Over and Over and Over
The best way to get good at something is to do it over and over. That’s assuming of course that you’re doing it right. Otherwise, you’re just learning bad habits. In my latest attempt to correct some problems with my karate basics, I’m also having to relearn the movements. It’s difficult, it’s awkward, but I think it’s starting to pay off. For the last week I’ve been practicing one technique (junzuki / front punch). Here’s some observations so far.
(Note: these may have nothing to do with whatever it is you’re doing wrong. And, yes, you are probably doing something wrong.)
- Doing the same thing over and over for a week sucks. It’s tiring, it’s humbling, and it’s harder than it would seem. But, the best insights are just starting to show up. Perseverance is paying off. For example, I realized today that for the better part of my karate career my movement in the front punch has been focused at least in part on getting a “snap” from the sleeve of my karate uniform. While training in a t-shirt, I’ve found that there’s an extra movement fro my hip in the opposite direction at the end of the technique. This is stunting my reach and has been placing the perceived point of impact 1 - 3 inches short of where it could be. Crap.
- Take time to consider how the power behind the technique is generated and keep it mind when you’re practicing. I have been relying heavily on my front foot being firmly planted to generate movement from my hip. I don’t know that this is incorrect for a different application, but with regards to basic mechanics it’s making my punch late which means no matter how fast my arms comes off my hip, it’s going to be slower in connecting with the target. More so, it’s forcing me to rely almost entirely on the strength of my shoulder and arm (with some hip rotation thrown in). While it feels quick and snappy, it actually reduces the kinetic energy (and therefore the power of the punch) by removing the mass and motion of my body from the equation. I’ve been hearing about putting the body behind the punch for awhile now, and it’s just starting to click that I am not actually doing that. Crap.
- Even the most basic technique can be broken into smaller and smaller pieces. As a beginner, we learn the gross movement and general mechanics. As we get better, and as we learn more about working within our own abilities and limitations, we should be able to break the technique into chunks, than those chunks into smaller pieces. There might be a point where this just becomes a useless exercise, but being able to do so can highlight problem areas in the technique and allow you to correct just the parts that are causing you problems. If you haven’t done this before, I highly recommend it. Start by going through the whole technique as slowly as possible. Do that a lot. Then see where it goes. Where are the transitions? What areas are stickiest for you? Can you modify them without screwing up the intent of the technique? There is a ton to be learned from this exercise.
- If you don’t have a partner, get a mirror. If you don’t have a mirror, take video. Hell, even if you have a mirror, take video anway. You have got to see yourself going through the movements to find and fix things, and being able to go back on video to compare previous training and/or to see your progress is really useful.
- If you’re a serious student of a martial art, you can’t limit yourself to class times. Real progress is going to happen when you’re practicing on your own at your own pace. Class should be reserved for your instructor to review your progress and teach you new things, but you’ll get better faster if you’re taking those lessons outside the dojo. Can’t find the time? Bullshit. How much time did you spend on Facebook this week? Right. Take 20 minutes a day and practice one thing. Make it something basic, regardless of your rank. Add time however and whenever you can.
Anyone else going through this type of training? What observations are you coming up with?
- 8 months ago
- 4
Back to Basics
I attended an instructor’s seminar this past weekend with 20 (-ish) other wado-ryu karate practitioners, all of whom had significantly more experience (and ability) than I. I really enjoy these seminars. Not only does it put me in front of some incredible instructors, but I always walk away highly motivated and with a ton of fresh insight. This time was no different, except that I also took part in the black belt exam, my first attempt at earning the distinction of that advanced rank. In that particular effort, I failed.
Failure. That word has such a shitty connotation. In a good number of circumstances, it can be the best outcome and I’m finding this to be one of those circumstances. I don’t want to get into a long history of my training experience, but I’ve been traveling this path since 2001 with close to 3 years of time off scattered between the time I started and now. I’ve had great instruction, and in my opinion 10 years of training, in whatever shape or form, marks a significant amount of effort. So, there’s a small, but undeniable sense of disappointment that I can’t and won’t ignore.
But if I had passed, it may have done me more harm than good. I knew in my gut that I wasn’t ready. Not only has my practice been primarily solo for the last couple years, but there has been a tremendous amount of change in my life recently that has made my practice sporadic and unfocused. Had I passed, it would have tarnished the respect I have for my previous instructors, my current instructor, and my fellow members of this small, elite organization I’ve involved myself in. But I didn’t pass. The leadership that acted as my examiners are the top level instructors in our organization. And they sat the exam with the utmost objectivity.
Now, they could have said, “No, you suck, move along”, but they didn’t. The first words out of my instructor’s mouth, words I won’t forget, were, “We’d like you to try again.” The following 10 minutes included very specific feedback from the 6 person panel that I would take away as homework. Whether I pass the next exam or not is irrelevant to me right now. Rather, I am certain to be better off for having failed this exam.
I’ve always felt that the current McDojo culture has deminished what once was a very difficult achievement. These days, schools concerned with putting profit over quality pass out black belts as if they were simply a certificate of attendence. When I pass this exam, I’ll know I earned it, and that it didn’t come easily.
For now, it’s back to basics. I need people to train with for sure, so I’ll be travelling a bit and recruiting people who want to join me on this journey. In the meantime, I’ll be tackling one basic technique at a time, drilling it over and over, and requesting feedback, asking questions, and generally pestering the people who have left me with this intense motivation.
For those who have been following my blog and workouts, prior to the seminar I put myself through 11 weeks of a linear progression strength cycle. I missed my load numbers in that week, and then took the following week off to focus just on rest and training for the seminar and exam.
I’m back at it this week, and will be picking back up the LP, although I’ll go through a bit of a reset since I didn’t hit some of my loads in that last week. Additionally, I’ll be adding some metcon work back into the mix, ala CrossFit Football.
Yesterday’s Training
Karate (am)
20 minutes of warm-ups and basics, then 40 minutes of front punch (junzuki) practice. It’s intense to just do one technique for that long, but as I’ve been told, it’s the key to fixing many of my other issues. This will likely be my focus for at least the next few weeks.
Strength (pm)
Deadlifts: 1 x 10+ @ 262.5#. I pulled 12.
Conditioning (pm)
5 rounds for time of:
6 x Power Snatch @ 75# +
10 x Box Step-Ups @ 40# each hand
I forgot my timer so I just had to power through it. Thinking I finished in the 5 min. range. The original workout was rx’d at 135# and 54# respectively. Having had a couple weeks off of loaded effort, I scaled down a bit. I probably could have gone 80# or 85# on the snatches, but I did a practice effort at 95# and wobbled too much to feel safe. I’ll get there.
- 8 months ago
- 1
