Embracing mistakes

Here is a quickie - how do you deal with mistakes in training? How do you perceive them, even?

Obviously, it depends on the kind of mistake, but in general we can see the mistakes as a source of frustration or as a source of learning. Naturally, one should strive to reduce the former attitude and cultivate the latter.

The mistakes that occur in isolated fashion, once or twice, especially if far between, do not really require much attention. They may be more a matter of circumstances and personal disposition on a given day than the result of some training omissions. It is the repeated/regular ones that demand attention and pondering.

The first step that ought to be done is diagnostics - why do these particular mistakes happen? When? How? Where? If we investigate these questions and find the answers, the plan to fix it should already start emerging. An important notice here - sometimes the glaring mistakes are actually consequences of less perceptible, smaller ones. If that is the case, correcting the "source" mistake might lead to the auto-correction of the bigger one. Another thing to consider is whether the mistakes stem from the failure to implement the training procedures properly, or maybe from the inadequate training procedures themselves.

Be as it may, as long as you don;t lose your mind and get overly emotional over mistakes, it will be possible to actually gain precious information and lessons from them. Such an attitude will also encourage you to try new things and experiment with fresh ideas, hence eliciting more joy from one;s training.

There it is...now go train in an environment that is challenging enough to make you make some mistakes :-) 

Bird view

Funny think struck me the other day. Not really an epiphany, but more like finally finding the missing part of the puzzle sort of reasoning. "About what?" you may ask...

Well, I have never been a kind of guy who desperately needs ostentatious recognition and/or ceremonies within a hierarchical organization in order to feel valued or as a confirmation of whether my training and effort had been worthwhile. Yet, it does not mean I feel disdain or other negative attitude toward various organizations (let's stay with martial arts here) per se. Some of them are functional, serving the purpose of making things easier for the members, some are unfortunately their very own raison d'etre, but it is not really any different than in other fields of life. Anyway, I did notice that some of those associations I liked better than others, and sometimes wondered why.

Sometimes I would think it depended on their administrative setting, other times I thought it had to do with the training methodology, maybe declared philosophy. mission etc. But no, there is another decisive factory.

We now get back to the beginning of this post. I received the latest book, War Hawk, written by Fernan Vargas, and got into a brief correspondence/conversation with the author. I was familiar with some of his earlier works (hence my initiative for obtaining this one), and our exchanges confirmed the impression I had of Mr Vargas. His demeanor showed a humble and honest man, always eager to learn more and new things, shying away from the pretentious status of grandmastery and other related aspects. On the other hand, his actual high level of expertise on the matter he teaches and does is evident in the process of sincerely sharing the knowledge he had accumulated over the decades of practice.

And so, as the birds of the feather flock together, Vargas seems to be gathering a colorful band of people of the similar ilk in his Raven Tactical International in a loose structural organization, but with the tight bond of common values. Finally, this is where I had my light-bulb moment - it is the fraternal feeling of non-enforced tribal belonging that some organizations have that I tend to appreciate. In such cases, even if I don't share the same views and interests of the said associations, there is still the tendency to enjoy the company of their members, relieved of any need to prove something to the rest of the world, content in belonging to where they feel at home.

Another nice commonality in such organizations is that their members tend to be ready and willing to learn from each others and help each other grow, regardless of their previous experience, background or "level" in the group. It is the supportive and not fiercely competitive atmosphere that enables the development to mean true growth and maturing, and not just plain expansion for the sake of numbers.

The aforementioned published works of Fernan Vargas and his associates are a nice example of this attitude. They all start with some very important notions and clear ego-check points that are too often either taken for granted or ignored altogether. Oh, and when it comes to the value of the contents, one would be severely challenged to find a better ratio of the proverbial bang for the buck.

Naturally, the Raven bunch is not the only crew of that sort, or worth mentioning in this light (Systema Homo Ludens of Alex Kostic, Astig Lameco of Roger Agbulos, Libre Fighting of Scott Babb, Combat Systema of Kevin Secours, to mention just a few), but being that they happened to be responsible for my "moment of insight" I devoted the space to them.

Liking other types of organizations and their inner workings is absolutely fine, as long as you find what you are looking for in them. It is just my personal preference to gravitate toward certain types of communities, and I am he author of this blog, so...

NOTICE: I am in no way and by no means affiliated with the RTI or Mr Vargas. This entire piece of writing was completely unsolicited by any of the mentioned parties. It represents my honest opinion, based on my personal experience with those subjects, so take it for what it is.

Only the good stuff

Aren’t you sick tired of it sometimes? I for sure am. It’s been a long time in the fitness industry, people telling how they had a great workout and then pour loads of numbers on you – sets, reps, poundage/kilos lifted etc. But when you actually go and see them train, you cringe at their form and movement. I have notices similar occurrence in martial/combative circles, especially related to the solo training sessions…hundreds of punches, kicks, breakfalls…whatever. Even partner drilling is too often based around the notion of “X repetitions one side, then switch and X reps the other”.

The humankind’s obsession with its own technological advances got really perverted, to the degree where we are trying to imitate the machines we had made. Hence my disdain for the above terms like “industry” when used in certain phrases. Nowadays everything is about quantity, to the expense of quality. But it should not be. After all, in the martial training we strive (well, we should) for the technical proficiency, as it is the aspect that enables the grace and flow that puts the ART in the martial art paradigm. Yes, I still believe the effectiveness should come first, but it has never meant that efficiency is not important. Quite to the contrary.

Let us think for just a brief moment, who are typically the people whose performance provides inspiration for so many of us in the fighting “universe”? Is there anyone out there who sincerely believes that the likes of Muhammad Ali, Kyuzo Mifune, Rickson Gracie and other greats of their ilk had become that by the sheer amount of their training? No, they did not just train more (if they did train more than their rivals at all), but they sure did train better!

Take a look at the previous video and tell me if Rickson seems even remotely concerned about the numbers – reps, miles, sets, rounds – or is it more about the quality of what he does? Well, if one is in this for the long run, then we better follow his lead.

OK, so how to make sure you train well, not just a lot? Obviously, it demands presence and focus during the sessions. In order to maintain the necessary level of concentration, start by doing your activity (drills, techniques, forms) for time periods/rounds and not preset number repetitions. Go as slow as needed to prevent technical degradation. Make the rounds short and alternate between the rounds of two or three unrelated skills. This sort of interleaved practice keeps the nervous system operating better, thus yielding the better retention in the long run.

Next, be sure that everybody involved in the training understand that resistance does not equal competition, and that you can’t win a drill. Training partners are there to help each other grow by presenting challenge, not to impede one another by boosting the ego. It is possible to training both hard and smart at the same time.

Making periodical video footage of you training sessions does not only provide great feedback regarding the potential flaws and problems to work on, but also motivation when comparing the progress made over the course of months or years. This is particularly handy in those schools and systems that do not use those extrinsic “measures” such as belts, grades etc.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when “hard facts” rule, and our training needs to be as precisely measurable as possible, but for crying out loud, do not let statistics take over your life, because numbers and papers will never be more important than people.

Hidden in plain sight

Isn’t it strange how people will occasionally pick a single aspect of a phenomenon to interpret as its essence, and then mock or argue another person for doing the exact same thing, only with a different aspect? We have all seen (maybe even been part) of those endless arguments over minuscule details in martial arts – is the hand held horizontally or vertically when punching; is the front foot in this or that stance held at the angle of 35 or 38 degrees; the supporting leg carries 55% or 60% of the weight..? Some training approaches, such as those common in Russian martial arts universe, don’t get stuck so much with the technical details, being declaratively based on principles, and will see the above debates as childish and the waste of time.

However, some of those schools will embrace one (or a couple) of those principles and concepts as their staple, other schools another one or few, and lo and behold – the debates and bickering are raging again! For example, on one end of the spectrum one may find schools that are almost entirely devoted to the work on the psychological and emotional equilibrium, breathing, maintaining composure and so on, in hope of being able to take advantage of such mental state and come up with physical solutions on the spot, in case of an unfortunate situation when they may need them. The other far end holds the belief that if the practitioners have a firm grasp of the mechanical principles, steeped in scientific foundations, it will in turn instill the deep sense of confidence and calmness, hence the ability to deal with the same potential calamities with efficiency. There are, of course the schools and methods that find themselves somewhere along the middle portion of the continuum, in hope of getting the best of both worlds. Interestingly enough, all those training avenues share the same problems.

Admittedly, I had spent time in both camps, and got something useful from each. Still, there was a missing element, and unfortunately either approach tends to be condescending on the exact portion of the fighting world that may hold the answer. But, let us see the main challenge first.

In their (often earnest) quest for the sound combative effect, so many of those schools and their practitioners spend their entire time and effort working on themselves, i.e. how to improve their own perceived efficiency and effectiveness in combat. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with such goal, but it is just one side of the equation. Years ago, I learned about the training dichotomy used in certain JKD circles, and it presents two different, and at the same time complementary, vantage points – self preservation and self perfection.

If I have managed to get my point across with any success, it is clear that the problem of most RMA systems is the almost exclusive dedication to the latter part. Having that in mind, they work for the most part in the learning/discovery environment, with slow movement and drills, but rarely in the practicing and functionalization mode, with resisting partners who are actively looking to hinder the attempted actions. Even when working with some commitment and considerable energy, they usually lack the intention. The related aspects of this problem have been already discussed on this blog, so I will move the part that seeks the solution.

Again, if you read the description of the challenge in the previous paragraph, some sort of criteria for the “cure” starts emerging – resisting partners (NOTE: we are still talking training partners, not opponents or enemies), effort to hinder the action, in order to actually take over the advantageous position. I don’t know about you, but it sounds very much like sports to me. That said, it bears saying right here: I do not think it is necessary to compete and get involved with the entire dominance/hierarchical paradigm. Adding that segment of training methodology to your work is very much needed. Finding the right balance should enable the trainees to reap the benefits of such training, without getting bogged down with the injuries, frustration, overexertion and other maladies often associated with serious competitive training.

Be the fulcrum - hold balance

Why is sportive approach useful? Well, it puts you in touch with the fundamental part of any combative training – the other. And I mean it in more than a simple prop, something to deal with or an object for your techniques/action. The training partner is not just the helper (as important as that role is), but also the measure of your training, pushing you toward your goal, maybe even challenging and redefining that goal.

In the end, don’t be superficial on a different surface, but believe you are better than those who are unable to dig deeper on another. Look for the building blocks of any training methodology, past the visual, technical and/or ideological differences; avoid becoming entangled in the terminology and go for the substance… It can only help you grow in training.

Profiting from your training

Really, how do you profit from it? Well, I'm sorry to say, but the answer starts with "it depends"... First and foremost it depends on what do you want from being involved with this whole martial arts and fighting/combat thing. I have already discussed one's motivation elsewhere on this blog, and that is usually fine to begin with, but in order to stay with our training we also need some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, right?

When there are no external "symbols" of progress (yeah, belts/grades and similar "carrots" to chase) it can be easy to lose sight of all the benefits practitioners may be reaping from the regular practice. Heck, when there ARE those extrinsic rewards, they will often distract you from seeing what truly matters.

It's all relative 

Remember why you first came to that club or training group? Was it for conditioning, fun, self-defense, discipline, sport? Well, did you get any of that, and if so, did it make you feel good? If yes, then you have already got something very valuable from training. 

Still, there may be, and probably is, more, but you ought to take a deeper look into the overall situation. Let me tell you my take on it.

I have been recently asked what is the most precious thing I got from close to three decades of doing martial arts. It got me thinking, and to my surprise, the answer came to me rather quickly and with firm certainty - meeting so many great people along the way and becoming friends with some of them! Had someone asked me back then about my expectations, I certainly would not have even dreamed of getting to know so many people, located from Australia, China, Philippines, through Russia and most European countries, all the way to USA and Canada, and even from South Africa to Siberia. 

Just thinking of all the great and mind-growing conversations and interactions wit hall of them makes my heart warm and my face smile, not to mention all the brilliant training I had along the way. Even in this day and age of technological means that allow us to be anywhere at any time, it is still my years of martial training that "guides" me in choosing those places and times. 

And let me tell you - it was all worth it, so I'm looking forward to the decades of training to come!

Walk the talk - review of Rodney King's book

Today I’m writing about a strange book…or better said, reading it was a strange experience for me. See, I have been familiar with the name and work of Rodney King (just in case – we’re talking the renowned martial art/fighting instructor from South Africa) and his no-nonsense approach and clear presentation of his creative kickboxing and clinch material, developed as Crazy Monkey Defense program, was very appealing to me. Rodney has all the traits of an excellent instructor: he knows his material and curriculum inside-out; has good eye for seeing what needs to be worked on with his students; knows how to bring a point across efficiently and succinctly; his students demonstrate those qualities in their own performance. For a few years in mid-2000’s he was among my Top10 video instructors out there.

And then, something happened. At some point, King changed his “game”. He started using the term clients instead of fighters/students, and stuff like life performance instead of functional skill etc. In short, the entire paradigm turned a bit too corporate sounding for my taste. Yet, his training material remained top notch, so I kept my eye on what he has to say. This year, he published a book titled Full Contact Living. Preparing You for the Martial Arts of Every Day Life. 

book cover

Uh-oh…so now it started sounding new-agey, too. Life coaching and things of that sort. Still, Rodney was teaching good and practical, hands-on fighting stuff all the time, so I read the book. At first I was confused – there was plenty of excellent info, albeit packed in a language that is not particularly inviting to me. The focus of the book is on the mental training and preparation, be it fighting or other situations that require performance under stress, and that is fine, I did not expect the book on how to punch and kick in the first place. No, it was the writing style that threw me off. Where was the “good ole’ high-speed low-drag” Rodney King?

And then it dawned on me! I read through his preface again, as well as other articles, interviews and blogs on the web to see what is going on. Admittedly, I had usually concentrated on the man’s technical and tactical material, while neglecting his background and philosophy (yes, shame on me). Once giving his story a bit of thought, it became obvious why he wanted to do away with a lot of his earlier ways of doing things. OK, but how did Rodney end up where he is now? Illumination no.2 – not being in any of those “action” professions, such as military, law enforcement etc., he is actually much more in line with his martial teaching than the majority of us.

You see, the phrase “martial arts as the way of life” is a much (ab)used and thrown around, with glaring inconsistencies between one’s training and daily practices. In that regard, King has actually taken the steps to really put his fight training experience in this daily life, and being that he lives in a modern social-economic paradigm, like most of us, this new approach actually makes a lot of sense. The vocabulary in use is adequate for the book’s intended targeted reading public, so even if you (like me) do not necessarily perceive yourself as a member of that public, there is still a lot of good stuff to be gained, but just understand that the literary style may not suit you. Then again, Rodney has put out a manual, not a novel.

Finally, to the contents of the book. After presenting the readers with his background (which gives the man substantial authority on the subject), Rodney divides his presentation into seven components – six principles and one meta-principle, given in a logical and pertinent order, even if they all work together.

1.      The wabi-sabi of peak performance is about what to strive for and how to keep sight on the objective and act on it, without getting lost in what could be distracting details.

2.      Buddha mind, warrior body deals with the ever important topics of focus and presence of mind, the crucial aspects of trying to achieve anything.

3.      Body attitude maters shows the often neglected interrelationship between body and mind in a fairly practical fashion, with some very good advice on how to improve in that domain, and this may be of special interest for the people actively competing in combat sports.

4.      Surf the edge of chaos could be my favorite chapter, as it pertains to the widely misunderstood way of dealing with change and thriving in the environment that may otherwise be intimidating to many.

5.      Exhale-take charge of your breath gives you the deceptively simple tools to facilitate the changes we are trying to accomplish, particularly in all sorts of performance under duress.

6.      Roll with the punches underlines that we all have to deal with setbacks and less than ideal circumstances, occasional failures and hiccups in our quest for whatever it may be, and how to deal with it.

Finally, the meta-principle of becoming an IGAMER fuses all the previous ones and discusses how in this case the whole may be greater than the simple sum of its parts. This is the section that glues all the pieces of your model together.

Again, I assume quite a few of my readers might be less than happy about the writing style in the Full Contact Living, but if you understand it as the packaging, you may still end up liking the contents and substance it has to offer. 

Restart!

While we all, more or less, strive to train year round, it is a widespread practice that when you train in a club/group, there is usually the divide between season and off-season. In competitive sports the difference is quite clear, but in all other activities, martial arts included, it mostly means that a "vacation" is taken during summer, and then the regular training regimen resumed in September.

As instructors, we are then faced by a repeating question - where do I (re)start this time? Over the years, I have tried various approaches, with varying degrees of success. For a while I settled on emphasizing the conditioning aspect to some degree, as it achieved several things: most trainees (especially the recreational ones) tend to neglect that portion of their training when left to their own devices, plus, people seem to value training sessions more when they sweat; if there are new people to the group (especially beginners) it allows them to fit in easier and feel less awkward or behind the group; prepares the body to better cope with the demands of technical work.

according to Laurent Vidal

However, for the last couple of seasons, I have been opting for another avenue. Namely, when on vacation, even if doing some solo training, it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, i.e. what we are training to achieve through our practice. Therefore, in my training group we spend the grand majority of time in the first few sessions doing various kinds of scenarios, drills and games without too much prior instruction in the technical domain. I will often just describe the task for each of the involved parties and let them come up with the best means of accomplishing it. There will be some hints and coaching during and between the rounds of activity, but it is kept to minimum in order to maintain the pace and the overall mood.

Such an approach offers some rather useful insights for the instructor(s) and trainees. For the instructor it diagnoses at the same time the fitness level and the degree of maintained technical skill among the practitioners/students, thus enabling better planning for the weeks and months to follow. The trainees are put into the activity on a more holistic level, which helps them understand the context of their technical training that will ensue, as well as appreciation for the needed physical attributes and the work it takes to develop them.

For those exact reasons, similar blocks of training sessions ought to be repeated at least a couple of times throughout the season, hopefully with increased intensity and resemblance to the "real thing", whatever it may be, depending on the training goals and motivations.