If you want to learn martial arts faster, do less, not more. That’s the advice from my longtime teacher, Sifu Matt Ember.
You remember Sifu Matt. He also shared some advice on how to handle a bigger, stronger opponent. Which reminds me—did you take the Beer Ring Challenge yet? 🙂
For more good advice on getting more out of your martial arts practice, check out the video below. I typed up a quick summary as well.
Happy training!
One Tip to Learn Martial Arts Faster
You hear it all the time. A student is sparring and the teacher yells out, “Hands up! Chin down! Follow up that kick!”
Or maybe you’re yelling at yourself while practicing a kata. “Breathe! Keep your back straight! Relax your shoulder!”
What’s the problem here?
You can’t fix everything at the same time!
Sorry, but our brains just don’t work that way. We’re not computers. Without multiple processors, we are not adept at splitting our attention.
No wonder recent studies have shown that multitasking is a myth! Yes, we can switch our attention between tasks very quickly, but applying equal attention to more than one task simultaneously? Not so much.
Of course, humans are capable of executing highly complex tasks, like driving a car, sparring, or simply walking across a room chewing gum, but each of those complex tasks is comprised of several simple tasks… and simple tasks are best learned one at a time.
So, if you’re a martial arts student, don’t head into your next training session with a list of 10 things you need to improve. If you want to learn martial arts faster, choose one instead. Give that skill your full attention until it becomes automatic.
Think until you stop thinking!
Once a skill becomes a habit, your brain will be free to focus on something else. If you split your attention between two or more skills, your brain may never be free!
This is important to keep in mind when you’re teaching, too. When you look at your students, you will see a long list of flaws, but how many of those flaws should you bring to their attention?
ONE.
I know—it’s so easy to rant and rave about all the skills you have told them to fix a thousand times before… but why do you think they’re still making those mistakes?
Maybe because they never took a step back to focus on each skill separately!
If you keep trying to fix more than one flaw at a time, you’re just going to confuse and frustrate them. Then they’ll quit!
To read about one frightening experience I had with a teacher who didn’t understand this, check out, One Trick to Be a Better Teacher.
If you’re a good teacher, however, you’ll remember how long it took you to develop and employ strategic patience with your students. You’ll decide which skills are the most important to you, then introduce them one by one in a logical progression.
Of course, students need to be patient, too. We can all be guilty of chasing shiny, new skills before we’re ready. But if you truly want to learn martial arts faster, you’re better off mastering your old skills first.
