural pathways to operate efficiently on the basics first.   

At our dojo, we do certain things at every practice session. We do ukemi and uchi-komi. We run through the basic ground control positions. We do it so much that it has now become part of our regular warm-ups.  We also do many drills, drills, drills. It’s easy to get bored with repetition. In that boredom, it can also become easy to get sloppy with technique.

Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. If you feel bored with a technique, remind yourself that with each proper repetition, you are building stronger neural pathways. Take a scientific approach by searching for more details to help make the technique work better for you and under different levels of stress. That challenge of overcoming the boredom or repetition is the “perseverance” part of becoming a high quality martial artist. No one becomes a black belt or champion without perseverance.