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Leaps and Boundaries
What do I mean by leaps and boundaries? Well, If you practice any martial art or any sport for that matter, you know that you will go through many phases from being a beginner to hopefully one day, becoming an expert and everything in-between – hence leaps and boundaries.
Let’s start with the beginner. The newbie (beginner) will immediately leap from knowing very little or nothing about martial arts, to learning a vast amount of information in a short period of time. This is not to say that the newbie will be able to perform all that has been taught. But at the very least, the newbie should be able to remember what has been taught.
For example, the newbie might learn the first 25 movements of a form (kata) and will not progress until a proficiency in the form has been demonstrated. But on the other hand, the newbie might not be able to put into effect the movements involved in the forms (katas) against an opponent even though a proficiency has been demonstrated in the forms (katas). The newbie remembers the forms but can't apply them to an opponent. This will usually occur within a few months of starting a class.
And here comes a boundary. It’s usually at this time where the newbie will feel invincible. The newbie will feel like he can’t lose with all the new information and techniques that have been learned. It will start getting a little harder to learn simply because the newbie thinks he/she knows everything but in reality, the newbies learning has just begun. That’s the boundary that must be leaped – leaving your ego at the door and realizing that you've learned just enough to probably get yourself hurt. Now,
knowing the moves is just the first step of your newly gained knowledge.
Being able to apply your moves is the next step. Going through your moves
on a willing opponent during practice might seem like you are progressing
(leaps) but in reality, you won’t really know until you can perform your
moves with your opponent with at least 90% power and your opponent
countering you moves with the same power. This is when you will realize
that damn, I’m stuck. Stuck in the sense that you won't be able to
start, execute or finish a move. Don’t give up. Remember, right
after being stuck comes more leaps (progression). Being stuck is a
benefit. You will be forced to learn how to move and maneuver your body so
that next time, you will not get stuck... at least not in that position
that got you stuck in the first place. It's at this time though, that you should have a good sense of what you are doing and you should be able to apply some skills when needed. But like I said, some people will be able to apply their moves easier than others. But guess what, no matter how good you are, you will get stuck here too. And it’s much harder to leap from here. This is where the smallest moves matters - the one inch to one side or the one inch to the other side will be the difference between accomplishing the technique or not. The fine details are the hardest to learn and apply.
After going through the moves time and time again, eventually your body will start cooperating and start doing what you want it to do. As my cousin learned in Kung Fu and I learned in Tae Kwon Do and is taught in Jiu-Jitsu, “the mind is smart but the body is dumb.” It will take time for the body to learn from the mind. When you are finally accomplishing moves and techniques on your opponent who isn’t holding back – and your opponent is fighting your moves and trying moves of his own and you still can accomplish your move, you are progressing. Being able to execute the finer points of what you are learning isn’t the end though. Some would say it’s just the beginning. Confused? Think of it this way; Beginning-beginner, intermediate-beginner, advanced-beginner. Beginning-intermediate, intermediate-intermediate, advanced-intermediate. Beginning-advanced, intermediate-advanced, advanced-advanced. Now at this stage (possibly advanced-intermediate or higher), you will be stuck the longest - but you will have some of the greatest leaps. Why? Because it's easier to learn once you know the basics and you'll have years of experience to draw on when you get stuck. And if you've reached this level, which few people do, you'll be able to start adapting to new techniques more easily. But this will also work against you in that the more time you spend in martial arts, the more complacent you might become. That's why this stage will be the longest. But
regardless of your rank or stature, there will always be times when you
will get stuck or at least feel that way. Something akin to writers
block. This is when you will start developing your own ways to move
ahead and make your techniques work for you. The whole process is never
ending. It’s a continuous circle and it's up to you to make those leaps
possible. The bottom line is that in order to make leaps, you must never
give up.
(6/18/03) |
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