When I first started taking martial arts classes, it quickly became apparent my old methods of learning new skills were not up to the task that I had set them. After a few weeks of feeling frustrated with my lack of progress I decided I needed to switch my focus. Instead of going to class to learn a martial art, I was going to work on how to learn a martial art.
One of the first things I found when I started this process was that: getting better at something in the beginning often feels like things are getting worse. Why? Because becoming aware that a mistake is being made is the first step toward fixing it. In the beginning, we don’t know that we don’t know, and then slowly, painfully, we do know that we don’t know, and, finally, we know! And can then move on to the next thing we don’t know we don’t know…
The next thing I learned is that the old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is not as accurate as I once believed. More accurate would be to say- perfect practice makes perfect. Each time we move, think or speak a certain way a pathway is created in the brain- repeating that movement, thought or speech pattern reinforces the path so that as time goes on it becomes easier and easier to follow. Breaking a new trail is always more difficult then following the road, and its far easier to train things properly in the beginning then to have to fix them later.
So practicing perfectly helps out a lot, but what about the times when theres just too much going on to put the time in to training? Or the area is too small or crowded? Even when theres no room to swing a stick or a sword or go through a form, there are opportunities for training- standing or walking with perfect balance, being mindful of movement and the practice of keeping your attention focused in the moment have a massive effect on the way we train. As the saying goes – ‘The way you do one thing is the way you do all things.’ and attention to balance and movement in everyday life will translate directly into the way way we train.
During those first few months of training, I came across a story of a study done in America, with three groups of basketball players. One group shot baskets for 20 minutes a day, the next group visualized shooting baskets for the same amount of time and the third group both shot and visualized shooting baskets, also for 20 minutes. At the end of the study each group was tested for improvement- to no ones surprise, the third group improved the most, but what was surprising was that the group that visualized shooting baskets did better then the group that physically shot baskets during the same time period. I was skeptical of the study at first so when I left the place I had been training for an internship across the country I decided to try an experiment. I would spend some time every day visualizing the things I had learned and see if it made any difference when I returned.
And two months later, when I came back to the gym, without having physically done any practicing, I found I had improved significantly since the time I had left. Apparently learning really does happen in the brain as well as in the body, and the intent and attention applied in any area of life applies to training as well.
Most of all enjoy the process.