Two Questions To Be a Martial Arts Master

You show up to class. You work hard. But it takes more than consistent practice to become a martial arts master—you also need guidance.

Guidance from whom?

If you’re lucky, you’ll have great teachers who will put you on track and keep you on track to becoming the best you can be. Great teachers will let you know what you need to pay attention to and what to ignore.

But what if you’re not so lucky? What if you’ve never found a truly great teacher? Or what if you found a great teacher then lost him or her? Who can you trust to continue learning and growing?

You.

You are the greatest teacher you will ever know.

That’s right. No one will ever know you better than you. No one will ever observe you more closely than you. No one can make you work harder than you.

But there’s a problem—a BIG PROBLEM. Most students have no idea how to guide their own practice. Most students are terrible teachers.

Most students just show up and work out and hope it will pay off someday. Not a great plan!

Students who approach class as a fun night out or just an exercise class are missing out on everything that makes the martial arts special. They’ll never become a martial arts master. The truth is—

To become a martial arts master you must first become a great student.

What does it take to be a great student? Well, the first step is to read, 5 Tips For New Martial Arts Students.

All finished? Great!

Now for the second step. You must pass the Master Mindset test. Let me share it with you…

During class, I always ask my students a question. The way they answer tells me immediately who is on the path to becoming a martial arts master and who is not. Here’s the question—

“What are you working on?”

Simple, right? And yet, in most cases, I get no answer. This means that even though students may be working hard, they’re just going through the motions. Maybe they’re learning, maybe they’re not.

In some cases, the students will give me an answer. They’ll say, “I’m working on sparring,” or “Kata,” or “Side kicks.”

Ugh. Lousy answers. I tell them—

“No, that’s what you’re doing. I want to know what you’re working on!'”

Back to silence.

Once in a while, however, I get an answer that makes me happy. A student will say, “I’m trying a new set up for my reverse punch.” Or, “I’m fixing my rear foot when I turn in this kata.”

KAPOW! That’s the Master Mindset. That’s how great students talk.

Did you catch the difference?

Great students set specific goals in their training. They don’t wait for a teacher to tell them to fix something. They don’t float through class or stand around with a belief that showing up is enough to make them better.

Great students guide themselves. They pay attention to what they’re doing. They’re honest with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses. They’re diligent about assigning themselves tasks.

How about you? Are you a great student? Do you possess the Master Mindset?

If I stopped you on the way to your next practice session, could you tell me what you’re planning to work on? Know this—

If you can’t tell me what you’re working on, you are failing yourself as a teacher.

If you have no answer, or just a general answer, that means you’re only going to learn if something happens to catch your attention or if someone brings something to your attention. That’s not the path to mastery… that’s the path to nowhere.

How to Become a Martial Arts Master

To become a martial arts master, you must take responsibility for your own learning. You must actively pursue knowledge and experience. You must become the greatest teacher you know.

To become a martial arts master, or a master of anything, you must approach your training as a series of small projects. Each time you practice, choose one of those projects and give it your full attention.

What do I mean by a project?

Pick a movement. Break it down into its simplest components. Consider each component its own project.

Let me give you an example…

Throw a reverse punch or a straight right cross.

Now go throw another 100 punches while putting all of your attention on the front foot.

• Does it move?
• When does it move?
• What angle feels right to you?

Analyze it. Play with it. Refine it.

Now go throw 100 more punches focusing on the back foot.

Now focus on the front hip… back hip… each shoulder… each elbow… each ankle… your head… fist… rear hand.

Wait! We’re not done yet!

Now throw 100 more punches while focusing on your breathing… weight shifting… tension… power… speed… initiation… intention.

Whew! Do all that and you will have thrown 2,000 punches. Run that drill on both sides of your body and that’s 4,000 punches. And keep in mind, we haven’t even listed every possible component of a reverse punch!

You see my point?

The room for improvement is endless! And that was just one technique!

But most people won’t do that much work. Most people are content attaining a mediocre level of skill.

Average students train to maintain. Great students train to gain.

To be fair, I believe many students truly don’t know how much better they can be. But that’s only because they never learned how to learn.

They never learned to ask themselves the right questions. That doesn’t make them lousy people… just lousy students.

So, what are the “right” questions? What are the two questions that will not only make you a great student in your teacher’s eyes, but a great teacher in your own eyes?

Question #1: What am I working on?

If you want to be the best you can be, you must always practice with a specific project in mind. If you have no project in mind, STOP!

Pick something to focus on. One minute of deliberate practice is far better than an hour of going through the motions.

Be honest with yourself about what you need to improve. Or brave enough to try something new.

For example, before sparring, you might work on—

• A new move. A new combo. A new set-up.
• An old move with different timing. An old combo with a different follow-up.
• Your best move on the opposite side. Your worst move with a new strategy.

Projects don’t always have to be complex. In fact, they should be as simple as possible, so you can give each one your full attention.

How about grappling while focusing on your breathing? How about practicing kata with more awareness of your chin position? How about sparring with a different guard position?

The point is—

If you want to be a master, don’t work out, work on!

Here’s the good news. You don’t need to work on twenty projects at a time. In fact, having too many projects will only hold you back from learning.

Multitasking is a myth. Your brain can only focus on one task at a time. That’s why the martial arts take such a long time to master!

Make the time to give each technique you know its own training session. Then give each component of that technique its own training session, too. You’re still not done!

By the time you’ve gone down the list and worked on everything you know, you’ll realize that everything can still be better! That means picking up your list and starting all over again.

The bad news? Learning never ends. The good news? Learning never ends!

So, whether you’re lifting weights, running, practicing kata, sparring, or meditating, I challenge you to ask yourself one simple question—

“What am I working on?”

If you really have no idea what to work on, that’s where Question #2 comes into play.

Question #2: How can I do this better?

Simple as that.

If you find yourself thinking, “I already know this,” or “I’m bored with basics. I want to learn advanced moves,” you, my friend, are an average student. You do not possess the Master Mindset.

Great students are never satisfied. Great students understand there is always something to improve. Great students know that advanced moves are just basic moves done better.

So, before you pat yourself on the back for all your hard work, take a deeper look at what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

Even if you’re just standing still or sitting in a chair, analyze your posture… your breath… your areas of tension… your intention. There is always something to explore and improve.

All you have to do is pay attention. Be honest. Talk to yourself. Challenge yourself.

All you have to remember is that you are the greatest teacher you will ever know.

All you have to do is ask yourself these two questions every time you practice and you will have all the guidance you need.

But be warned—the way you answer will either put you on the road to nowhere or on the path to becoming a martial arts master.

This article is a summary of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How To Be a Master.” Listen to the full episode here.