Hot martial arts

By Keith Pascal

Lately, I have been reading about talent and skill acquisition, and the findings are fascinating. I realize that a best-selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, has written on the subject of skill mastery….

Note: Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Outliers is a decent place to start, but it falls under the category of “pop advice.” By the way, I like Gladwell’s other books; they give me something to think about, even though ultimately, they don’t offer much in the way of “practical application.” Still good reading material.

I am specifically looking for the big jumps in learning that some make while a novice, or new to the skill being practiced. We need to dig a little deeper….

Better Understanding of Kata Practice With an Anecdote

Imagine walking through an Oregon forest where there are no paths, not even the occasional deer trail. Just underbrush.

You trudge through the bushes, vines, stickers, and so on. If you have no goal, then you can walk anywhere, even though it’s a lot of work. But let’s say that you want to make it out to the highway, and you know that it’s to the east of you.

So, you head east. Finally, after a lot of work, you reach the freeway.

The next time in the forest, you have a similar goal. And the progress is just as difficult.

No path – winding your way through all of the blackberries, huckleberries, and marionberries.

In fact, each time is just as hard as the first.

Better Practice

Now, let’s change the scenario: Instead of making the trek from anywhere you happen to be, let’s say that you have a machete with you. The first time, you hack away at the brambles and stomp down on the low stickers and find your way to the road. Maybe it’s just a rough cut the first time. Or maybe you only cut down 20 feet of path, before you go back to forcing yourself through the growth.

The next time, you search for the same path that you started shaping the first time. You clear away a little more bush, hack at some branches in your way, and continue the clearing process.

Each time, the way gets better. You are improving the path.

So, how does this relate to martial arts?

Your brain has pathways, unused forest space. When you start to learn any skill, you are trying to form a neuron path.

Note: Are you thinking about katas and forms, yet?

The way to build skill is to bulk up the sheath around the neurons (actually it’s insulation around the fibers). This substance that is a reinforcer is called myelin.

Racing Through The Kata For Sheer Repetition

Without boring you to death, if I haven’t already, if you just run through your form, over and over again, you’ll make some progress. (You’ll be walking the same path, but without a machete to clear the way.)

Eventually, the path will get more noticeable, if you practice often enough. You will improve over time, just by the sheer repetition of the same techniques in the same order.

But imagine if you had a sharp sword, to help you knock down a few low-hanging branches, and maybe some big waffle-stomping boots, to trample the poison oak.

After awhile, you’d be able to race to the road with ease. Complete mastery of that part of the forest, so to speak.

The way to build the myelin needed for complete mastery of a skill is through a deeper level of practice.

Keith Pascal is the author of Wrist Locks (Revised) Wrist Locks Book.

Keith writes for several ezines, including:

Punch Enthusiasts. (Free unorthodox punch ebook when you join.)

Pascal is also the author of the ebook, “Secrets of Teaching Martial Arts More Effectively.”

By Mark A Dixon
People take up martial arts for numerous reasons, though generally it is to learn fighting skills that would help deal to with a violent assault. However how effective is the martial arts ?

Now do not get me wrong, I am strongly for people learning martial arts, whichever discipline it may be. Whatever art you do or decide to do will hopefully teach you how to punch effectively, perhaps kick effectively, get you used to seeing punches headed your way, hopefully challenge you both physically and mentally. There are styles that will teach you how to lock up joints, fight from the ground and throw people. Just how much of the technique is useful and how much is very “Hollywood” is up to you to decide.

What will probably be missing and is crucial, is awareness skills, avoidance strategies, dealing with the pre-fight and most importantly anticipating and dealing with the effects of the adrenaline rush.

With most traditional martial arts people train to fight other people of the same style or discipline. This can be amazing to watch as it is really a show of technical superiority. However, in a street situation violence can happen suddenly. There is no ring or judge or time to prepare mentally.

The situation on the street can hamper you. The surface maybe slippery or uneven, there may be no room to line up an attack, it could be dark, your clothing could be restrictive and confine your moves. This is a million miles away from your normal training environment where you may wear loose and comfortable clothing, you know the rules and the boundaries.

Martial arts on its own can help improve a person’s self esteem, improve their confidence and help get you in shape. Will it help you to defend yourself in a real street situation? Perhaps, though it could give you a better chance if your training involved effective self defense techniques and strategies. Also it could include some reality training and how to deal with fear and adrenaline.

If your goal is self defense then there are other easier routes to this end. As the saying goes “the journey starts with a single step” make sure you go the right way.

At Practical Self Protection we are committed to, and focus on, reality based self defense training. We focus on state of the art techniques and training methods that give you immediate results.

If you are considering learning self defense why settle for anything other than the best. Here at Practical Self Protection you will train in a proven and tested system that is effective, realistic and relevant to the world we live in. Take your training to the next level and keep your training real.

Mark Dixon is a senior instructor at http://www.practicalselfprotection.com specializing in self defense training. For more information on learning self defense please visit the website.