As we leave 2012 and enter 2013, I know people’s minds turn to improving and bettering themselves on the mats, so I thought I’d jot down a few ideas on how to help people up their game this year.

Each training session set yourself a goal; some particular area of your game that you want to improve on. Be honest with yourself about the importance of these individual goals e.g. we all want to be able to hit harder but if in reality our biggest area of concern, or weakness, is movement then this probably deserves attention first. Train with and surround yourself with people who have the “right” attitude. This doesn’t mean the toughest, strongest or most physical people but those who train in a way that will help you develop your skills and abilities. Training with people who hit hard, are overly competitive and want to demonstrate their own ability is good at times but if you are only able to “test” yourself at this level, you won’t be able to “learn” and improve at the same time.  It is also your responsibility to be that partner who can help others – you need to train in a way that people want you to be one of the training partners they surround themselves with. It cuts both ways.

Take strength from being part of the school. When the Allied Generals planned the Normandy Landings of the 2nd World War, they knew that as soon as the landing boats came in to range of enemy machine gun fire and their doors open, their soldiers would be walking into a solid wall of bullets. The task to wade through the water and get on to the beach itself would be almost impossible, let alone to fight up the beach to the enemy gun emplacements. Their belief that this was achievable was not based on superior technology etc but on two premises – one taken from Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”: 1. if you put people on “Killing Ground” where they have no choice but to fight or die, they will fight with added determination and zeal and 2. If those people have something that is common and shared, they will support each other to incredible lengths – it is no coincidence that regiments and companies are based on localities, with soldiers from the same towns, cities and areas being grouped together. This common bond that joins people together increases the strength of the unit. When I competed in Judo during the 90’s I drew a lot of support from being part of a team, I didn’t want to let fellow members down and I willed them to do their best; I drew strength and I hope I gave strength to the unit. When you step out on to the mats, give yourself no choice but to train with the most effort you can and draw from the strength of the people around you giving the same.  

Think whilst you are at the studio. To many people get caught up simply with “doing”, without understanding, or taking the time to make sense of what they are doing e.g. our system teaches every escape from a hold or similar in steps and stages – when you are listening to instruction make a mental note of each step, not just the first and the last, which is the most common method. Don’t simply try and copy the complete movement, so you end up with something that looks like the technique, take the time to register all the components and pieces that make it up. I remember the first time I was taught to apply chokes and that I at first only squeezed in one direction – it looked like a choke and felt like a choke but it was extremely ineffectual; when I slowed down and dissected the choke (and listened to my instructors complete list of instructions) and looked at all the components I realized that I needed to squeeze in three directions at once. What I had before “looked” like a choke without really being one. There is a reason why our instruction is so detailed – we should not just be looking to be good, we should be looking to be excellent, or as Jim Collins put it, “Good is the enemy of Great”. You should not be on the mats to acquire belts but to master everything you learn.

At the same time understand when it is not your day and accept it – this is one of the keys to doing well in training. I lose count of the number of Krav Maga courses and camps I’ve been on, most of these have lasted at least a week, or 9 days (my first Krav Maga instructor course lasted 29 days – which is the standard in Israel). It took me a while to realize that at the start of the course, on my first few days I would be useless, not really getting any of the techniques etc. I used to spend those days questioning my ability, if I was working out of my depth etc. It took me a while to realize that for these first few days, they would not be “my day”. Depressing and disheartening as they were I had to accept them, work through them and keep going, understanding that eventually everything would click and I’d be able to perform as I should expect to. I have never been a natural athlete and I have to accept that, along with the fact that I’ll have bad days, when everything I do goes wrong. Learn to accept that you have these and move on. Don’t put pressure on yourself for the next training session – just step out on to the mats and enjoy yourself.

Training is serious but it should be enjoyable and rewarding. This year set yourself some realistic goals e.g. I want to improve my movement, I want to get more powerful in my kicking or punching or both. Make them specific, not general. Just having a desire to be better overall will be hard to achieve but working on some specifics will give you something to judge your progress by as well as the ability to ask for specific instruction and advice. Set these goals and don’t change them for others, that mat seem more important, only to change them again as others seem more important etc. Consistency in desire is the most best way to achieve your goals. Have a great year of training in 2013.